Canada's Leylah Fernandez ousted in second round of China Open

Leylah Fernandez, of Canada, serves the ball to Jessica Pegula, of the United States, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Canada’s Leylah Fernandez was ousted from the China Open women’s tennis tournament with a three-set loss to Kamilla Rakhimova of Uzbekistan on Saturday.

Rakhimova prevailed 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in the second round over the 23rd-seeded Fernandez from Laval, Que.

Fernandez was coming off her sixth career WTA win in the Singapore Open.

Rakhimova converted five of 11 break points to Fernandez’s two of four Saturday.

Rakhimova also generated more second-serve points at 63 per cent to the Canadian’s 33 per cent in a match that lasted two hours 32 minutes.

The 24-year-old Fernandez is ranked 26th in the world and Rakhimova 76th. Rakhimova earned her fourth career win over a top-30 ranked player and her second in five weeks after upsetting Barbora Krejcikova in the first round of the U.S. Open.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2026.