UPDATED: Leylah Fernandez, Jessica Pegula, Emma Raducanu, Naomi Osaka advance in US Open

US OPEN

Venus Williams, left, congratulates her doubles partner Leylah Fernadez, who advances
in singles and doubles

UPDATED: Added results of Jessica Pegula.

With the US Open's favorite underdog, the Philippines Alex Eala, out in the second round, other women of Asian descent advanced to the third round.

With only two-days before the start of doubles competition, Filipino Canadian Leylah Fernandez, the 2021 US Open finalist, teamed up with the legendary Venus Williams to win their match against sixth-seed pair of Lyudmyla Kichenok and Ellen Perez 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Although they’barely had time to practice together having agreed to play with each other two days earlier, they showed excellent teamwork, with Venus zinging winners from the baseline and Fernandez using her quick hands to deliver kill shots at the net. 

Up 5-3 in the second set, it was Fernandez’s turn to serve. The Filipino Canadian showed her competitive spirt, winning the game at 40-0 and, with Williams, winning the set, 6-3.

The day before, 22-year old Fernandez won her second round singles match against No. 11 seed Karolina Muchova. In the third round, Fernandez will face off against the top-seeded defending champion Aryna Sabalenka.

Playing with two-time US Open champion Williams was a thrill for Fernandez. "I was like a kid on Christmas day just jumping around," said the No. 31 seed Fernandez. "I was so happy. I don't think I stopped smiling for the whole night and even in the morning. I was just super happy and excited."

"She's the best partner I ever played with besides (sister) Serena (Williams)," said Venus Williams in interviews after their match. "We play the same style. I'm just a little bit bigger."

Fernandez was visibly moved by the praise, calling it “probably the biggest compliment I ever got.”

“Thank you, Venus,” she added. “Oh, man. I feel like those are big shoes to fill at the moment.”

Fernandez's match against  Sabalenka today will be a challenge but not impossible. Perhaps playing mind games, the  Belarusian said she doesn't recall the only time the two faced each other. Fernandez took three sets in a thrilling smi-final even though  fiercely fought Sabalenka, ranked No. 2 in 2021 when Fernandez was the underdog favorite and marched to the finals.

Jessica Pegula

Jessica Pegula

No. 4 ranked Jessica Pegula perhaps has the best chance of the Asian players making it to the finals. The Korean American has been there before. In 2024, she lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the finals.

Pegula owns a tour-best three singles titles on the season and shows signs of hitting her stride in time for the US Open. On Wednesday, she beat Anna Blinkova 6-1, 6-3.

On Friday, the 31-year old New Yorker will face two-time Australian Open champion and former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, who is unseeded for the tournament.

Emma Raducanu

If Fernandez upsets Sabalenka, she very well could face Emma Raducanu of Great Britain in a rematch. They ahven't played each other since the 2021 fnials, which was won by unranked Raducanu.

Playing the best tennis of her career since she shocked the tennis world by winning the 2021 US Open. The unranked Raducanu easily dispatched Janice Tjen 6-2, 6-1. That sets up a the third round contest against No 9 seed Elena Rybakina. The Raducanu-Rybakina match be on Friday.

“I think I’ve had some tough draws but that also comes with the ranking I’m at. I have to accept it, I’m not seeded,” Raducanu told the PA news agency.

Naomi Osaka

No. 23 ranked Naomi Osaka has struggled since she won the US Open in 2020. Playing for Japan where she was born, Osaka has made it to the third round by liminating the United State's Hailey Baptiste 6-3, 6-1 in the second round Thursday.

Osaka, who had mental health struggles, left the tournament circuit after winning four Grand Slam tourneys. The 27-year old Osaka is regaining her competitive spirit but with a new outlook. 

"For me, I realize that I've done everything that I could. I've trained really hard. I practiced really hard. If it happens, it happens," said Osaka, who lives and trains in Los Angeles.

At the top of her game, Osaka was once ranked No. 1 in the world. She next plays Australian No. 15 seed Daria Kasatkina in the third round on Saturday.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

US Open: Early exits for Fernandez, Raducanu and Osaka

Leylah Fernandez, top, Emma Raducanu, bottom right, and Naomi Osaka at the US Open.

It has been a tough US Open for the recognizable tennis players of Asian descent. The winners of the last two US Opens, Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu, failed to get past the first round and Leylah Fernandez, who lost last year to Raducanu in the finals, fell in the second round.

On a rainy Monday in New York, Osaka, playing for Japan, was beaten by American Danielle Collins in straight sets -- 7-6(5) 6-3 -- while defending champion Emma Raducanu from Great Britain, fell to Alizé Cornet, 6-3 6-3.

Nineteen-year old Filipino Canadian Fernandez, who was ranked 14th, dropped straight sets to Ludmilla Samsonova Wednesday evening.

As a result, Raducanu is projected to drop from 11th to 82nd in the WTA rankings after her 1st round loss. Fernandez is projected to drop from 14th to 38th after her 2nd round exit. Osaka, a two-time US Open champion, was unseeded in this year's event and is currently ranked 44th in the world.

Coming off the heels of a stress fracture in her foot that kept her out of Wimbledon. Fernandez is not yet back to her best form, but her fighting spirit never leaves her. She seems to win as many points and fan support based on her attitude and guile as much as her shots. 

Fernandez nearly summoned the magic which propelled her to the finals last year. The young Canadian found some deft placement and outstanding reflex shots at key moments, and she was able to valiantly fend off 11 of the 13 break points she faced.

Great Britain's Raducanu stunned the tennis world last year when she literally came out of nowhere to win the tournament at the age of 18, beating unheralded Fernandez in the first Grand Slam final to feature two players of Asian descent.

"This one obviously hurts a bit because it's my favorite tournament and there are a lot of emotions in the past year," she told reporters after her early exit.

"I'm proud for putting myself out there every match, every day, knowing I'm pushing myself to be the best I can."

Osaka, who came into the tournament unranked, marks the first time since 2017 that she will finish the year without winning a Grand Slam.

"I'm the type of person that thinks a lot, to the point where I overthink. Sometimes when I play matches, I have to tell myself to stop thinking, just go more on instinct," Osaka told reporters. "I feel like I just have to chill a little bit, because there's a lot of like random chaos in my head right now."

Despite their early exits at the US Open, Osaka, who is only 24, 19-year old Raducanu and Fernandez, who will turn 20 later this month, assures tennis fans that they will be watching the youthful trio for years to come.

Emma Raducanu wins US Open in closely fought contest vs. Leylah Fernandez

SCREEN CAPTURE / ESPN

Leylah Fernandez, left, and US Open champ Emma Raducanu.

OPINION

Emma Raducanu beat Leylah Fernandez at the US Open, 6-4, 6-3 in a history-making match that featured the first all-Asian final for the women's title.

The hard fought match between the teenagers could be the start of a long rivalry between the unheralded players.

“I really want to congratulate Leylah and her team on an incredible fortnight,” the 18-year-old Raducanu said during the trophy ceremony. “She played some incredible tennis and beat some of the top players in the world. It was an incredibly difficult match but I thought the level was extremely high. I hope we play each other in many more tournaments and hopefully finals." In the background the just-turned 19-year old Fernandez can be seen smiling and nodding in agreement.

“Leylah is always going to play great tennis and always going to fight," said the Chinese Brit champion. "That’s just the competitor she is and that’s why she’s here in the final. I knew that I’d have to dig deep and I fell somehow. I thought that would throw myself off balance because I would have to serve."

As Raducanu had her knee bandaged after scraping it on the cement, Filipino Canadian Fernandez could be seen arguing with one of the officials because she had just scored an on Raducanu's serve and had momentum on her side. If she was able to break Raducanu's service the match score would have been a manageable 5-4. to set up one of Fernandez's trademark comebacks. However, the mandated medical break gave Raducanu a breather and a chance to regroup.

As play resumed, Raducanu was able reverse Fernandez' momentum to win the next serve bringing tying the game score, once again. She won the next point to gain an ad point. Fittingly Raducanu ended the game with an ace.

The final score doesn't reflect the tension throughout the match. The majority of the games had the opponents tying the game score.

Both players chased after balls sideline to sideline and played some remarkable tennis. Fernandez fought back gamely but her serve was not as potent as her other matches when her accuracy had her opponents flustered and off-balance. In the finals, she missed over 50% of her first serves.

The two virtually unknown teens surprised the US Open and their appearance in the finals was unexpected. Fernandez entered the US Open ranked 73rd in the WTA singles rankings while Raducanu came in at 150th.

Emma Raducanu, left, and Leylah Fernandez played with joy.

Raducanu made history as the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam. She had to win three matches in order to enter the tourney. She is the first British woman to win a major since 1977 when Virginia Wade won. She is also the youngest to win a major since Maria Sharapova in 2005.

Raducanu earned $2.5 million for winning the US Open and runner-up Fernandez won $1.25 million. But it wasn't the prize money that motivated the players. They just wanted to win and reminded us of the joy in the game. They are unheralded, no longer. Let's hope this is the start of a long rivalry.

They were remarkably composed despite their youth and inexperience of being in the spotlight. Fernandez, fighting back tears as she received her trophy, had one more comeback as she asked for the microphone after her interview reminding the Arthur Ash Stadium audience of the date, 9/11.

“I know on this day it was especially hard for New York and everyone around us,” she said. “I just hope I can be as strong and resilient as New York has been the past 20 years.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For more commentary, tips, observations and references, follow me on Twitter @dioknoed.

Asian teenagers making history as they determine who will be the US Open women's champion

 

SCREEN CAPTURE

Brown people in the house -- Leylah Fernandez's family cheered her victory.

For the first time in the Grand Slam's history, both women finalists at the US Open are of Asian descent.

Emma Fernandez, a Filpino Canadian who just turned 19 on Monday, will meet Emma Raducanu, a Chinese Brit who is two months younger than Fernandez, on Saturday to determine the women's singles champion of the US Open Grand Slam.

The two teenagers are are the most unlikely players to reach the finals. The unseeded upstarts on Thursday crashed the 2021 US Open semifinal party, and sent their more experienced veteran opponents—Aryna Sabalenka and Maria Sakkari, respectively—frustrated in their inability to overpower and intimidate the youthful foes.

USTA / DARREN CARROL

Leylah Fernandez's took three sets to beat her opponent, Aryna Sabalenda

Fernandez beat the heavily favored Sabalenka, the world's No. 2 ranked player, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4. In the beginning, the world's No. 2 ranked player appeared to overwhelm the smaller Fernandez with powerful serves and volleys. She led the first set 3-0 before Fernandez settled into her game returning Sabalenka's 117 mph serves and artfully placed shots. 

Having her serves returned seemed to rattle the Swiss player who was not used to having her serves returned. Sabalenka began making uncharacteristic mistakes and double faults who became increasingly frustrated at not being able to put away the teenager who clearly had the support of the Arthur Ashe Stadium faithful.

On her way to the finals, Fernandez went three sets in each of her games against ranked players, three of them in the world's top five.

USTA / DARREN CARROL

Great Britain's Emma Raducanu had an surprisingly easy victory.

Raducanu, though Great Britain's top woman player, had to qualify for the US Open. The teenager, ranked No. 150, still has yet to drop a set all tournament. Since the start of qualifying she has won 18 consecutive sets and she has lost only 27 games in her six main-draw victories. 

Raducanu beat the No. 17 ranked Sakkari, 6-1, 6-4 Thursday evening. Like Fernandez, Raducanu relied on strategic placement of the ball instead of the power game used by her opponent.

Saturday's match will be the first all-teenage final at the Grand Slams since 1999, when 17-year-old Serena Williams took out 18-year-old Martina Hingis, 6-3, 7-6. 

Enroute to the finals, both players drew energy and inspiration from the audience at Arthur Ashe Stadium. It should be an entertaining, raucous match but no matter who emerges as the victor, it will be historic as a player of Asian descent will be crowned the US Open women's champion.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For more commentary and references, follow me on Twitter @dioknoed.

US Open: Chinese Brit teenager moves to semi-finals

SCREEN CAPTURE

Emma Raducanu is one of the teenage stars emerging from the US Open.

Chinese Brit Emma Raducanu couldn't stop smiling after beating Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic, 6-3, 6-4, at the US Open.

Eighteen-year old Raducanu from Great Britain was calm and in control against the 11th seeded Bencic of Switzerland.

Raducanu, whose father is Romanian and mother is Chinese Canadian, graduated from high school last Spring before turning pro. 

Her victory puts in in the semi-finals where she will battle 17 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece today at 5:15 p.m. PDT. (check local listings for exact times.)

With her victory, Raducanu became the youngest player to reach the semi-finals since Maria Sharapova in 2005. Ironically, that designation belonged briefly to a possible future opponent, Leylah Fernandez, who celebrated her 19th birthday Monday.

If Raducanu gets past Sakkari, there is an outside possibility that she would meet the tourney's other surprising teenager and fan favorite, Filipino Canadian Fernandez.

First Fernandez must win against No. 2-ranked Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, who might be her toughest opponent yet. She has already beaten No. 3 Naomi Osaka, No. 16 Angelique Kerber and No. 5 Elina Svitolina.

The unlikeliest of tennis matches of the two teens would mark the first time two players of Asian descent play for the US Open title.  Fernandez plays today at 4 p.m. PDT. (Check local listings for exact times.)

US Open: Giant killer Leylah Fernandez advances to quarter-finals

Leylah Fernandez shows her appreciation to the crowd cheering for her at the US Open.

The script for Leylah Annie Fernandez' surprising romp at the  U.S. Open Grand Slam is starting to look familiar: Lose one set, bear down, use her quickness, accurate serve and deceptively strong forehand and then come from behind and win the third set.

A day after she turned 19, the Filipino Canadian lefty ranked 73rd before the New York Grand Slam, stunned a top ranked player. This time, her victim was No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6. 

She did the same thing last week when she upset No. 3 seed Naomi Osaka and repeated the script Sunday by beating 16th-ranked Angelique Kerber in a hard-fought three sets. The victories over Osaka and Svitolina made Fernandez the youngest player to beat two top five seeds since Serena Williams in 1999.

"For today and this match, I was only thinking of trusting myself, trusting my game," Fernandez said at the post-match meeting with the media. "After every point, win or lose, I would always tell myself 'trust my game, go for my shots, just see where the ball goes.' "

Entering each match as an underdog, the 5'6" Fernandez has captured the hearts of tennis fans at the Flushing Meadows venue.

“I was trying to do what my coach told me to do," explained Fernandez. "Thanks to the New York crowd, cheering me on, fighting for me and never giving up, I was able to push through today."

US OPEN

After her quarter-final victory, Leylah Fernandez fell to her knees and wept with joy.

Also at the US Open

Another Filipino American, Desiree Krawczyk, made it to the US Open semi-finals in women's doubles and mixed doubles.

Partnered with Alexa Guarachi, the team will play their women's double's match Wednesday (Sept. 8) at 2:15 p.m. EDT.

In mixed doubles, mixed doubles Wimbledon champion Krawczyk teams up with Joe Salisbury of Great Britain to play Thursday at a time to be determined.

Fresh from graduating high school, 18-year old Chinese Brit Emma Raducanu will have a quarter final match against Switzerland's Belinda Bencic at 9 a.m. EDT. Bencic was the gold medal winner at the Tokyo Olympics.

“Personally, I am surprised that I’m here. I knew I was doing a lot of great work that would pay off someday, but you never know when. I’m super-appreciative of the moment."