A Turkish woman at ease on grass

This match has an extra-tennis factor that weighs heavily in the balance and that the odds seem to have partially priced in, but maybe not enough. Leylah Fernandez, right-handed, 23 years old, WTA No. 23, 2nd seed here, is coming off a full week at Queen's Club. In singles she lost in the first round to Boulter 3-6 7-6(4) 7-5 in an endless match that was suspended overnight and resumed the following day. She then fully committed to doubles with Siegemund, reaching Sunday’s final where they lost to Mihalikova and Nicholls 6-3 6-7(4) 10-5. End result: Fernandez played three days in a row at Queen's between singles and doubles, finishing on Sunday in the final, and here she is in Nottingham on Monday morning. It was her 5th doubles final in her career, with no title. This is a non-negligible context of physical and perhaps mental fatigue, all the more so as her 52-week grass record remains respectable: 4-4 (50%) WTA, 14-11 in her career (56%). She’s no stranger to the surface, but she’s not arriving fresh.

Zeynep Sönmez, right-handed, 24 years old, WTA No. 67, is in a completely different state. She beat Hannah Klugman 6-4 6-2 in Nottingham qualifying, her second grass win of the week after beating Volynets 6-3 2-6 6-3 in Hertogenbosch earlier in the week before losing to Potapova in the second round. She is therefore 2-1 on grass over two weeks, with three matches in her legs on this surface. Her 52-week WTA grass record is good: 2-1 (66.7%). She comes in with rhythm, on both feet, without the burden of a weekend final. Her overall form is solid: 17-12 in 2026 (58.6%), 7-3 over her last 10 matches.

WTA head-to-head: 1-0 Fernandez in Stuttgart in April 2026 on clay, a hard-fought win 6-7(2) 6-1 7-6(5) in a match lasting over 3 hours. That’s the only WTA reference match, on clay and very tight. No previous meetings on grass.

The playing styles also create a gap on grass. Fernandez is an offensive, all-court player who adapts well to grass, with 2.4 aces per match and an aggressive return. Sönmez is a baseliner whose game has been ramping up in intensity on grass this season. The Stuttgart match showed that Sönmez can hang with Fernandez in a marathon of over 3 hours, but this will be a different story on grass, where rallies are shorter and serves are more decisive.