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MELBOURNE, Australia – It was always going to be a tough draw for Leylah Fernandez.

And the challenge that was newcomer Janice Tjen of Indonesia proved too much for the Canadian, who gave it a good go in the second set but ultimately fell 6-2, 7-6 (1) and was bounced out of the Australian Open in the first round on Tuesday.

Fernandez was defending third-round points. In the area of the rankings she’s in, it might only cost her three or four spots. But the blow to the confidence after getting just three games from Dayana Yastremska in her season opener in Brisbane, and losing her opener in Adelaide to Diana Shnaider in straight sets, isn’t a great way to kick start the season.

She hasn’t won a set.

Here’s what it looked like on Tuesday.

Tjen the new kid on the block

Even before the match, Fernandez was wary.

As well as she finished the 2025 season herself – a title in Osaka, and a semifinal in Hongkong (losing to countrywoman Victoria Mboko, who went on to win it), Tjen also came on strong.

Four months older than Fernandez, Tjen went the college route. When Fernandez was making the US Open final just as she was turning 19, Tjen – also listed at an aspirational 5-foot-6 – was just starting her sophomore year at Pepperdine University after transferring from Oregon.

In May, 2024, she didn’t have a ranking. But she went 100-13 at the lower levels and made her WTA Tour level debut, and her debut against a top-50 player, after qualifying at the US Open last summer.

In the fall, Tjen won a WTA 125 and made the final at another, and won her first career WTA Tour title in Chennai in early November. That put her inside the top 60 with a bullet. And her stylistic similarities to Ashleigh Barty got her more attention.

“I saw some video of her when I found out the draw. But I also watched some of her matches at the end of last year bcause she was playing really well, and they were all over Instagram,” Fernandez said. “She has a very good forehand and she moves very well. And I know that she’s here with a lot of motivation and excitement.”

Tjen, too, had lost her opening-round match at both her tuneup events. Although she won the doubles in Hobart with Katarzyna Piter of Poland.

Glimmers of a concept of a plan

After the first set was lost in quick fashion, Fernandez went off to the “Situation Room” to seek solutions.

And to an extent, she found some. She just wasn’t able to stick with them.

Fernandez attacked the net more. She used the drop shot to good effect – but not enough.

There are certainly holes in Tjen’s game, that were revealed in this match. She used the slice on the backhand exclusively. And that meant that this was the wing Fernandez needed to attack – it was going to be hard for the Indonesian to hit passing shots. But she didn’t do it enough.

And Tjen, while she managed a couple of points ably on the volley, didn’t seem too thrilled with being pulled to the forecourt. Her movement forwards isn’t nearly as good as it is side to side.

But from the backcourt, the heavy topspin on the forehand in contrast to the floaty slice backhand made it tough for Fernandez, who thrives on pace, to get good rhythm. And because she’s a shorter player, that topspin bounced up higher than she would like.

But when Tjen’s serve – which, unlike Fernandez’s, is a weapon that can regularly top 180 km/hour – fell off, the Canadian was able to stay in. Until the second-set tiebreak, during which Tjen found her serve again. And that was that.

Fernandez serve goes awry

It’s been a number of years, since the pandemic really, that Fernandez has had all kind of issues with the yips on her toss. The serve has always been a weak point. And no amount of bandaids or tweaking or motion changes has really ever resolved it.

On this day, the toss problems were significant.

Tough family times, better now

A few years ago, it was Fernandez’s mother who was dealing with a serious health issue.

Last year – at least for the first half – it was her older sister. All is well now, and her sister will make Fernandez an auntie in the coming months.

But the off-court stuff was a lot to deal with; it’s impressive that she was able to finish the season as well as she did, and not lose too much ground in the rankings.

Scheduling decisions and changes

Fernandez also said that she probably played too many tournaments last year, adding several to her schedule.

“There was always a part of me that just wanted to go home. But it’s my job to play and improve. So in those moments we just said, ‘Okay, we’ll play week after week to try to get into the right mindset again’, and keep my mind off the difficult moments doing something I love,” she said.

“So I’m happy we did that. But at the same time the body was a little tired.”

Short on solutions?

We don’t know what Fernandez’s thoughts were after the loss. As has been the case too often after defeats at majors, there was a long delay before she was scheduled to come into press. Then that scheduled time gets postponed. And then postponed again. And again.

After several hours of this, Open Court had an interview scheduled and just couldn’t wait any longer.

It would be hubristic to think that Fernandez cares more, or takes loss any harder than most other players. And it’s no fun talking to reporters after a loss. But they all nevertheless just do their job and come into press (for the most part) in timely fashion.

But that’s not how it’s been. And that coping – or lack of it – might be someting to look at. Because every player but one loses, every single tournament. How players turn the page and look forward has a lot to do with their survival through a long season, in terms of the expending of mental and emotional energy.

So we’ll go with what Fernandez talked about during the pre-tournament availability over the weekend.

And at that point, she frankly seemed a bit discouraged.

Fernandez is no longer the ingenue, and that crazy-good run to the US Open final was nearly 4 1/2 years ago.

Since then, everyone has gotten better. And several new batches of young and powerful players have joined the WTA Tour party.

For Fernandez, who has to absolutely maximize to perform at her best, there aren’t a lot of areas she can beef up to even stay in the top 25. It’s not easy.

She’s not going to get any taller. She actually appears a little less muscular than she did a year or two ago. Her technique is … well, it’s unorthodox. Poor technique breaks down under pressure and when it breaks, it’s tough to fix.

The Canadian has made her fortune taking the ball incredibly early off the baseline. But the opponents are universally hitting harder than even five years ago and have figured out, as is the solution for a lot of players who take the ball on the rise (Genie Bouchard lived through this as well), that the best way to counter it is to just to hard down the middle and take away the angles.

There are also the limitations of the imagination and knowledge of the father/coach. This also isn’t a new phenomenon.

Fernandez has coaches, and hitting partners, and life coaches, and consultants. There’s a very expensive team around her, but no clear path to progress.

Crunching the numbers

Fernandez said over the weekend that they were going the analytics route – trying to see what matches, what tournaments she played well, where she had a good level, and those she didn’t – and what the differences were.

“One of the things is the speed of the ball, and the physiques of the players who are getting bigger and stronger,” she said. “So it’s about finding a way to stay at this level and maybe beyond – to push my limits.

“Getting to the top 10 is … difficult. But it’s fine margins. In the end there isn’t much difference between the No. 8 and No. 12 player, statistically. But the points they win are the important points, in the important matches.”

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