By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, September 26, 2026
Photo credit: lululemon
Resilience is a Leylah Fernandez asset.
Today, Fernandez was a fighter to the finish advancing to her first final of the year in Singapore.
In a clash of left-handers, Fernandez fought off French Open finalist Maja Chwalinska 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 at the Singapore Tennis Open.
World No. 31 Fernandez will play for her first title since she won Osaka last October. Fernandez will face Australia’s Talia Gibson in Sunday’s final.
Perth native Gibson took a walkover into Sunday’s final.
In a controversial decision, qualifier Tatiana Prozorova said she was forced to withdraw from Saturday’s Singapore semifinal after failing part of a concussion assessment administered following her doubles match. Prozorova upset Alexandra Eala in the round of 16 before surprising Wang Xinyu on Friday to reach her first WTA semifinal and said she was told her tournament was over following a doubles incident.
The 22-year-old Gibson is at home on hard courts. Gibson played through qualifying to reach the Indian Wells quarterfinals in March pushing Linda Noskova to three sets. Gibson then qualified for the Miami Open where she made the round of 16.
This will be the first meeting between Fernandez, who is playing for a sixth career championship, and Gibson, who plays off pace effectively.
