Leylah Fernandez ousts Mirra Andreeva from National Bank Open in major upset

For the second time this week, a jovial Leylah Fernandez came to her postmatch press conference at the National Bank Open on Friday gobbling a celebratory ice cream bar.

The last Canadian player still standing at the country’s marquee tennis tournament, Fernandez recorded a massive third-round win, stunning world No. 5 and Grand Slam champion Mirra Andreeva.

The 23-year-old from Laval, Que., ranked No. 34 in the world, dominated the recent French Open champion 6-1, 6-4 at Toronto’s Sobeys Stadium, her biggest victory in a long while.

Friday’s upset over the 19-year-old Russian star propels Fernandez into the round of 16 in Toronto, where she will face Naomi Osaka.

“There’s actually so much motivation this week, not only because I’m playing here in Canada, but also because the crowd has just been super amazing,” said Fernandez. “Also, I’m playing in front of my friends and family, getting to see them after matches, and also like hanging out with them has been so much fun.”

Fernandez admitted she was disappointed not to get a night match on Friday, and play in the electric sold-out evening atmosphere like she had on Wednesday. She and Andreeva had to play in the afternoon because the Russian also had to play doubles later on, after ample rest.

“I was a little bit upset, because of course I love to play evening, especially here in Canada,” said Fernandez. “I’m actually glad that they spoke to me beforehand. They gave me ample time, so I was able to kind of prepare myself mentally and kind of get over that little disappointment.”

The Quebecer, whose dad is from Ecuador while her mom is of Filipino descent, has enjoyed the large support of Toronto’s Filipino community in the stands this week, also there to cheer the WTA phenom Alex Eala. A trailblazing star from the Philippines, Eala has been drawing Filipinos in large numbers at events across the Tour.

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Friday night’s sold-out session was to feature Eala for a third straight night – this time against American Caty McNally. While Fernandez got the 7 p.m. timeslot right before Eala on Wednesday, organizers put Coco Gauff and Maria Sakkari in that slot Friday.

“My team and I just said, like, ‘got to win to get an evening match,’” said Fernandez. “So hopefully next round we get an evening match.”

This is Fernandez’s best result through seven appearances at the Canadian Open, matching her run to the round of 16 in 2023.

It’s the first top-10 triumph for Fernandez since July, 2025, when she upset then-No. 4 Jessica Pegula en route to winning the DC Open.

Fernandez couldn’t repeat in Washington last week. She lost her second-round match there to Eala, the eventual winner in DC.

The 2021 U.S. Open finalist is the brightest performer among the Canadians at both the WTA event in Toronto and the ATP tournament in Montreal.

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Five other countrywomen were already eliminated from the main singles draw: Katherine Sebov, Cadence Brace, Ariana Arseneault, Kayla Cross and 2019 tournament winner Bianca Andreescu. Doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski went winless, playing with a different partner while her usual teammate, Luisa Stefani of Brazil, rests a sore elbow.

Canada’s key ATP singles players are all done in Montreal. Gabriel Diallo, Denis Shapovalov and hometown world No. 4 Félix Auger-Aliassime were all stopped by injuries.

Fernandez dominated Andreeva on Friday, playing efficient tennis while the Russian bumbled with unforced errors.

Down 5-2 in the second set, Andreeva picked up her first break and looked briefly like she might rally back. But Fernandez later served it out for the win in a tidy 80 minutes.

The Canadian has looked confident in Toronto this week. After a bye into the second round, Fernandez topped Mexico’s Renata Zarazua 6-2, 6-2 on Wednesday.

Fernandez recently added Eric Hechtman as a second coach, to help out long-time coach Jorge Fernandez, her father. She was asked if Hechtman’s influence is paying dividends already.

“I would say, like, it’s a little too soon. But what I do like about his coaching is that he’s working really well with my dad,” she said. “He doesn’t try to change my game, just tries to kind of add to it and make me believe in it a little bit more, especially in tight moments.”

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