Fernandez, who was defeated by Raducanu in the U.S. Open final four years ago, converted one of her two first-set breakpoint chances and served consistently. But Osaka stepped up pressure on the service returns in the second set, which featured five service breaks, and finished over the top of the 2021 U.S. Open finalist.
In other early matches, Sofia Kenin edged Anastasia Zakharova 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3 to set up a second-round meeting against No. 16 Liudmila Samsonova, who beat Emiliana Arango 6-1, 7-5.
No. 2 Iga Swiatek was scheduled to make her Wuhan tournament debut in a second-round match against Marie Bouzkova in the night session.
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka and No. 3 Coco Gauff were due to open Wednesday. No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, the runner-up at both the U.S. Open and Wimbledon this year, withdrew from the Wuhan Open citing a left calf muscle injury after winning the China Open title.
