Leylah Fernandez won the Singapore Tennis Open on Sunday 27 September, beating Australia’s Talia Gibson 7–5, 6–0 in the final. The Canadian saved a set point in the opening set and then won the last nine games of the match to claim her sixth WTA title. The Leylah Fernandez Singapore triumph was her first trophy of 2026 and her second at WTA 500 level, according to the WTA.
The final lasted one hour and 38 minutes. Fernandez, the sixth seed and world No. 31, dropped only one set all week.
How Leylah Fernandez Turned the Singapore Final Around
The first set swung back and forth. Fernandez broke early twice, but Gibson hit back both times and earned a set point on the Canadian’s serve at 5–4, the WTA reported.
Fernandez survived it, levelled at 5–5 and then broke again on her fourth opportunity to take the set 7–5, Tennis Majors reported. After that, the second set was one-way traffic.
She won 82% of her first-serve points in the second set and did not face a single break point, according to the WTA. “Just think of the ball and let my instincts take over,” Fernandez said of the set point, as quoted by Tennis Majors.
Leylah Fernandez Singapore Run: Beating the Roland Garros Finalists
Fernandez earned the title the hard way. In the quarter-finals, she beat top seed and Roland Garros champion Mirra Andreeva in straight sets.
She then came from a set down to defeat Maja Chwalińska, this year’s Roland Garros runner-up, in the semi-finals. Chwalińska had earlier knocked out defending champion Elise Mertens, Just Women’s Sports reported.
The title was a big lift after a difficult season. Fernandez arrived in Singapore with a 17–23 win-loss record for 2026, the WTA said. She also thanked Singaporean and Filipino fans for their support during the week.
Talia Gibson Reaches First WTA Final
Defeat did not take the shine off a breakthrough week for Gibson. The 22-year-old from Western Australia entered the event ranked No. 63 and was playing her first WTA Tour final, Tennis Australia reported.
On her way to the final, Gibson beat Fiona Ferro and Viktória Morvayová in straight sets. She then knocked out seventh seed Maria Sakkari 6–1, 4–6, 6–2, before receiving a walkover in the semi-finals when Tatiana Prozorova withdrew with concussion.
“I didn’t expect to get this far this week,” Gibson said before the final, as quoted by Tennis Australia. Her run was projected to lift her into the world’s top 40. Earlier this year, she also reached the Indian Wells quarter-finals as a qualifier, according to Tennis Majors.
Fernandez’s Six WTA Titles
All six of Fernandez’s titles have come on hard courts, Tennis Majors noted. Three of them have been won in Asia:
- Hong Kong: 2023
- Osaka: 2025
- Singapore: 2026
For more tennis this month, read how Iva Jovic defended her Guadalajara title. You can also find out how ranking points work in our explainer on WTA rankings.
