MONTREAL — Leylah Fernandez criticized the schedule at the National Bank Open after the Canadian lost in the first round of her home tournament Tuesday, two days after winning the title in Washington.
She was routed 6-4, 6-1 by Australian Maya Joint in just one hour, 15 minutes. Fernandez, the No. 24-ranked player, won her fourth career WTA title Sunday in Washington and was hoping for additional rest before returning to the court in Montreal.
Fernandez said she received “a lot of promises” that she would play during Tuesday’s night session, giving her more time to recover between the two tournaments, but learned Sunday while traveling that that wouldn’t be the case.
“I did not receive that,” she said. “That hurt me because I was very looking forward to be playing at night, but I guess it’s a little bit political issues at that point.”
Instead, top-seeded Coco Gauff played fellow American Danielle Collins to open the night session, overcoming 23 double-faults to win 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (2) for her first victory since the French Open final.
Valerie Tetreault, the National Bank Open tournament director in Montreal, responded that she promised Fernandez she would “fight so that she could have the time she wanted.”
“But I didn’t win my fight,” Tetreault said, noting that the WTA Tour determines scheduling. “I received the request for her to play in the evening. It’s my role to have conversations with the WTA, so I pushed as much as possible for her to have what she wanted.”
Tetreault added that exceptions had already been made for Fernandez, the 2021 US Open runner-up. The 22-year-old and Joint were among the final three first-round matches held until Tuesday, despite Fernandez’s half of the bracket starting play Sunday.
“WTA protocols mean first-round matches need to be completed before second-round matches are played, ensuring fairness to all players,” Tennis Canada said in a statement. “Given Leylah won the title in Washington on Sunday, she was not able to arrive in Montreal until the early hours of Monday morning. As a result, the WTA made the decision to play her opening match in the latest possible first-round slot.”
Mirra Andreeva, the No. 4 seed, advanced to the third round when 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu withdrew after sustaining an ankle injury during her first-round victory. No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini was upset by Japan’s Aoi Ito in a third-set tiebreaker, while No. 8 Emma Navarro rolled past Rebecca Marino 6-1, 6-2.
