Day of upsets: Emma Navarro, Leylah Fernandez suffer early defeats at Monterrey Open

Monterrey Open is moving towards the business end as Wednesday produced some interesting results. The competition is the last event before the start of the main round of the US Open. The fourth and final Grand Slam of the year will get underway on August 24.

Before the start of the mega-event, Canada’s Leylah Fernandez suffered a disappointing result as she lost in the round of 16 to Rebecca Sramkova with a score of 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. It was Fernandez’s 19th defeat in 40 matches in 2025 and third in the last four matches since lifting the DC Open, which was her first title in two years in July. In that competition, she defeated Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-2.

The result will hamper Fernandez’s preparations going into the mega-event, where she finished as the runner-up in the 2021 edition after losing the final to Britain’s Emma Raducanu in straight sets. Fernandez will still be hoping to put on an improved show in New York than she did in the last two years, where she was knocked out after losing in the first round. In 2024, Fernandez suffered a shocking defeat to Anastasia Potapova in the round of 128 at the Flashing Meadows.

On the other hand, for Sramkova, the result is a great one as she has now qualified for the quarterfinal of a WTA event for just the second time this year. Her previous outing in the last eight of a competition in 2025 came at the Nottingham Open, where she defeated Linda Noskova with a score of 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Sramkova’s opponent in the quarterfinal this time around will be America’s Alycia Parks, who will be coming into the contest full of confidence after producing the biggest upset of the tournament.

Parks stunned the top-seeded Emma Navarro in the round of 16 clash and came out on top with a score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. The most impressive aspect of Parks' performance on the night was the fact that she managed to keep her composure despite losing the first set against the reigning world number 11. It will be only the second meeting between Parks and Sramkova in professional tennis. In the only previous meeting, which came in the qualifying round of the French Open more than three years back in 2022, it was Sramkova who came out on top with a score of 6-7, 6-4, 6-4.

On the other hand, for Navarro, the outcome is another disastrous one, especially after she decided to participate in the Monterey Open at the expense of withdrawal from the US Open mixed doubles event, where she was set to partner with the men’s world number one Jannik Sinner. The primary reason behind that decision was Navarro’s poor form on the hard cour,t where she has now lost four out of the five matches she played in the singles category since Wimbledon 2025.

Navarro’s only win after taking part in the third Grand Slam of the year came against Rebecca Marino in the second round of the Canadian Open in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-2. Overall, Navarro has now lost 20 out of 45 matches in 2025 with a win percentage of 55, which is considerably lower than the win percentage she had in the last two years (69% in 2023 and 72% in 2024). Navarro will be hoping that the recent results will not hamper her performance in the US Open, where she had a fabulous outing last year, where she eventually suffered a defeat in the semifinal to women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 7-6.