Fernandez bounced in first-round women’s singles match at Australian Open

By Canadian Press on January 19, 2026.

MELBOURNE — Janice Tjen’s rise to becoming the No. 1 women’s player in Indonesia has included one WTA singles title and three doubles championships.

The 23-year-old reached No. 53 in the WTA singles rankings in November and her coaches predicted then the best was yet to come.

Tjen demonstrated that improvement with a first-round upset of Canada’s Leylah Fernandez on Tuesday at the Australian Open.

Fernandez, of Laval, Que., was seeded 22nd in the major tournament, but was bounced 6-2, 7-6 (1) in one hour 43 minutes.

Tjen finished with four aces, 17 winners, six double faults and 27 unforced errors. Fernandez had two aces, 16 winners, five double faults and 28 unforced errors.

Fernandez won two of eight break points and two of 10 return games, while Tjen took four of seven break points and won four of 10 return games.

Tjen advances to play the winner of a match between Karolina Pliskova of Czechia and American qualifier Sloane Stephens.

Victoria Mboko of Toronto and American partner Iva Jovic are scheduled to play Ulrikke Eikeri of Norway and Ingrid Neel of Estonia later in the day in women’s doubles.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 19, 2026.

The Canadian Press