Leylah Fernandez booked her spot in the Ningbo Open quarter-finals on Wednesday after defeating Aliaksandra Sasnovich in three sets.
Fernandez, a finalist at the 2021 US Open, triumphed 7-5, 6-7, 6-3 on Centre Court and will play Ekaterina Alexandrova in the quarter-finals.
The Canadian is seeking to win her second WTA 500 event of the year after capturing the Singapore Open title in September.
Fernandez has also been successful at WTA 500 events in previous years, winning the 2024 Eastbourne Open and the 2025 Washington Open.
Fernandez’s success at the WTA 500-level has continued into this year, as evidenced by her latest statistical feat.
Leylah Fernandez has been the most successful WTA 500 player of 2026 so far
With victory against Sasnovich on Wednesday, Fernandez recorded her 15th WTA 500-level victory of the season.
As per OptaAce, Fernandez now leads all other WTA players in this statistical area, overtaking Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva – who both have 14 WTA 500-level victories this year – with her latest triumph.
| Tournament | Players Leylah Fernandez defeated |
| Abu Dhabi Open | Chloe Paquet |
| Charleston Open | Polina Kudermetova |
| Stuttgart Open | Alexandra Eala, Zeynep Sonmez |
| Strasbourg Open | Leolia Jeanjean, Magdalena Frech |
| Bad Homburg Open | Katie Boulter |
| Washington Open | Magda Linette |
| Singapore Open | Kyoka Okamura, Alycia Parks, Mirra Andreeva, Maja Chwalinska, Talia Gibson |
| Ningbo Open | Elise Mertens, Aliaksandra Sasnovich |
Fernandez can extend this record to 16 by beating Ekaterina Alexandrova on Friday.
Fernandez has a 2-3 record against the Russian. However, the Canadian did emerge victorious from their last match at the 2026 Wuhan Open, winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the round of 64.
The winner of Fernandez and Alexandrova will play either Marie Bouzkova or Sara Bejlek in the Ningbo Open semi-finals.
Who is the defending Ningbo Open champion?
Elena Rybakina, the new world number one, triumphed at the 2025 Ningbo Open.
The Kazakhstani player, seeded third at last year’s event, defeated Dayana Yastremska, Alja Tomaljanovic, Jasmine Paolini and Ekaterina Alexandrova en route to the title.
Who is the best women’s player in the world right now?
Pick one if you can…
The tournament victory marked the start of Rybakina’s incredible run at WTA events.
Between October 16 and November 8, 2025, Rybakina won 11 consecutive matches on the Tour, winning the Ningbo Open and WTA Finals in the process.
