Defending champion Leylah Fernandez begins her Mubadala DC Open title defense against Poland's Magda Linette in the Round of 32 on Monday, July 27, 2026, in Washington, D.
C.
The 23-year-old Canadian enters the WTA 500 event ranked world No. 25, holding a 12-19 singles record in 2026 after early exits at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
Fernandez has 500 ranking points at stake as she returns to hard courts, where all five of her career WTA titles have been won.
Fernandez Reflects on Challenging Season
Addressing her mindset ahead of the tournament, Fernandez spoke about navigating physical difficulties and a string of losses that tested her confidence earlier in the year.
"This season has been a lot more downs than ups," Fernandez said.
"I'm just happy that I have the right team around me, the right people around me to bring me back down to earth, not think of the worst-possible situation."
"I actually feel a lot better now that I'm back home, started training, took a couple of days off, and just feeling physically ready, mentally prepared."
Reflecting on her early-season health issues, Fernandez acknowledged how setbacks affected her momentum after wins stopped coming.
"That played into the confidence in my game when wins weren't coming in," she said. "I guess there's just a domino effect from the beginning to now.
But again, I've gone through some tough moments in my career and I've always come out on top at the end."
Following her post-Wimbledon reset, Fernandez reconsidered her baseline motivation and long-term passion for the sport.
"I try to come back to the very basics of things, like why I started playing tennis, if this is still something that I want to do," she said.
"I would try to ask myself these questions and of course at the end of the day it's always like, I love playing tennis because I always want to improve myself, I love the competition that comes with it."
Fernandez also reflected on the timeline expectations placed on professional careers and how she balances internal pressure.
"It's weird because a lot of people say I have a lot of time, and for the longest time I've been thinking, 'Well, not really,' because a career kind of ends in between 10 to 15 years, depending on what age you start," she said.
"And some people would say, you don't have time. And I'm like, 'Well actually, maybe I do because a season is long.'"
"It's kind of a push and pull."
She credited her coaching team and father, Jorge Fernandez, with offering perspective during tense stretches of the calendar.
"Especially this year when I was thinking, 'No, I don't got time, I gotta do better, I gotta win matches.'
The team with me that's travelling was saying, 'Hey, slow your roll. Results will come, just focus on the process,'" she said.
"Hopefully soon, the wins are gonna come."
Fernandez noted that her boyfriend, Canadian Paralympic para hockey player Vincent Boily, also helps keep her focused off the court, fondly recalling their first meeting after a match loss last year.
"Very unfortunate that he saw one of my worst matches," Fernandez said.
"But it was kind of funny because a couple of days later, he messaged and was like, 'Hey, before you leave I'd love to see you for a coffee or something.'"
"He seemed like a very interesting person, and from that breakfast that we had till now we've always kept in contact.
He's a very sweet guy, he's funny. He makes me laugh and also puts things into perspective for myself and my results so far."
Optimism Ahead of Opener
Arriving at the venue, Fernandez expressed optimism about returning to the courts where she captured the title last summer.
"I'm feeling good, excited. Happy to be back in DC.
There are so many good memories, and hopefully I can continue with some good vibes here and enjoy my time on court," Fernandez said.
"I definitely think back on those memories, on those feelings, the positive feelings, the fight, the energy that the crowd brought."
"I try to use that to my advantage and try to go back into that state, and hopefully I can reproduce that here."
Looking back at her path to the championship 12 months ago, Fernandez highlighted mental composure as her key asset.
"The biggest thing that worked for me was just a lot of acceptance and enjoying my time on court.
If I go out there with the right attitude, it goes well. So hopefully I can do that and recreate that this year."
Fernandez holds a 2-1 head-to-head record against Linette, though Monday's opener marks their first meeting on a hard court surface.
Following her appearance in Washington, Fernandez is scheduled to compete at the National Bank Open running Aug. 1–13 in Toronto.
