Leylah Annie Fernandez of Montreal, Quebec has reached the final of the 2026 Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan. On Friday evening in Canada (Saturday afternoon in Japan), Fernandez defeated Kamilla Rakhimova of Uzbekistan, 7-5, 6-3.
Fernandez had the strong statistical advantage when it came to aces. Fernandez had nine aces compared to two for Rakhimova.
What we saw from Fernandez in her semifinal win was resiliency and patience. She waited for her opportunities and pounced on them at the right time. As a result, Fernandez broke Rakhimova late in the first set and late in the second set.
Next up for Fernandez is the third seed and 13th ranked player in the world, Diana Shnaider of Russia. Fernandez is unseeded in Tokyo despite her recent hot streak, and ranked 23rd in the world. Fernandez’s best grand slam result was making the finals of the 2021 United States Open. Shnaider made the semifinals of the 2026 French Open.
Shnaider has won three of five meetings all-time against Fernandez, including two wins this year. Both of Fernandez’s wins over Shnaider came in 2024. She won 6-1, 6-4 in the third round of Cincinnati and 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 in the first round of Wuhan.
Fernandez has now reached three WTA Finals in 2026 and 11 WTA Finals in her career. In 2026, she beat Talia Gibson of Australia 7-5, 6-0 in the final of Singapore, and lost to Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan 6-2, 6-2 in the final of Ningbo.
