Leylah Fernandez faces tough resistance from two stars as she aims for the finals, with netizens saying: "Xiaomila might win effortlessly."

After Leylah Fernandez won the Ningbo 500 and traveled to Tokyo to fight for the final berth at the year-end finals, the outlook initially appeared very favorable. Yet, once her opening match opponent was set, the Kazakh beauty immediately became the focus of worry, with some humorously suggesting the draw was intentionally stacked against her.

Thanks to the 500 ranking points gained in Ningbo, Fernandez is only 14 points behind Andreyeva, who is just ahead of her in the race for championship points.

Although this narrow gap seems easy to overcome, Leylah must win two consecutive matches at the Tokyo 500 and reach the semifinals to surpass Andreyeva and secure the eighth and final spot at the Riyadh year-end finals. Otherwise, with no tournaments scheduled this week for Andreyeva, she will clinch the last spot by default, leaving the Kazakh beauty’s efforts in vain.

When it seemed Leylah was about to surpass Andreyeva in ranking points, some fans jokingly remarked that unless other players in Tokyo helped Andreyeva block Fernandez from reaching the Tokyo 500 semifinals, the Russian player could relax and avoid becoming a substitute.

When Fernandez’s first-round opponent in Tokyo was confirmed to be Fernandez, many openly wondered if fate was playing a trick on the Kazakh beauty, seemingly giving Andreyeva an indirect boost at this critical moment.

Why are so many people worried about Leylah facing Fernandez in her Tokyo opener? This Canadian player, nicknamed "Fei Wenli" by Chinese fans, has proven to be a tough opponent for the Kazakh beauty.

Since Leylah swept Fernandez in two sets at the 2024 Doha tournament, the Canadian quickly launched a comeback campaign, winning two consecutive matches against the Kazakh player. One was a three-set comeback victory at the 2024 Cincinnati event after a tough battle; the other was at this year’s Washington tournament, where all three sets ended in tiebreaks, but Fernandez ultimately prevailed. This loss was considered a significant blow to Leylah.

Before Fernandez was confirmed as Leylah’s first-round opponent in Tokyo, supporters of the Kazakh player hoped that Sakkari could stop the Canadian, but Fernandez advanced in straight sets unexpectedly.

In her match against Sakkari, Fernandez’s frightening quality was her ability to come back from large deficits in both sets. For example, she was down 2-5 in the first set and saved three set points to force a tiebreak, eventually winning 7-6. In the second set, trailing 2-4, she won four consecutive games to seal a 6-4 victory.

Fernandez’s performance was seen as a sign of excellent form and confidence. Otherwise, under such pressure, a comeback would have been very difficult, and Sakkari would have easily eliminated her, solving a big problem for Leylah.

Some say Fernandez’s incredible tennis in the first round was fueled by the strong confidence and motivation gained from winning the Osaka 250 tournament.

Currently, with high confidence and morale, plus a psychological edge from past head-to-head results, Fernandez poses a significant threat to Leylah.

Especially at this crucial moment when Leylah is chasing a spot in the year-end finals, facing such a formidable opponent only adds to her pressure and is clearly not advantageous.

Moreover, even if Leylah manages to beat Fernandez and advance, another Canadian, Mboko, is also a challenging adversary for the Kazakh beauty.

Mboko easily defeated the German player Liss in straight sets and is currently waiting for the winner of the Fernandez vs. Leylah match, showing excellent form.

Many believe Leylah’s path past these two Canadian sisters is difficult partly because she suffered a heavy defeat against Mboko in the semifinals of this year’s Montreal 1000 tournament.

After taking the first set 6-1, most expected the young Canadian to be swept in two sets, but Mboko came back to win.

What frustrated Leylah’s supporters was that Mboko broke Leylah’s serve twice in the deciding set’s match points to narrowly win, highlighting how big a setback that was for her.

Now, many think Leylah’s match against Fernandez will be far from easy. Even if she wins, it will likely be a tough battle, and facing a well-rested and in-form Mboko afterward makes advancing even harder.

Originally, Andreyeva’s fans had little hope for Xiaomila to qualify for the year-end finals. But seeing Leylah’s tough situation in Tokyo, they suddenly believe Xiaomila has a great chance of advancing by default. However, whether Andreyeva ultimately succeeds depends on how well Fernandez and Mboko perform. This has become one of the biggest storylines at the Tokyo 500, generating much anticipation!(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Moonlit River’s Starry Sky)