Fernandez Dominates Valentova and Wins Her 5th Career Title in Osaka

Leylah Fernandez showed mental toughness to claim her second title of the season on the WTA tour.
The final of the WTA 250 tournament in Osaka featured Leylah Fernandez against Tereza Valentova.

The talented 18-year-old Czech, who had defeated Eala, Mertens, Danilovic, and Cristian, hoped to win her first career title on the day of her first final on the main tour.

However, the task proved challenging against the Canadian, who is firmly established in the top 30 and had already won a trophy this year at the WTA 500 in Washington. Coming through the qualifiers, Valentova completely faltered in her first set, which Fernandez wrapped up in 30 minutes to move closer to the title.

But the player born in February 2007 did not give up, reflecting everything she had shown during this Japanese week. She managed to force a decisive third set, staying strong after having a break advantage three times in the second set.

Fernandez, 23, however, pulled away in the third set to lead 4-1, before her opponent of the day fought back to close the gap to 4-3. With experience, the Canadian ultimately prevailed in three sets (6-0, 5-7, 6-3 in 2 hours and 13 minutes) and triumphed in Osaka.

After her victories against Baptiste, Galfi, Sramkova, and Cirstea, the world number 27 confirmed her form in the final and secured her second title of the season and the fifth of her career. As for Valentova, she was ranked 78th before the tournament and will break into the top 60 for the first time next week.