Filipino Canadian steps up to win Singapore Open

Filipino Canadian Leylah Fernandez is back in the winners circle.

A Filipina wins the Singapore Open after all, just not the one everyone expected.

Local fans packed the stands at the Singapore Tennis Open expecting a deep run from young home-region favorite Alex Eala. But after Eala suffered an early exit in the Round of 16, it was Leylah Fernandez who stepped into the spotlight, dismantling Australia's Talia Gibson 7-5, 6-0 in the final to capture her sixth career WTA title.

Fernandez, who proudly embraces her Filipino Canadian heritage, made sure to give a massive shoutout to the local crowd that fueled her dominant run all week long.

Feeling the Pinoy love

In her on-court post-match speech, an emotional Fernandez expressed deep gratitude to the passionate crowd:

“I would like to thank all the Singaporean fans and the Pinoy fans who came to watch this whole week. Not only my matches, but everybody’s matches. You guys made this week extremely special with all your encouragement, the energy, and the positivity that you brought in everyone’s matches. It truly meant a lot. Thank you for coming to watch women’s tennis, and hopefully, you guys get to watch many more matches live and in person too.”

Tournament breakdown

After fighting through a tight 7-5 first set, Fernandez hit another gear, delivering a 6-0 bagel in the second set to seal the WTA 500 crown in 1 hour and 38 minutes.

To reach the finals, the sixth-seeded Fernandez had to battle past top seed Mirra Andreeva, dropping only one set the entire tournament.

With this victory, Fernandez is set to make a triumphant return to the WTA top 30, while Eala shifts her focus to her gold medal chase at the Asian Games in Japan.

Of the six titles Fernandez has won, three have been Asian tournaments. She will move on to Beijing for the China Open, followed by the Korea Open, the Ninngbo Open in China, the Japan Open in Osaka, the Toray Open in Tokyo, Guangzo Open in China and tournaments in Hong Kong and India.

"This gives me a lot of confidence, but I do know that the very next day I have to start from zero," Fernandez told reporters after winning the Singapore title. "Another big tournament starts. Beijing is not an easy tournament, with so many top players. So you know it's just going to get tougher from here on out.

"But seeing that I was able to go through this type of adversity this week gives me the belief that I can do it again."

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