Félix Auger-Aliassime ties Milos Raonic for most tour-level singles titles by a Canadian with eight
[TORONTO, ON] October 19, 2025 – Canadian and No. 2 seed Félix Auger-Aliassime won his eighth career ATP singles title on Sunday, beating No. 3 seed Jiri Lehecka of Czechia 7-6(2), 6-7(6), 6-2 in the final of the ATP 250 BNP Paribas Fortis European Open in Brussels, Belgium. Elsewhere, No. 4 seed Leylah Annie Fernandez earned her fifth WTA singles title by defeating Czech Tereza Valentova 6-0, 5-7, 6-3 at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open.
Auger-Aliassime, who won the European Open in 2022, reached Sunday’s final thanks to wins over Bosnian Damir Dzumhur 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(5), American qualifier Eliot Spizzirri 6-2, 7-6(6), and Belgian Raphael Collignon 7-6(2), 6-4. His opponent Lehecka defeated Belgian qualifier Gilles Arnaud Bailly as well as France’s Benjamin Bonzi and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
Both men served brilliantly in the championship match. Auger-Aliassime was practically perfect, putting 83 per cent of his first serves in play and winning 79 per cent of those points. He even won 71 per cent of his second serve points and saved all three break points he faced. The Montrealer hit 17 aces in the win.
The title is the eighth of Auger-Aliassime’s career, tying him with Milos Raonic for the most tour-level singles titles by a Canadian. He will climb to No. 12 in the world rankings and is one spot away from qualifying for the ATP Finals, trailing Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti by 340 points.
“It’s always special to win a title of course – it’s not the first one, but every time it’s just as special,” said Auger-Aliassime. “It was a great week with ups and downs and tight matches, but in the end to come up with the victory is a special treat for me and my team.”
In Osaka, Japan, Laval’s Fernandez took home the WTA 250 title. En route to the final Fernandez defeated American Hailey Baptiste 6-2, 7-5, Hungary’s Dalma Galfi 6-1, 6-4, Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova 7-6(2) 6-3, and Romania’s Sorana Cirstea 6-1, 2-6, 6-4. Her opponent Valentova won six matches, including two in the qualifying round, to reach her first career final.
It was smooth sailing for Fernandez in the first set, closing out the opener in half an hour. However, the 23-year-old had a tougher time in the second as she was broken three times. To wrap up the match, Fernandez broke for the seventh time on the day in the eighth game before serving out for the title.
“I want to thank my team and my dad, who’s also my coach, and my hitting partner,” said Fernandez during the on-court ceremony. “Thank you so much for suffering with me this past week, past month and past year. I also want to thank my family and loved ones back home. Without you, I wouldn’t be here.”
This fifth career title moves Fernandez up to 22nd in the WTA rankings, one spot above Victoria Mboko, and back to No. 1 in Canada.
KAYLA CROSS CLAIMS BIGGEST CAREER TITLE
The exceptional weekend for Canadians continued with Kayla Cross of London, Ontario, winning her biggest title to date at the WTA 125 tournament in Tampico, Mexico. Cross and her British partner Amelia Rajecki defeated Weronika Falkowska of Poland and Kristina Novak of Slovenia in the final 6-4, 6-3.
Cadence Brace of Toronto, who is Cross’s teammate at Louisiana State University (LSU), reached the singles final at the Abierto Tampico but lost in straight sets to Belgium’s Hanne Vanderwinkel.
VICTORIA ALLEN WINS QUEBEC CITY NATIONAL BANK CHALLENGER
The Quebec City National Bank Challenger wrapped up Sunday at the Club Avantage Multi-Sports, where Britain’s Victoria Allen defeated the Netherlands’ Jasmijn Gimbrere 7-6(3), 6-2. This is the first singles title of Allen’s career, who has already won four doubles titles on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) circuit.
In doubles, Canadians Raphaëlle Lacasse and Alexandra Vagramov defeated the Japanese duo of Haruna Arakawa and Natsuho Arakawa 6-3, 6-2 to win the crown.
About Tennis Canada
Founded in 1890, Tennis Canada is a non-profit, national sport association with a mission to lead the growth, development and promotion of tennis in Canada and a vision to be a world-leading tennis nation. We value teamwork, passion, integrity, innovation and excellence. Tennis Canada owns and operates the premier National Bank Open presented by Rogers WTA and ATP Tour events, it financially supports 15 other professional tournaments in Canada, as well as operating more than 60 events nationally across junior, wheelchair, university and Masters tennis categories. Tennis Canada is a proud member of the International Tennis Federation, the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee, and serves to administer, sponsor and select the teams for Davis Cup, Billie Jean King Cup, the Olympic and Paralympic Games and all wheelchair, junior and masters tennis national teams. Tennis Canada invests its surplus into tennis development. For more information on Tennis Canada please visit our website at: www.tenniscanada.com and follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Instagram.
-30-
Tennis Canada Media Contact: media@tenniscanada.com