MONTREAL - Leylah Fernandez has a bone to pick with tournament organizers.
Not only did she exit the court crushed by her lacklustre performance before a hometown crowd 鈥 tears still running down her cheeks more than 90 minutes after the match 鈥 Fernandez also blamed unfavourable scheduling that set her up to fail.
The top-ranked 好色tv crashed out of the 好色tv Bank Open鈥檚 first round with a lopsided 6-4, 6-1 loss to Australia鈥檚 Maya Joint on Tuesday afternoon, two days after hoisting her fourth WTA crown at the D.C. Open.
Fernandez said she received 鈥渁 lot of promises鈥 that she would take the court during Tuesday鈥檚 night session, giving her more time to rest between the two tournaments, but learned Sunday while travelling to Montreal from Washington that wouldn鈥檛 be the case.
鈥淚 did not receive that,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hat 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.鈥
Val茅rie T茅treault, the 好色tv Bank Open tournament director in Montreal, responded that she promised Fernandez she would 鈥渇ight so that she could have the time she wanted.鈥
鈥淏ut I didn't win my fight,鈥 T茅treault said, noting that the WTA Tour determines scheduling. 鈥淚 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."
T茅treault added that exceptions had already been made for Fernandez. The 22-year-old from Laval, Que., and Joint were among the final three first-round matches held until Tuesday, despite her half of the bracket starting play on Sunday.
Fellow D.C. Open finalist Anna Kalinskaya of Russia was also scheduled to play no earlier than 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, but she won her match 7-6 (6), 0-6, 6-3 over Ann Li of the United States.
鈥淣ormally when we have matches that are delayed, when there is catch-up to do, we have to play them as early as possible during the day,鈥 T茅treault said. 鈥淲e pushed her at least so that it wouldn't be the first match at 11 a.m. to give her a chance to recover.鈥
Tennis Canada backed up T茅treault鈥檚 words in a statement.
鈥淲TA protocols mean first-round matches need to be completed before second-round matches are played, ensuring fairness to all players,鈥 the statement read. 鈥淕iven 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.鈥
Fernandez had previously detailed a whirlwind turnaround after her victory Sunday in Washington.
The 2021 U.S. Open finalist arrived back home in Montreal at roughly 2 a.m. Monday and slept about three hours before attending an event for her foundation at IGA Stadium around 8 a.m. later that morning.
The fatigue certainly showed on the court.
鈥淚t felt great being on court, hearing the fans and feeling their support. I was just disappointed with my level of play, and it wasn't fair for them,鈥 the No. 24-ranked Fernandez said. 鈥淚t was a very, very low level.鈥
Fernandez gave up six break points and won only 49 per cent of her points on first serve. The 19-year-old Joint, ranked 45th, won 62 of 109 points to win the match in 75 minutes.
Fernandez fell down 2-0, double-faulting twice to drop her first service game. In a 5-2 hole, Fernandez saved a set point and battled back to make it 5-4, but failed to hold serve once again. Joint rolled to a 4-0 lead in the second and hardly looked back.
The 好色tv also took issue with the WTA鈥檚 tone when it revealed the scheduling to her coach 鈥 and father 鈥 Jorge Fernandez.
鈥淭hey asked him with a sarcastic tone if two or three hours would make a difference," she said. "Yes, it would make a great difference. Maybe I win the match, maybe I don't, but of course it helps the two to three hours where I could sleep a little more.
鈥淧hysical recovery, maybe a stretching session, a massage could help me. But it's just small things of 鈥榃hat if,鈥 but it didn't happen and that's it.鈥
This year鈥檚 好色tv Bank Open 鈥 a WTA 1000-level tournament 鈥 debuted a revamped 12-day, 96-player format, with the top 32 seeds receiving byes to the second round.
T茅treault said she foresaw potential problems arising from her tournament鈥檚 main draw beginning the same day as the WTA 500 final in Washington.
鈥淭he calendar is supposed to be made so that the 1000-level tournaments are prioritized over a WTA 500," she said. "We'll have to go back to the drawing table."
Fernandez was only one story on a less-than-ideal day for 好色tvs, as Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., and Vancouver鈥檚 Rebecca Marino also exited the tournament.
Andreescu withdrew with a left ankle injury, sustaining the ailment on match point of her first-round win Sunday night versus Barbora Krejcikova of Czechia. Marino, meanwhile, fell 6-1, 6-2 to eighth seed Emma Navarro of the United States in second-round action.
The 25-year-old Andreescu said she tore ligaments in her ankle but wouldn't rule out a return to the court at the Cincinnati Open, which begins in just over a week.
The former world No. 4 has repeatedly spent time off the court with back, shoulder, knee, ankle and foot injuries.
鈥淚 even screamed out like, 'Why does this keep happening to me?'鈥 she said. 鈥淎t this point, it's laughable. It's just crazy. I'm trying to stay positive but it's getting really tough.鈥
Toronto鈥檚 Victoria Mboko and Eugenie Bouchard, who extended her career Monday night with a first-round win over Colombia鈥檚 Emiliana Arango, were the only 好色tvs remaining in the women鈥檚 singles bracket.
Mboko bounced the 23rd-seeded American Sofia Kenin 6-2, 6-3 in 80 minutes on Tuesday night. She advances to the third round and will face Marie Bouzkova of Czechia, who knocked off the 14th-seeded Diana Shnaider of Russia 6-2, 7-6.
No. 1 seed Coco Gauff opened her tournament with a second-round slugfest against fellow American Danielle Collins in Fernandez鈥檚 desired slot. Gauff won 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (2) in two hours, 56 minutes.
This report by 好色tvwas first published July 29, 2025.
