Osaka’s serve fires her past Fernandez into the Toronto quarters – and a first-ever clash with Rybakina

Naomi Osaka beat Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday night and will play Kazakh Elena Rybakina, the second seed, in the next round

10 August 2026

Naomi Osaka, Montreal 2026 | © Zuma / PsNewz

Tennis Majors

National Bank Open presented by Rogers •Round of 16 • Completed

See draw

L. FernandezvsN. Osaka

Naomi Osaka is rediscovering her best on her favourite surface. The four-time Grand Slam champion served her way past home favourite Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday night to reach the quarter-finals of the National Bank Open presented by Rogers in Toronto, her first WTA 1000 last eight since Montreal a year ago.

Serving was the story. Osaka fired seven aces to Fernandez’s one, won 73% of her service points and dropped serve just once, holding the Canadian at arm’s length whenever the crowd threatened to lift her.

“My serve helped me out a lot today,” Osaka said. “I just tried to be consistent when I could and not overplay too much. When it went in, it gave me the upper hand. She’s a great opponent, aggressive in her positioning, so I tried to have higher consistency.”

Typically self-critical, Osaka insisted she was far from her peak. “Honestly, I don’t think I played great – I did the best I could today,” she said. “I was really nervous coming out, I didn’t know what to expect with the crowd. A couple of times in the match I tried to yawn to calm myself down, because I heard it relaxes your muscles. Overall I’m really happy to win in two, but I didn’t feel spectacular.”

Fernandez: “I had opportunities to put pressure on her”

Now 25-9 on the season and winner of nine of her last 10 matches in Canada, she is quietly thriving where it matters most to her: “This is the only surface I have titles on, I think that’s for a reason”, she said, forgetting her WTA125 crown on the clay of Saint-Malo in 2025.

For Fernandez, it was a deflating follow-up to her stunning upset of world No 5 Mirra Andreeva. The last Canadian in the singles draw was gracious but honest in defeat. “I’m pretty disappointed. I had opportunities to put pressure on her, but I didn’t do a good job of keeping the ball in,” she said.

You might also like this

A marathon fortnight catches up: weary Eala bows out to Bencic in Toronto

tennis majors

Composed Gauff ends Korneeva’s giant-killing run in Toronto

tennis majors

Rybakina claws back from double break down to outlast Samsonova in Toronto

tennis majors

“Naomi is a champion; she did what she had to do, and I didn’t. It was small decisions – a few times I went to the net and let balls go – and it just mounted, point after point.” Ever the optimist, she vowed to keep at it: “It’s worked for me in the past. I’ll keep trusting myself, and hopefully it becomes 51% of those points that I win.”

Next comes a genuine blockbuster: Osaka will meet second seed Elena Rybakina, the reigning Australian Open champion, for the very first time on tour. “She’s an incredible player,” Osaka said. “I’ve practised with her a couple of times, and they were really good. She has a great serve, she’s aggressive, and it’s very fun for me to play the best players.” Two of the biggest hitters in the women’s game, meeting at last, with a semi-final at stake.