Canada’s Leylah Fernandez powers past Lys to reach Hong Kong quarterfinals

Leylah Fernandez of Canada plays a backhand return to Coco Gauff of the United States during a women's singles match of the China Open tennis tournament, at the National Tennis Center, in Beijing, China, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

HONG KONG — Leylah Fernandez advanced to the quarterfinals of the Hong Kong Open with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Germany’s Eva Lys on Wednesday.

The tournament’s second seed won 73 per cent of her first-serve points and broke Lys four times in the 68-minute match.

Fernandez, of Laval, Que., finished with three aces, one double fault and won five straight games to close out the match.

The victory was her seventh in her past eight matches, a stretch that includes her Japan Open title earlier this month.

Fernandez, 23, will next face seventh-seeded Sorana Cirstea of Romania.

Fellow Canadian Victoria Mboko, the No. 3 seed, plays Alexandra Eala of the Philippines on Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2025.