'Keep believing': Fernandez prolongs Canada's NBO run with upset win over Andreeva

TORONTO — Canada’s last hope at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers has provided tennis fans in this country with a serious shot of optimism.

Leylah Fernandez — the sole Canadian still standing in either the women’s or men’s singles draw in Toronto and Montreal — earned her first victory over a top-10 player in 2026 by downing world No. 5 Mirra Andreeva in straight sets (6-1, 6-4) on Friday afternoon at Sobeys Stadium in Toronto.

Fernandez, ranked 34th in the world and 30th at the NBO, was downright dominant at times during her dismissal of the 2026 French Open champion. And when the 19-year-old Andreeva did start to find her game late in the second set, Fernandez dug deep and stayed the course.

Now she’s on to the Round of 16 at the NBO, where she'll take on Japan's Naomi Osaka, the tournament's No. 11 seed.

“It feels amazing, especially doing it at home in front of an amazing crowd,” a jubilant Fernandez said on Centre Court mere moments after the victory.

The smile was still there roughly 90 minutes after the match when Fernandez spoke to the media while continuing a delicious tradition she’s established in Toronto, conducting her press conferences while enjoying ice cream on a stick. The 23-year-old confirmed the cold treat is officially a happy superstition, adding “but also because the ice cream is good, so can’t say no to ice cream.”

Fernandez, who defeated Mexican Renata Zarazua to begin her NBO run on Wednesday, was definitely screaming a version of “Yes!” after many well-played points versus Andreeva. She broke her opponent in the fourth game of the first set to go up 3-1, then took a stranglehold on the set by again breaking Andreeva’s serve to gain a 5-1 advantage.

“I knew coming in it was going to be physical,” she said. “The key for me was to stay positive, stay strong, and to keep being patient.”

Fernandez was clearly in a good place mentally and physically to start the second set, breaking Andreeva twice in the first four games to hold a 4-0 advantage. At that point, the Montrealer had won nine consecutive games and seemed destined to cruise the rest of the way.

Andreeva, however, began to find her footing — and her lethal stroke — once her back was against the wall. She got on the board by holding serve in the fifth game, then broke Fernandez to make it 4-2. By the time Andreeva — who had struggled throughout the match with unforced errors, specifically errant forehands — held serve to make it 4-3, you could sense some uneasiness within the home crowd.

“I mean, it wasn’t going to be straightforward; we knew that from the get-go,” Fernandez said of the moment when momentum started shifting. “Mirra, she’s a fighter. She’s top-five for a reason; she’s won a grand slam for a reason. So she wasn’t going to just hand over the match to me. I think for me [the key] was just to kind of to keep believing in myself in that moment. And to look at my box, look at my team, and use their energy as motivation to keep going, [keep understanding] that I am doing a good job, and it’s just a matter of keep believing it and executing.”

Serving for the match, Fernandez steadied herself and jumped out to a 40-15 lead when Andreeva’s forehand again lost its way. On double match point, Andreeva smacked a forehand into the net, and Fernandez shook her clenched right fist in celebration one more time before using the same hand to blow kisses at the crowd.

“It means a lot, especially knowing that I’ve been training so well, so hard,” she said of a win that raised her record to 15-20 in 2026. “In the practice sets I’ve always played well, but to kind of execute the same things in matches is always a little bit different. I’m just happy that today I was able to continue trusting myself and doing what I train.”

The result was a crisp showing in which Fernandez won 89 per cent of her first-serve points. Now, one year after Canadian Vicky Mboko — who was forced to miss this year's NBO with an injury — shocked the tennis world by winning in Montreal, the left-handed Fernandez is carrying the flag and using the attention that comes with that to drive herself forward.

“Hearing that I’m the lone Canadian, of course there’s a little bit of pressure, but also a lot more motivation and reasons to keep going in the path that I’m on,” she said. “It actually does give me a lot of motivation, a lot of excitement. I mean, there are definitely nerves, but nerves mean that I care. It’s just something that I love to feel.”

Just like that first bite of celebratory ice cream.

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