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Leylah Fernandez is on to the finals of the Citi Open.
Fernandez, from Laval, Que., beat the third-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3) in a three-hour and 12-minute marathon on Saturday afternoon.
She’ll face the winner of the other semifinal between Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu and Anna Kalinskaya, who is from Russia, on Sunday.
Fernandez was ranked 36th in the world heading into the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. She is scheduled to play in the National Bank Open in Montreal this coming week.
The 22-year-old Fernandez is now into her first final since she lost to Australia’s Daria Kasatkina on the grass courts of Eastbourne last June.
Fernandez is seeking her first title since 2023 in Hong Kong. All of her three career WTA singles titles have come on hard court.
She also reached the U.S. Open final in 2021 where she lost to Raducanu. Both players were unseeded in that championship match and Raducanu became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam tournament.
