Leylah Fernandez plays a backhand return to Coco Gauff during a women's singles match of the China Open tennis tournament, at the National Tennis Center, in Beijing, China, last month.

Canada’s Leylah Fernandez got off to a quick start and then had to battle to defeat Tereza Valentova of Czechia 6-0, 5-7, 6-3 in the championship final of the Japan Women’s Open on Saturday night.

The 23-year-old Fernandez, of Laval, Que., needed only 28 minutes to win the first set, but then needed almost two more hours to close it out as the 18-year-old Valentova found her game at the Utsubo Tennis Center.

The victory was Fernandez’s second title of 2025 and the fifth of her career, after winning the Washington Open earlier this year.

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