NEWS NOW: Leylah Annie Fernandez, a Canadian professional tennis player, has made a heartbreaking announcement.
On Monday in Osaka, Japan, Canadian Leylah Fernandez will play Australian Ajla Tomljanovic in the opening match of the Toray Pan Pacific Open. After missing out on the quarterfinals of both of the WTA 1000 events in China over the previous few weeks, Fernandez is hoping for a better outcome in Japan. The former US Open runner-up advanced to the third round of the Wuhan Open before falling to Qinwen Zheng 5-7 6-3 6-0. She also lost to Peyton Stearns 7-5 6-2 in the second round of the China Open. As a qualifier, Tomljanovic advanced to the 2024 Ningbo Open main event but lost 6-4 6-2 to Yuan Yue in the opening round.
The Australian defeated Clara Tauson 4-6 6-4 6-4 in the final to win the WTA 125 event in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, her first-round losses in the Wuhan and Ningbo Open prevented her from building on this success.
Tomljanovic will try to stay undefeated against Fernandez as she already defeated the latter at the Birmingham Open 1-6 6-3 6-2 last June. Fernandez carries a 13-13 slate in hardcourt matches this year, though she is a solid 12-4 record in first-round matches. Tomljanovic is a bit shaky in the opening round this year, sporting an 8-9 in first-round matches in 2024. Our betting prediction for Ajla Tomljanovic vs. Leylah Fernadez: Bet on Fernandez to cover -4.5 games, -125, at FanDuel.
