Korean American Jessica Pegula won her fourth career title at the Korea Open, and Filipina Canadian Leylah Annie Fernandez won her third title at the Hong Kong Open in a weekend of great tennis from AAPI players.
Pegula’s win makes her the first American to take the trophy in Seoul since Venus Williams’s 2007 victory. The last time she played in Seoul was in 2019, when she was eliminated in the round of 32.
This Sunday, Pegula made quick work of her opponent, Yuan Yue of China, defeating her 6-2, 6-3 after starting off the opening set down 2-1, according to Yonhap News Agency. Throughout the entire tournament, Pegula only dropped one set to Claire Liu of the U.S. in the quarter-finals.
“My mom is Korean, and she was adopted from here, so it’s really special to be able to win here,” Pegula said in a post-match interview. “In the last few years, as my ranking has gone up, I’ve definitely felt so much more support from the fans, a lot more than I expected coming back here from five years ago. So it’s really special.”
Fernandez’s Hong Kong title is also her first in 19 months, since she won the Monterrey Open in March 2022. After losing the first set to Kateřina Siniaková of the Czech Republic, Fernandez came back to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, according to Montreal CTV News. Following her victory, she’s set to move back into the top 50 world rankings in the following rank, Olympic Canada reports.
“I want to thank my team,” Fernandez said in a post-match interview. “We had a very, very hard past couple of years, and my family, my parents, my coach, [and] my performance coaches have stayed by my side, and they’ve helped me through those tough times… The hard work is paying off, and hopefully we can keep going this way.”
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