Fernandez rallies from deficits to defeat Sakkari in Tokyo

On the indoor hard courts of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, Leylah Fernandez arrived fresh from her Osaka title but shadowed by the quick transition—a six-and-a-half-hour drive or nearly four-hour train ride that followed five straight matches. Doubts about her freshness lingered as she faced qualifier Maria Sakkari, who led their head-to-head 3-2. Yet the Canadian turned the narrative, rallying from 5-2 down in the first set to force a tiebreak, then erasing a 4-0 deficit by taking seven of the next eight points for a 7-6 (5) edge. She dropped a break in the second but broke back at 4-3, then sealed the 6-4 win with breaks at love and in the final game, all in two hours of gritty exchanges. For the latest updates, consult the Scores, Draw, and Order of play.

Sakkari’s aggressive baseline play pinned Fernandez deep early, breaking twice for a 4-2 lead as the Greek’s flat shots exploited the surface’s speed. Fernandez matched the intensity break for break, first denying a set point with a clutch ace at 5-4—the second of three Sakkari earned there—then breaking to lead 6-5. This parity kept the pressure even, with the crowd’s rising cheers fueling her push into the tiebreak turnaround.

Serving holds steady amid breaks

Fernandez connected on 66 percent of her first serves, surpassing her season average, yet she won just 59 percent of those points—below her norm—and faced five breaks overall, three in the opener alone. She countered by breaking Sakkari whenever it mattered, turning the match into a relentless exchange that tested mental endurance on the quick indoor surface. The Canadian’s returns stayed deep, forcing errors from her opponent’s aggressive patterns and preventing any easy holds, even as fatigue from the Osaka grind loomed.

In the second set, trailing by a break at 3-4, she leveled immediately with precise crosscourt replies that disrupted Sakkari’s rhythm. This back-and-forth highlighted her tactical adjustment to the hardcourt bounce, where absorbing pace and redirecting it became key to sustaining momentum. The crowd’s energy amplified each hold, bridging the gaps left by her service inconsistencies.

Forehand shifts from errors to winners

Early on, Fernandez’s forehand faltered, accounting for most of her 30 first-set unforced errors as Sakkari targeted it with deep inside-out shots to throw off timing. But she persisted, using the stroke defensively at first to stay in rallies on the low-skipping court. Facing the initial set point at 5-4, she unleashed a forehand winner down the line to reach deuce, the ball cutting sharply through the air.

Two games later, another down-the-line forehand saved break point, her confidence building with the court’s true pace allowing cleaner redirection. By the second set, the shot turned offensive: down a break at 4-3, she ripped a crosscourt forehand winner to break back, then powered through the love break with similar aggression. The match ended with one final forehand winner, transforming a season-long vulnerability into a decisive edge against Sakkari’s power.

Leylah Fernandez is on a roll, as shown by @leylahfernandez under #TorayPPO with pic.twitter.com/aTwDcmDDa1 on October 21, 2025.

Leylah Fernandez is on a roll 🔥@leylahfernandez | #TorayPPO pic.twitter.com/aTwDcmDDa1

— wta (@WTA) October 21, 2025

Streaks build toward tough matchup

This victory stretched Fernandez’s run to six straight wins—her longest since eight in a row in October 2023—and marked her fifth consecutive triumph over qualifiers. She has now taken the last two meetings with Sakkari in straight sets, narrowing the head-to-head to 2-3 and signaling a shift in their rivalry. On these consistent hard courts, her counterpunching style thrives, blending resilience with opportune attacks that wear down aggressive foes.

Ahead lies Elena Rybakina in the second round, another recent title winner locked in a late-season push for the WTA Finals in Riyadh. Fernandez leads their head-to-head 2-1, with victories in the past two years, including a semifinal win in Washington en route to her July title. Rybakina’s booming serve will demand sharp returns and varied patterns from the Canadian, testing whether this momentum can carry through the draw‘s mounting pressure. The indoor conditions suit both, but Fernandez’s ability to rally from behind could prove pivotal in extending her surge.