leylah

WASHINGTON — 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 world No. 48 Anna Kalinskaya of 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 presented by Rogers in Montreal this coming week.

Tennis Canada announced early Sunday morning that Fernandez will play her first NBO match on Tuesday.

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 courts.

She also reached the U.S. Open final in 2021 where she lost to Emma Raducanu, who lost to Kalinskaya in the other semifinal in Washington. Both players were unseeded in that championship match and Raducanu became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam tournament.