Sometimes the best trips are the ones you never planned. Leylah Fernandez was not even supposed to be in Singapore this week. The Canadian had been scheduled to play in Brazil, but visa issues disrupted those plans. A last-minute wild card into the Singapore Tennis Open presented by BNP Paribas changed everything.
By Sunday evening, Fernandez was a WTA 500 champion. The 24-year-old defeated Australia’s Talia Gibson 7-5, 6-2 at The Kallang to claim the second WTA 500 title of her career, capping an unexpected week with a trophy, a collection of memories — and plans to enjoy a little more of Singapore before heading home.
“It means a lot to me,” Fernandez said after the final. “It was a great tournament, a great week of tennis, of fight, of grit, and just being able to cross that finish line and win that last battle on court to get the trophy makes it even sweeter because this week has been incredible, very, very enjoyable, and just so many beautiful memories.”
For Fernandez, the week was about more than the result. It was about rediscovering the feeling of competing, fighting and enjoying herself. The Canadian arrived with plenty to prove after a difficult season, but victories over Mirra Andreeva and Maja Chwalinska helped build momentum before Sunday’s final. Against Gibson, who was playing in the first WTA final of her career, Fernandez drew on the experience of reaching nine tour-level finals.
The match itself was a test of nerve. Fernandez raced ahead 3-1 in the opening set, only for Gibson to fight her way back. The Australian’s heavy forehand and fearless ball-striking put Fernandez under pressure, and at 5-4 Gibson earned a set point.
Fernandez responded the way champions often do: by trusting the work she had put in long before arriving in Singapore. “The whole first set, I thought I was playing good,” she said. “I was ahead a lot of the time, but Talia, she’s a fighter, so she found a way back to break me, and I guess I kind of got a little bit frustrated and overthought too much in those moments.”
At set point, she changed her approach. “I just kind of said, OK, you know what, just think of the ball and let my instincts take over,” Fernandez said. “I wasn’t really thinking too much about where I needed to hit it, but just hit the ball and trust that my training is going to pay off.”
It did.
Fernandez saved the set point, held serve and broke Gibson to take the first set 7-5. From there, she accelerated, breaking immediately in the second and eventually closing out the match 6-2.
“Throughout the year, it’s been a lot of hard work in finding that right balance between attacking and defending,” she said. “And then today everything just clicked in the right place at the right time.”
That balance was particularly important against Gibson, whose own week was a milestone.
The 22-year-old Australian entered the tournament ranked No. 63 and leaves Singapore having reached her first WTA final, following a season in which she also reached the quarterfinals at Indian Wells as a qualifier and broke into the Top 100.
There was disappointment in defeat, but Gibson was determined to look at the bigger picture. “If you had asked me what was going to happen this week at the start of this week, I definitely wouldn’t have expected that I’d be going home with a trophy,” she said. “Making the finals this week has just given me even more confidence in myself and my game and what I can do on the WTA Tour.”
The result, she said, was another reminder that the work eventually shows. “There can be some hard times, a couple of months where, from week to week, you could be losing the first or second round,” Gibson said. “But a good week is always around the corner.”
For Gibson, that belief may ultimately be one of the most valuable things she takes from Singapore. “A couple of years ago, I wouldn’t have fully believed that I’d be here today,” she said. “But over time, that’s just something that you keep working at. You keep dreaming, you keep having these goals and these things that you want to achieve.”
“Probably one of the biggest things that I’ve learned is just to keep believing in myself.”
Fernandez’s Singapore experience was not confined to the court. The Singapore Tennis Open was staged at the OCBC Arena, which was transformed into a purpose-built tennis environment where the crowd became part of the show. Music, activities and interaction during changeovers helped create an atmosphere that Fernandez clearly enjoyed.
“They did an amazing job in turning the facility into a beautiful stadium where the spotlight is on the tennis court, but it also showcases the crowd,” she said. “Every changeover, there’s always a different activity, a different song where the crowd can interact and get in on it, and it’s just extremely special.”
For Fernandez, the support became part of her run. “In every match, in every battle that I went through, the crowd was always there,” she said. “They would always support not only me, but also my opponent, cheer me on, and when I felt like I was going to give up, they gave me that extra boost of energy to keep going and keep fighting, keep figuring things out.”
It is perhaps fitting that a tournament Fernandez almost did not attend became a week she did not want to leave.
After the final, she had already started thinking about how to make the most of her remaining time in Singapore. “I have been walking around the shops a little bit,” she said. “I’m also planning on getting a massage. I heard the massages are really nice here, and I just want to try it at least once.”
There was also one more quintessential Singapore experience on her list: taking in the view. “I want to go to Marina Bay Sands, just visit, get that nice view of Singapore, of the water, just enjoy a nice dinner with my dad,” she said. “Hopefully we get the time. Hopefully we get to stay here until Tuesday.”
For Fernandez, perhaps the most revealing part of her week was not the trophy but the way she described dealing with the inevitable losses that come with professional tennis. “It’s tough sometimes to accept,” she said. “Growing up, it has never been easy. I was actually a crybaby growing up, so, like, every time that I thought I would lose, I just didn’t like it. I was a sore loser.”
She still sees that competitiveness as part of what drives her. “Even now I’m a little bit of a sore loser, but that also kind of drives my competitiveness to not forget the losses, but to use them as fuel to keep training and to get back on court.”
In Singapore, that mindset translated into a title. For Gibson, it translated into something different but equally significant: the belief that she belongs on this stage.
Two players left The Kallang with very different outcomes, but both left with reasons to look forward. Fernandez leaves as champion, with a second WTA 500 title and an unexpected Singapore story to take home. Gibson leaves as a first-time WTA finalist, with a new milestone and a renewed belief in what might come next. And perhaps that is what made this particular week in Singapore memorable: for both players, the most important part may be what happens after the final ball.
There was another celebration at The Kallang on Sunday, with Erin Routliffe and Aldila Sudjiadi taking the doubles title after a week that tested both their tennis and their composure. The Australian and Indonesian pairing defeated Tang Qianhui and Xu Yifan 6-3, 6-2 to finish a near-perfect tournament, having dropped just one set all week.
The final was closer than the scoreline suggested. The opening games featured four consecutive breaks, with long deuce games and both teams fighting to establish control. Routliffe and Sudjiadi eventually found their rhythm, taking the first set 6-3 before pulling away in the second. “When we held at 2-all, that was a big hold,” Routliffe said. “It felt like everyone’s going to break, break, break, which I think happens a lot in women’s doubles, but for us to get that game was big.”
For Sudjiadi, the key was staying present during a tense opening. “The first four games were very intense,” she said. “There were a lot of deuce games, and I think all four of us played really well in those games.”
The pair’s success in Singapore continues a partnership that is gathering momentum. They also won together in Washington a few weeks ago and are planning to finish the season as a team. “We’re definitely finishing the year together,” Routliffe said. “We have big goals, so we’re excited for the rest of the year.”
For Sudjiadi, however, there was something particularly special about winning in Singapore. The Indonesian is from the region, and the tournament gave her the chance to compete in front of a strong contingent of Indonesian supporters — making The Kallang feel a little closer to home. “It’s definitely a very good event for me, very close to home,” she said. “I feel like this is my second home, and there are so many Indonesian people supporting me also here.”
The tournament’s presence in Southeast Asia was significant for Sudjiadi beyond her own title run. She hopes Singapore can become part of a growing tennis landscape in the region, with more major events providing opportunities for local and regional players.
“It’s a very big tournament, which does not happen very often in the Southeast Asian region,” she said. “I’m very happy to have this tournament in Singapore, and hopefully there will be more big events like WTA 250 or WTA 500, like maybe in Indonesia or in the Philippines.”
For Routliffe, the week offered a different kind of first: her first visit to Singapore. “I’ve tried to explore Singapore a little bit,” she said. “Everyone is so friendly and so welcoming and so happy for us to be here.”
There was time for some sightseeing, too, along with what may be one of the easiest ways to win over a visiting tennis player: food. “I’ve done some touring things, and I’m spending a couple of days around here too,” Routliffe said. “Had some good meals. You guys really have good food.”
After a week of competition, trophies and long days on court, it seems the doubles champions found plenty to enjoy off it as well.
For a tournament that came together in such a short space of time, the Singapore Tennis Open left behind plenty of memories. From Fernandez turning an unexpected wild card into a WTA 500 title, to Gibson announcing herself on the biggest stage of her career, and Routliffe and Sudjiadi finding their own moment in the doubles, The Kallang delivered a week of high-level tennis with a distinctly Singaporean sense of occasion. Add in the enthusiastic crowds, the music and entertainment around the court, and the chance for players from across the region to feel at home, and the tournament proved there is something special about bringing world-class tennis to Singapore. For the players, the trophies will travel home — but the experience of playing in front of this crowd, in this city, will linger long after the final ball has been struck.
Image credit: WTA/ Ashok Kumar
Singapore Tennis Open 2026 runs from 19th to 27th September at The Kallang. Tickets, including ACES Club hospitality packages, are available through The Kallang, with limited weekday tickets remaining.
