Leylah Fernandez and Talia Gibson reach Singapore Open final

In the other singles semifinal on the tournament’s central court, Canada’s Leylah Fernandez mounted a three-set comeback against Poland’s Maja Chwalinska, prevailing 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 in two hours and eight minutes to set up a Sunday title clash against Gibson.

World No. 180 Prozorova had enjoyed a breakthrough run in Singapore, defeating China’s Wang Xinyu in an exhausting 181-minute quarterfinal to secure the best result of her career. However, her campaign unraveled during the subsequent doubles quarterfinals. Playing alongside Sofya Lansere against Japan’s Miyu Kato and Australia’s Ellen Perez, Prozorova collapsed near the net after being hit in the face and shoulder by a high overhead smash from Kato, prompting her immediate retirement from the tournament.

Following the incident, the tournament organizing committee confirmed Prozorova’s withdrawal, sending Gibson through to the singles championship match. Prozorova subsequently took to Instagram to launch a scathing attack on the WTA, alleging that she was “forced” to pull out of the semifinal.

According to Prozorova’s social media post, a WTA physiotherapist administered a post-match balance test, diagnosed a concussion, and pressured her into withdrawing. “The physiotherapist even claimed they couldn’t take responsibility for my life and explicitly stated I must not play for six days, which is a complete abuse of authority,” Prozorova wrote, adding that the ruling likely forces her out of the upcoming China Open qualifying rounds. In response to the disruption, a Singapore Open spokesperson announced that ticket holders for Saturday’s daytime session who had not yet scanned their tickets would receive a full refund, while those already inside were permitted to watch player training sessions on the central court.

On the competitive side, Fernandez battled through a slow start against fifth seed Chwalinska. After dropping the opening set 1-6, the sixth-seeded Canadian raised her return aggression in the second set, repeatedly exploiting Chwalinska’s second serve. Fernandez converted nearly 70 percent of her second-serve return points and capitalized on five of her eight break points to level the match with a 6-4 win.

Chwalinska’s physical fatigue mounted in the deciding set, leading to service struggles. Fernandez capitalized on the momentum, securing two breaks of serve to take the final set 6-2 and complete her 2-1 comeback victory.

Meanwhile, the doubles semifinals delivered high drama as the Chinese pairing of Tang Qianhui and Xu Yifan secured a hard-fought victory. Facing third seeds Kato and Perez, Tang and Xu dominated the opening set to win 6-0. Although their opponents bounced back to take the second set 6-3, the Chinese duo held their nerve in the deciding 10-point tiebreak, winning 10-6 to punch their ticket to the final.

Tang and Xu will face the cross-border partnership of New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe and Indonesia’s Aldila Sutjiadi in the women’s doubles championship match on Sunday, September 27, where Fernandez and Gibson will also square off for the singles title.