Leylah Fernandez suffered a surprising defeat at the Italian Open in Rome, losing to Rebeka Masarova of Switzerland, ranked 160th in the world. Fernandez, hailing from Laval, Quebec, initially took the lead by winning the first set. However, Masarova fought back in the following sets, particularly excelling in her serving game by winning an impressive 95% of her first-serve points and denying Fernandez any break-point opportunities in the final set.
Despite being the 23rd-ranked player globally and seeded 25th in Rome, Fernandez struggled, only managing one ace and committing five double faults. Masarova capitalized on her chances, converting five out of ten break points during the intense two-hour, 23-minute clay-court match.
Meanwhile, Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime remains the last Canadian contender in singles play and is set to compete against Mariano Navone from Argentina in the upcoming round. In the women’s doubles event, Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and Brazil’s Luisa Stefani, seeded fourth, are scheduled to kick off their campaign against Marie Bouzkova from Czechia and Anna Panova from Russia. Additionally, Fernandez will team up with Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto to face Americans Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova in their doubles match.