PREVIEW WTA Hong Kong Open: Leylah Fernandez and Victoria Mboko bring Canadian fire in pursuit of the final

The semi-finals of the WTA 250 Hong Kong Open will be played this Saturday – marking almost the end of the last week of competition in the regular WTA calendar. The match of the day will be the duel between the Canadians Leylah Fernandez and Victoria Mboko, who will compete for a spot in the final between the two currently highest-ranked Canadian players.

In the other semi-final will be the Spaniard Cristina Bucsa – who advanced with some luck following the withdrawal of the first seed Belinda Bencic before their quarter-final match. She will face a tough challenge against the Australian teenager Maya Joint, champion of two WTA 250 titles this season.

Victoria Mboko (No. 21) has rediscovered her form in recent weeks. The Canadian Open champion suffered four consecutive defeats since winning the title in her country. However, she has turned things around, reaching the quarter-finals in Tokyo and now the semi-finals in Hong Kong – totaling 5 wins in her last 6 matches. The 19-year-old teenager defeated Talia Gibson, Alexandra Eala, and Anna Kalinskaya (who retired injured with the score 1-6, 1-3) along the way.

She will face the second seed Leylah Fernandez (No. 22) – who is in great form in recent weeks. The 2021 US Open runner-up won the title at the Japan Open in the middle of the month and has 9 wins in her last 10 matches. So far, she has not conceded any sets in Hong Kong, where she has already defeated Xiyu Wang, Eva Lys, and Sorana Cîrstea (7th).

The Canadians have no previous head-to-head encounters, but Fernandez's experience may be a factor to consider. “Victoria, she’s been playing super well this week,” Fernandez said after the match. “Not just this week, but this whole year. I’m happy I get another chance at the semifinals, and to do it against a compatriot, it feels really good. And it’s good for Canadian tennis.”

Mboko will be seeking the second final of her career so far – having only the precedent of her historic campaign in Montreal a few months ago – while Fernandez has already played 8 finals in her career (5-3), including a Grand Slam final.

Cristina Bucsa (No. 68) reaches the semi-finals of a WTA 250 tournament for the first time this season. The Spaniard had some luck along the way and has not spent much time on court so far. She secured straight-sets victories against Ye Xin Ma (No. 238) and Emiliana Arango (No. 47), before meeting Belinda Bencic (No. 11) in the quarter-finals. However, the Swiss announced her withdrawal from the tournament, and Bucsa advanced to the semi-finals with barely 2 hours and 33 minutes on the court so far.

She will face the Australian Maya Joint (No. 32), one of the names that has earned its spot in the high end of the ranking through consistency. At 19 years old, she has already become the Aussie No. 1, has two titles this season, and several other semi-final appearances in tournaments. This week she defeated Sevastova, Morvayova, and Sakatsume – three rivals outside the top-200 – showing that she knows how to handle the pressure when she is the favorite.

The Australian is currently holding at No. 32 in the live ranking, although a victory against Bucsa would catapult her to No. 27 – securing her best ranking so far, in addition to entering the next Australian Open as a seeded player, something that hasn't happened since Ash Barty in 2022.