Music: {allcanada} Canada's Leylah Fernandez upsets Liudmila Samsonova at Dubai Tennis Championships

Sunday, February 15, 2026

{allcanada} Canada's Leylah Fernandez upsets Liudmila Samsonova at Dubai Tennis Championships

Leylah Fernandez, of Canada, plays a shot to Maya Joint, of Australia, during their first round match at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Montreal, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

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After a rough start to her season, Leylah Fernandez has a nice win on her resume.

The Canadian beat No. 13 seed Liudmila Samsonova of Russia 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 in the opening round of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Sunday.

Fernandez, the world No. 27, was 1-4 on the season heading into the match against the world No. 17 at the WTA Tour 1000 event.

The match took two hours 52 minutes. Fernandez saved 10 of 13 break points.

The Canadian will face Janice Tjen of Indonesia in the second round on Monday. Tjen beat Fernandez in straight sets in the Australian Open last month.

Canada's Victoria Mboko, coming off a run to the Qatar Open final, faces Jaqueline Cristian of Romania in the first round at Dubai on Monday.