About Leylah Fernandez
Leylah Annie Fernandez (born 6 September 2002) is a Canadian professional tennis player. She has a career-high ranking of No. 15 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), achieved on 6 June 2022. Fernandez won her first WTA Tour title at the 2021 Monterrey Open. As a 19-year-old, she finished runner-up at the 2021 US Open to fellow teenager Emma Raducanu, defeating three top-5 players en route to the final (including defending champion Naomi Osaka).
2022
Fernandez started the season at the Adelaide International. She advanced to the round of 16 where she was defeated by Iga Świątek, in straight sets.She lost to Maddison Inglis in the opening round of the Australian Open as the 23rd seed.
In March, Fernandez defended her Monterrey Open title, reaching her fourth final and winning her second WTA title. Beating Anna Karolína Schmiedlová, Zheng Qinwen, Wang Qiang and Beatriz Haddad Maia to reach the final, Fernandez won against Camila Osorio in three sets, saving five championship points in the final set.She also entered the doubles competition with her sister, Bianca Fernandez. They lost in the first round to Elixane Lechemia and Ingrid Neel.
Fernandez subsequently entered the Indian Wells Open. Receiving a bye in the first round, she advanced to third round after a retirement from Amanda Anisimova, where she won the second-set tiebreak, and defeated Shelby Rogers in three sets. She lost to defending champion Paula Badosa in the fourth round.[23] In the doubles competition, partnering with Alizé Cornet, the pair reached semifinals, before losing to eventual champions Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan.
In May, at the French Open, Fernandez beat Olympic champion Belinda Bencic and 2019 French Open semifinalist Amanda Anisimova in the third and fourth round, before losing to Martina Trevisan in the quarterfinals.
A Grade-III-fractured foot acquired during her quarterfinal match with Trevisan forced her to miss Wimbledon, after a first-round exit the previous year to Ostapenko.
At the Canadian Open, Fernandez lost in the second round to eventual finalist Beatriz Haddad Maia.At the Cincinnati Open, she lost in the first round to Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Fernandez entered the US Open seeded 14th. In her opening round, she beat Océane Dodin, before losing to Liudmila Samsonova in the second. With the loss of most of her points from reaching the final last year, Fernandez is set to fall outside of the top 30.In the doubles draw, pairing with Daria Saville, she reached the second round, and with Jack Sock in the mixed doubles the quarterfinals.
2023
Fernandez started the 2023 season by reaching quarter finals at the ASB Classic.At the Australian Open, Fernandez won her first round match against Alizé Cornet. In the second round, she lost to #4 in the world Caroline Garcia in a hard-fought match, having set points in both the 1st and 2nd sets.
Endorsements
Fernandez is sponsored by Canadian brand Lululemon for apparel and by French brand Babolat for racquets, currently using the Babolat Pure Aero racquet. In January 2022, she became the first global brand ambassador in tennis for Lululemon. Lululemon replaces her prior apparel sponsor Asics, which she will continue to use for footwear until Lululemon launches its tennis footwear line by the end of 2022.She is also sponsored by wireless telecommunications company Telcel/Claro, cosmetics company Birchbox, Morgan Stanley, and EasyPost.She also is a brand ambassador for Flair Airlines along with fellow Canadians Eugenie Bouchard and Felix Auger Aliassime.Additional sponsors include USANA, Microsure, and Cambridge Global Payments.In January 2022, she became a Google ambassador in Canada for the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro as well as Gatorade Canada ambassador.
Personal Life
Fernandez is a fan of Spanish football team Real Madrid, and English football team Manchester City.She speaks fluent English, French and Spanish.
