Leylah Fernandez delivered one of the best performances of her career on Sunday, Feb. 15, in Dubai. Competing at the Duty Free Tennis Championships in the United Arab Emirates, she defeated Liudmila Samsonova after losing the first set, eliminating the 13th seed of the tournament.
This impressive performance caught the attention of the tennis world, especially Venus Williams’ husband, Andrea Preti, who left a one-word reaction to her performance on Instagram.
Leylah Fernandez’s Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Prompts a Reaction from Andrea Preti
World No. 29 Fernandez defeated World No. 18 Samsonova in the first-round match of the WTA 1000 event in UAE. The Russian showed her impressive serving skills in the first set to win it 7-5; however, Fernandez decided to step up her game and mounted an impressive comeback to win the match 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 in 2 hours and 52 minutes.
After struggling in the first set, the Canadian totally changed her game, bringing a different level of dominance to the court. Her performance left Samsonova without any answers, struggling to keep up with the pace of the match. WTA’s official account shared an Instagram post featuring some of the best volleys from the match, showcasing Fernandez crushing her opponent.
MORE: Ben Shelton Has a Lot To Say About Taylor Fritz After Denying Him Match Points in Tense Dallas Final
This post drew significant reactions from the tennis community, most notably, Williams’ husband, Preti, who commented on the post, writing, “Brava💪🏻💪🏻” appreciating the performance by the Canadian.
Preti is known for showing his support publicly to tennis stars, especially his wife, Williams, through social media. She made her return to the 2026 Australian Open, receiving a wildcard, granting her a straight entry into the main draw. In the first round match, she faced the Serbian Olga Danilović, who ended the American’s return campaign in three sets.
Following the match, Preti took to Instagram to show support for Williams’ determination and the efforts she put into participating in the event.
Fernandez’s Dominance Against Liudmila Samsonova in Dubai
Even though the Canadian struggled in the first set, landing only 51% of her first serves, she was able to turn the game around very quickly. She committed two double faults and won only 46% of the points on her second serve, struggling immensely. The Russian broke her in the 11th game to take a 6-5 lead, then served out to take the set 7-5.
MORE: Katie Boulter Calls Out Fiancé Alex de Minaur For Stealing Her Thunder In Playful Reaction To His Rotterdam Triumph
In the next set, Fernandez bounced back to break Samsonova twice while getting broken herself once. She landed two aces while committing just one double fault, compared to the Russian’s four, and won 73% of the first serve points to take the second set 7-5.
The third set was named under the World No. 29 entirely, as she showed some of the best tennis of her career. She landed two aces and managed to land 72% of her first serves, winning 65% of those points, and showcased near-perfect serving by not committing a single double fault in the last set.
Breaking Smasonova twice, Fernandez reeled off to a formidable 5-0 lead, to which she responded by winning three consecutive points, but Fernandez then served out to win the match 5-7, 7-5, 6-3.
With this win, Fernandez equaled the head-to-head statistics against Samsonova, with both players now having two wins each against each other. She is now set to face Janice Tjen in the round of 32 match today, Monday, Feb. 16.