Leylah Fernandez’s Narrative Sets Her Apart: Her father, Jorge, a former prominent footballer, played a crucial role in introducing his daughter to tennis and serving as her initial coach. As Leylah demonstrated her prowess in the junior circuit, the family faced a difficult choice: they decided to part ways and relocate Jorge and Leylah to the U.S., enabling her to pursue the next level in her tennis journey.
It’s an experience that still sticks with her.
“It was a bit difficult; my parents had to sell all of their belongings, their car, their jewelry, everything which mattered to them, only to help me fulfill my dream,” remembered Fernandez.
“I am very lucky to have parents who helped me so much in that sense,” she added. “And also to have had the chance to see many places around the world with my dad… it is very special.”
Fernandez credits her father for helping her develop her never-say-die approach, a part of her game that has become well-known in women’s tennis: Leylah never gives up.
“He taught me how to fight on the court, but also [how] to play with a different style, by hitting the ball earlier, play with more angles and use my skills against players who would be taller and stronger than me,” she said.
The plan to ‘bring back medals’ for Canada
Fernandez thinks back to the young woman who first dreamed big tennis dreams and where she has arrived to today, with 2024 set to be her fifth full year on the WTA.
“I would tell the little girl I was – something like five or six years ago – to keep on working hard and keep smiling,” she said. “Smiling is crucial, always live and love the moment, looking forward to the next adventure you’ll have in the next month, next year.”
Next year is, indeed, an Olympic season. Fernandez made her Olympic debut at Tokyo, winning her first round match before falling to Barbora Krejcikova in round two.
It’s not just the tennis she’s excited about for Paris, should she qualify – it’s the entire Games experience themselves.
“I approach next season slightly differently with the Games,” she said. “The Olympic Games are very special: It’s only every four years, it’s all the sports… so I really hope I can be there for Canada and support all the Canadian athletes in other sports.
“I hope we’ll bring back many medals for Canada, fingers crossed!”
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Leylah Fernandez exclusive – On her sacrifices, fighting spirit and why playing for Canada gives her more confidence
The 2021 US Open runner-up is in Seville, Spain, with Team Canada for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. She spoke exclusively with Olympics.com on how her experiences have shaped her as a player – and her dreams for Paris 2024.
As Leylah Fernandez stood in the middle of the court, it sounded more like she was in her hometown of Montreal than in Hong Kong, China.
The cheers rained down on her from every side in Victoria Park, the site of her third career WTA singles title – and first in over two years. Wherever Fernandez goes, the 21-year-old is a fan favourite, and she’s settling more into life on the road since her breakout run to the US Open final in 2021.
“Dreams transformed into reality,” she’d write that night on her social media. “Through hard work and dedication.”
So has gone the story for Fernandez, the Canadian with Ecuadorian and Filipino roots: Under-sized at 5-foot-6 (1.68m), the lefty captured the Roland-Garros junior girls title in 2019, reaching the No.1 junior ranking.
It heaved the spotlight on her at just age 16, and just over two years later she made that Cinderella run to the US Open final, stopped only by a fellow surging teenager in Emma Raducanu.
“I do try to keep memories [of my work] in mind when I struggle on the court,” she told Olympics.com this week in Seville, Spain, where she is competing for Team Canada in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
“It does give me motivation to play even better because I don’t want my parents’ sacrifices to have been wasted.”
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Leylah Fernandez: I play for ‘the whole country’
“Every time I have ‘Canada’ written on the back of my shirt, it gives me a lot of confidence,” says Fernandez, who is suiting up in both singles and doubles this week for Captain Heidi El Tabakh.
Her doubles rise this season has been poignant, reaching the Roland-Garros and Miami 1000 finals with American Taylor Townsend, the duo qualifying for the WTA Finals as the first alternates.
She is also 2-0 in Billie Jean King Cup play with fellow Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski, who recently captured the US Open doubles crown with New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe.
The duo could be one to watch at next year’s Paris 2024, held at Stade Roland-Garros… and a will-they, won’t-they conversation should build for the Canadians around mixed doubles, too, with Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov both top singles players. (Dabrowski and Auger-Aliassime teamed up for Tokyo 2020.)
There is a certain pride in country that Fernandez has when she represents Canada on the global stage, especially with the WTA Tour and Grand Slams mostly operating on an individual basis.
“I don’t only play for myself but the whole country,” explained Fernandez. “And so I try to help my country… [use] my strength to work harder and fight on all the points so that we can advance, reach the final.”
