Mboko and Fernandez eliminated in first round of Wuhan Open

WUHAN — Canada’s Victoria Mboko is out of the Wuhan Open tennis tournament after a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova on Monday.

Alexandrova, the eighth seed in Wuhan, broke Mboko four times on eight chances and won 56 per cent of total points in wrapping up the match in one hour 20 minutes.

Mboko, ranked No. 24 in the world, has now lost three straight matches after winning her first career WTA title at the 1000-series National Bank Open in Montreal.

Her season record fell to 53-12.

The 19-year-old from Toronto started the year on a 22-match unbeaten streak in the lower-tier ITF circuit before successfully making the jump to the top tier of women’s tennis.

On Monday night, Naomi Osaka started slowly and dropped her first set, but the Japanese tennis star rebounded to beat Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Quebec, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in two hours, 28 minutes.

Osaka advances to the round of 32 in the WTA 1000 tournament to face the winner of a match between Linda Noskova of Czechia and Yulia Putintseva of Russia.

Osaka had 10 aces, eight double faults, 53 unforced errors and won 68 per cent of her points on first serve.

The 23-year-old Fernandez had four aces, three double faults, 32 unforced errors and won 65 per cent of her points on first serve.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2025.