Fernandez unhappy with scheduling turnaround after opening-round exit at National Bank Open

Published: 2025-07-30 02:21:50 | Views: 12


Leylah Fernandez, Bianca Andreescu and Rebecca Marino are all out of the National Bank Open.

Fernandez, of Laval, Que., lost 6-4, 6-1 to Australia's Maya Joint in the first round on Tuesday, not long after Andreescu withdrew from the tournament with a left ankle injury.

Earlier, Vancouver's Rebecca Marino fell 6-1, 6-2 to eighth seed Emma Navarro of the United States in second-round action.

The 22-year-old Fernandez β€” the top-ranked Canadian at No. 24 in the world β€” was coming off winning her fourth WTA title at the D.C. Open on Sunday.

Fernandez said she received "a lot of promises" that she would take the court during Tuesday's night session, awarding her more time to rest between the two tournaments, but learned Sunday while travelling to Montreal from Washington that wouldn't be the case.

"I did not receive that," she said. "That hurt me because I was very looking forward to be playing at night, but I guess it's a little bit political issues at that point."

Valerie Tetreault, the National Bank Open tournament director in Montreal, said she promised Fernandez she would "fight so that she could have the time she wanted."

"But I didn't win my fight," Tetreault said, highlighting that the WTA Tour decides the scheduling. "I received the request for her to play in the evening. It's my role to have conversations with the WTA, so I pushed as much as possible for her to have what she wanted, but of course with the scheduling I have to follow the protocol set by the WTA."

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Montreal tennis fans were ecstatic on Monday night as Eugenie Bouchard of Westmount, Que., defeated Emiliana Arango of Colombia 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 in the first round of the National Bank Open. The tennis pro praised for opening the door for other Canadian tennis players says it will be her last tournament before she retires, finishing off her career at home.

Showing fatigue, Fernandez gave up six break points and won only 49 per cent of her points on first serve. The 19-year-old Joint won 62 of 109 points to win the match in 74 minutes.

Tennis Canada released a statement backing up Tetreault's words.

"WTA protocols mean first-round matches need to be completed before second-round matches are played, ensuring fairness to all players involved," the statement read. "Given Leylah won the title in Washington on Sunday, she was not able to arrive in Montreal until the early hours of Monday morning. As a result, the WTA made the decision to play her opening match in the latest possible first-round slot."

Andreescu withdraws with ankle injury

Andreescu sustained her injury on match point Sunday night versus Barbora Krejcikova, but pulled out the first-round win 6-3, 6-4.

The 25-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., said she tore some ligaments in her ankle but wouldn't rule out a return to the court at the Cincinnati Open, which begins in just over a week.

"The ligaments are a little bit torn, so that takes time, so it's kind of a day-to-day thing," she said, adding her ankle was not previously bothering her.

"We can't really explain it. Maybe it was emotions, maybe I was a little bit tired. I just stepped in a weird way. We're kind of just saying it was a freak accident."

A women's tennis player lays on the ground to be examined by medical staff.
Medical staff tend to Bianca Andreescu following an ankle injury during her opening-round victory at the National Bank Open in Montreal on Sunday. (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

Andreescu was supposed to play No. 4 seed Mirra Andreeva of Russia in the second round at the National Bank Open on Tuesday afternoon.

The former world No. 4, who won the Canadian Open and the U.S. Open in 2019, has repeatedly spent time off the court over the years to nurse back, shoulder, knee, ankle and foot injuries.

"All I could think about is honestly, like why?" she said. "I even screamed out like, why does this keep happening to me? Just a bunch of emotions. I was super overwhelmed, playing in front of a home crowd, winning the match, right?

"I started laughing at one point because honestly at this point it's laughable. It's just crazy, it's crazy. I'm trying to stay positive but it's getting really tough."

The 34-year-old Marino never broke Navarro, failing to convert three opportunities. She also won just 59 per cent of her first-service points and 23 per cent on her second serve.

Navarro put 74 per cent of her first serves in play and won 82 per cent of those points. The 24-year-old broke Marino four times as the match lasted 63 minutes.

Marino, ranked 123rd, beat French qualifier Elsa Jacquemot 7-6 (2), 6-1 in the first round.

In the evening session, No. 1 seed Coco Gauff opened her tournament with a second-round meeting against fellow American Danielle Collins. Toronto's Victoria Mboko took on No. 23 seed Sofia Kenin of the United States in the late match.

Musetti on to 3rd round in Toronto

Italy's Lorenzo Musetti advanced to the third round of the men's bracket with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Australia's James Duckworth on Tuesday.

Musetti, the third seed in the tournament, broke on three of his nine opportunities and won 90 per cent of his first-serve points.

The Italian will next face American Alex Michelsen, who defeated Chile's Tomas Barrios Vera 7-6 (7), 6-3 on Tuesday.

Australia's Alexei Popyrin, the 18th seed and defending champion, ousted 18-year-old Canadian Nicolas Arseneault 7-6 (7), 6-3 in second-round action on Tuesday.

Arseneault, from Richmond Hill, Ont., matched Popyrin with nine aces and won 83 per cent of his first-serve points. The Australian will face the winner between Russian Daniil Medvedev and Czechia's Dalibor Svrcina, who will meet Tuesday evening.

Later, Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., takes on American Learner Tien with sights set on a third-round appearance.



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