Leylah Fernandez advances after top seed Victoria Azarenka retires from Hong Kong opener

Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., advanced to the second round at the Hong Kong Open when top seed Victoria  Azarenka retired after two sets Tuesday in Causeway Bay.

Their match was knotted at one set each when the Belarusian called it a day after appearing to hurt her left leg. Fernandez took a 2-6, 6-3 walkover win.

Also advancing at the WTA 250 event were No. 5 seed Anna Blinkova and fellow Russians Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Mirra Andreeva of Russia, as well as No. 6 seed Martina Trevisan of Italy.

Three weeks ago, Fernandez saw her best run at a WTA 1000 tournament end with a 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-1 quarterfinal loss to American Sofia Kenin at the Guadalajara Open in Zapopan, Mexico.

It was the first time Fernandez had made the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 event, though she has progressed further at a Grand Slam. She was a U.S. Open finalist in 2021.

In doubles, Fernandez also lost in the final eight alongside American partner Taylor Townsend, dropping a  6-2, 1-6, 10-7 decision to Italy's Jasmine Paolini and Egypt's Mayar Sherif.

WATCH | Fernandez eliminated at Guadalajara Open in September:

A pair of little-known South Koreans upset Grand Slam champions in front of their home fans in first-round matches at the Hana Bank Korea Open on Tuesday in Seoul.

Wild card Dayeon Back, down 5-2 in the third set, rallied to beat second-seeded Jelena Ostapenko 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4) in two hours 13 minutes to advance. Su-Jeong Jang ousted Sofia Kenin, the No. 5 seed, 6-1, 6-4 in 91 minutes.

It was the first time two South Koreans won their opening matches in Seoul since 2013.

For Jang, ranked No. 162 in the world, the win over Kenin was her first career victory over a Top 30 opponent.

Back, ranked No. 569, was able to force Ostapenko into