Leylah Fernandez

Leylah Annie Fernandez (born 6 September 2002)[1] is a Canadian professional tennis player. She has a career-high Women's Tennis Association (WTA) ranking of No. 26 in the world, achieved on 25 October 2021. Fernandez won her first WTA 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).

Leylah Fernandez
Fernandez in 2021
Full nameLeylah Annie Fernandez
Country (sports) Canada
ResidenceBoynton Beach, Florida, US[1]
Born (2002-09-06) 6 September 2002
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Turned pro2019
PlaysLeft-handed (two-handed backhand)
CoachJorge Fernandez (father)
Prize moneyUS$ 2,185,642
Singles
Career record106–65 (62.0%)
Career titles1
Highest rankingNo. 24 (8 November 2021)
Current rankingNo. 24 (8 November 2021)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open1R (2020, 2021)
French Open3R (2020)
Wimbledon1R (2021)
US OpenF (2021)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games2R (2021)
Doubles
Career record32–25 (56.1%)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 67 (18 October 2021)
Current rankingNo. 74 (15 November 2021)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open3R (2021)
French Open3R (2021)
Wimbledon1R (2021)
US Open3R (2021)
Team competitions
BJK CupQR (2020), record 3–2
Last updated on: 18 November 2021.

Early life

Fernandez was born in Montreal, Quebec.[1] Her father Jorge is from Ecuador and is a former soccer player. Her mother Irene (née Exevea) is a Filipino Canadian.[2] Her younger sister Bianca Jolie is also a tennis player.[3]

Junior career

On 25 January 2019, Fernandez entered the Australian Open girls' singles final, where she lost to the top-seeded Clara Tauson.[4] On 8 June 2019, Fernandez defeated Emma Navarro in the French Open girls' singles final to become the first Canadian female winner of a junior Grand Slam title since Eugenie Bouchard at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships.[3]

Professional career

2019: Professional debut

On 21 July 2019, Fernandez won her first professional singles tennis title when she rallied to beat fellow Canadian Carson Branstine in the final of the Gatineau Challenger. Fernandez also won her first professional doubles title on the same date when she teamed with Rebecca Marino of Vancouver. The pair defeated the second-seeded team of Marcela Zacarías of Mexico and Hsu Chieh-yu of Taiwan.[5] The following week, she made her second consecutive ITF final in Granby,[6] losing to Lizette Cabrera of Australia.

2020: Grand Slam debut, first WTA Tour final, French Open third round

Fernandez made her Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open. After qualifying, she lost in the first round to Lauren Davis.[7]

She achieved the biggest win of her career the following week in the Billie Jean King Cup qualifying round against No. 5 in the world, Belinda Bencic.[8]

In late February at the Mexican Open, she qualified and reached her first WTA tournament final, where, after winning 12 sets in a row, she was defeated by world No. 69, Heather Watson. A week later, she upset Grand Slam champion Sloane Stephens to reach the quarterfinals of the Monterrey Open, losing to the eventual champion Elina Svitolina.

2021: First WTA title, US Open final, and Indian Wells Debut

Fernandez began 2021 without consecutive wins in her first four tournaments. However, in March at the Monterrey Open she won her first four matches to reach the final, defeating Viktorija Golubic to win the first WTA title of her career. At 18 years old, she was the youngest player in the main draw, and won without dropping a set during the tournament.[9][10]

At the US Open, Fernandez became a fan favorite due to her unexpected success as an underdog.[11][12] She defeated the third seed and defending champion, Naomi Osaka in three sets in the third round,[13] former world No. 1 and three-time major champion Angelique Kerber in the fourth round in three sets,[14] and fifth seed Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals, again in three sets, to reach her maiden major semifinal a day after her 19th birthday. She then defeated Aryna Sabalenka, the second seed, to reach her first major final[15] and in the process became the first player born in 2002 to reach the final. It was the third time in the Open Era that a woman defeated three of the top five seeds at the US Open. In the final she lost to fellow teenager Emma Raducanu in straight sets.[16]

Following her U.S. Open Final, Fernandez made her Indian Wells Open debut as the 23rd seed. She first beat Alizé Cornet in the second round before then beating French Open Finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round, but suffered an upset in the fourth round to Shelby Rogers

Personal life

Fernandez is a fan of Spanish soccer team Real Madrid, and English soccer team Manchester City.[17]

Performance timelines
Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Billie Jean King Cup and Olympic Games are included in win/loss records.[18]

Singles

Current after the 2021 Indian Wells Masters.

Tournament2018201920202021 2022SRW–LWin%
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A 1R 1R 0 / 2 0–2 0%
French Open A A 3R 2R 0 / 2 3–2 60%
Wimbledon A A NH 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
US Open A A 2R F 0 / 2 7–2 78%
Win–Loss 0–0 0–0 3–3 7–4 0 / 7 10–7 59%
National representation
Summer Olympics NH 2R 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Billie Jean King Cup[lower-alpha 1] A PO QR PO 0 / 0 3–2 60%
WTA 1000 tournaments
Indian Wells Open A A NH 4R 0 / 1 2–1 67%
Miami Open A A NH Q1 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Madrid Open A A NH Q1 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Italian Open A A Q1 Q1 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Canadian Open Q2 1R NH 1R 0 / 2 0–2 0%
Cincinnati Open A A 1R 1R 0 / 2 0–2 0%
Win–Loss 0–0 0–1 0–1 2–3 0 / 5 2–5 29%
Career statistics
Tournaments 1 2 7 15 Career total: 25
Titles 0 0 0 1 Career total: 1
Finals 0 0 1 2 Career total: 3
Overall Win–Loss 1–1 0–3 11–8 23–14 1 / 25 35–26 57%
Year-end ranking 487 209 88 24 $2,185,642

Doubles
Tournament 2019 2020 2021 2022 SRW–L Win%
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A 3R 0 / 1 2–1 67%
French Open A 1R 3R 0 / 2 1–2 33%
Wimbledon A NH 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
US Open A A 3R 0 / 1 2–1 67%
Win–Loss 0–0 0–1 5–4 0 / 5 5–5 50%
WTA 1000
Indian Wells Masters A NH QF 0 / 1 2–1 67%
Canadian Open 1R NH 2R 0 / 2 1–2 33%

Grand Slam tournament finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner up)
Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 2021 US Open Hard Emma Raducanu 4–6, 3–6

WTA career finals

Singles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)
Legend
Grand Slam (0–1)
WTA 1000
WTA 500
International / WTA 250 (1–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–2)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Feb 2020 Mexican Open, Mexico International Hard Heather Watson 4–6, 7–6(8), 1–6
Win 1–1 Mar 2021 Monterrey Open, Mexico WTA 250 Hard Viktorija Golubic 6–1, 6–4
Loss 1–2 Sep 2021 US Open, United States Grand Slam Hard Emma Raducanu 4–6, 3–6

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner–ups)
Legend
$80,000 tournaments (0–1)
$25,000 tournaments (1–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–2)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Jul 2019 ITF Gatineau, Canada 25,000 Hard Carson Branstine 3–6, 6–1, 6–2
Loss 1–1 Jul 2019 Challenger de Granby, Canada 80,000 Hard Lizette Cabrera 1–6, 4–6
Loss 1–2 Oct 2019 ITF Waco, United States 25,000 Hard Fernanda Contreras 3–6, 6–2, 1–6

Doubles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner-ups)
Legend
$60,000 tournaments (1–1)
$25,000 tournaments (1–0)
$15,000 tournaments (0–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–2)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Jul 2019 ITF Gatineau, Canada 25,000 Hard Rebecca Marino Hsu Chieh-yu
Marcela Zacarias		 7–6(5), 6–3
Win 2–0 Oct 2019 Challenger de Saguenay, Canada 60,000 Hard (i) Mélodie Collard Samantha Murray Sharan
Bibiane Schoofs		 7–6(3), 6–2
Loss 2–1 Nov 2019 Tevlin Challenger, Canada 60,000 Hard (i) Mélodie Collard Robin Anderson
Jessika Ponchet		 6–7 (7), 2–6
Loss 2–2 Oct 2020 ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt 15,000 Hard Bianca Fernandez Veronika Pepelyaeva
Anastasia Tikhonova		 6–4, 3–6, [6–10]

Junior Grand Slam finals

Girls' singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner–up)
Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 2019 Australian Open Hard Clara Tauson 4–6, 3–6
Win 2019 French Open Clay Emma Navarro 6–3, 6–2

WTA Tour career earnings

As of 1 November 2021

YearGrand Slam
singles titles		WTA
singles titles		Total
singles titles		Earnings ($)Money list rank
2017 0 0 0 3,608 973
2018 0 0 0 9,899 618
2019 0 0 0 42,525 322
2020 0 0 0 356,669 61
2021 0 1 1 1,772,625 9
Career 0 1 1 2,185,642 243

Career Grand Slam statistics

Career Grand Slam seedings

The tournaments won by Fernandez are in boldface, and advanced into finals by Fernandez are in italics.

Year Australian Open French Open Wimbledon US Open
2020 Qualifier Unseeded Not Held Unseeded
2021 Unseeded Unseeded Unseeded Unseeded

Best Grand Slam singles results details


Record vs. top-ten ranked players

Active players are in boldface.[19]

Player Years Record Win % Hard Clay Grass Last Match
Number 1 ranked players
Angelique Kerber 2021 1–0 100% 1–0 – – Won (4–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–2) at 2021 US Open
Naomi Osaka 2021 1–0 100% 1–0 – – Won (5–7, 7–6(7–2), 6–4) at 2021 US Open
Number 2 ranked players
Aryna Sabalenka 2021 1–0 100% 1–0 – – Won (7–6(7–3), 4–6, 6–4) at 2021 US Open
Vera Zvonareva 2020 1–0 100% 1–0 – – Won (6–4, 7–5) at 2020 French Open
Petra Kvitova 2020 0–1 0% – 0–1 – Lost (5–7, 3–6) at 2020 French Open
Number 3 ranked players
Sloane Stephens 2020–21 3–0 100% 3–0 – – Won (6–3, 6–1) at 2021 Melbourne
Elina Svitolina 2020–21 1–1 50% 1–1 – – Won (6–3, 3–6, 7–6(7–5)) at 2021 US Open
Barbora Krejčíková 2021 0–1 0% 0–1 – – Lost (2–6, 4–6) at 2021 Tokyo Olympics
Number 4 ranked players
Belinda Bencic 2020 1–0 100% 1–0 – – Won (6–2, 7–6(7–3)) at 2020 Billie Jean King Cup
Bianca Andreescu 2018 0–1 0% 0–1 – – Lost (1–6, 4–6) at 2018 Granby
Sofia Kenin 2020 0–1 0% 0–1 – – Lost (4–6, 3–6) at 2020 US Open
Number 5 ranked players
Jelena Ostapenko 2021 0–1 0% – – 0–1 Lost (1–6, 2–6) at 2021 Wimbledon
Number 6 ranked players
Maria Sakkari 2021 0–1 0% 0–1 – – Lost (2–6, 2–6) at 2021 Melbourne
Number 7 ranked players
Madison Keys 2021 0–1 0% – 0–1 – Lost (1–6, 5–7) at 2021 French Open
Ons Jabeur 2020–21 0–2 0% 0–1 – 0–1 Lost (4–6, 6–3, 6–7(3–7)) at 2021 Birmingham
Number 9 ranked players
CoCo Vandeweghe 2021 1–0 100% 1–0 – – Won (6–3, 6–2) at 2021 Monterrey
Total 2018–21 10–10 50% 10–6
(63%)		 0–2
(0%)		 0–2
(0%)		 Statistics correct as of 18 October 2021.

Top 10 wins
Season 2020 2021 Total
Wins134
# Opponent Rank Event Surface Rd Score LFR
2020
1. Belinda Bencic No. 5 Billie Jean King Cup, Switzerland Hard (i) QR 6–2, 7–6(7–3) No. 185
2021
2. Naomi Osaka No. 3 US Open Hard 3R 5–7, 7–6(7–2), 6–4 No. 73
3. Elina Svitolina No. 5 US Open Hard QF 6–3, 3–6, 7–6(7–5) No. 73
4. Aryna Sabalenka No. 2 US Open Hard SF 7–6(7–3), 4–6, 6–4 No. 73

Notes
  1. Formerly known as Fed Cup until 2020.

References
  1. "cndtennis profile". cndtennis.ca. Archived from the original on 28 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  2. "Roland-Garros : le titre juniors pour la Canadienne Leylah Annie Fernandez". L'Équipe (in French). Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  3. "Canadian Fernandez wins junior title in Paris". TSN.ca. The Canadian Press. 8 June 2019. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  4. "Canadian Fernandez loses to top seed in Australian Open junior final". CBC. 25 January 2019. Archived from the original on 25 February 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  5. Pat Hickey (21 July 2019). "Leylah Annie Fernandez sweeps titles at Gatineau tennis Challenger". Montreal Gazette. Archived from the original on 28 July 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  6. Pat Hickey (28 July 2019). "Laval's Fernandez defeats Montrealer Abanda to reach Granby final". Montreal Gazette. Archived from the original on 28 July 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  7. Mark Lidbetter (23 January 2020). "Laval's Fernandez makes Grand Slam debut at Australian Open". The Suburban. Archived from the original on 28 January 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  8. Gregory Strong (10 February 2020). "Canadian tennis starlet Leylah Annie Fernandez confident after stunning Bencic". CBC. Archived from the original on 28 February 2020. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  9. "18-year-old Leylah Fernandez captures first WTA title in Monterrey". Tennis.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  10. "Canadian teen Leylah Annie Fernandez wins Monterrey Open, captures 1st WTA title". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. 21 March 2021. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 September 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. "Canadian teen Fernandez ends Osaka's US Open title defense in third round stunner". WTA Tour. Archived from the original on 4 September 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  14. "Canadian teen Fernandez stuns Kerber at US Open to reach first major quarterfinal; Sabalenka sweeps to victory". Women's Tennis Association. Archived from the original on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  15. "Canada's Leylah Annie Fernandez beats Aryna Sabalenka to reach US Open final". Sportsnet.ca. Canadian Press. 9 September 2021. Archived from the original on 10 September 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  16. "Emma Raducanu wins US Open by beating Leylah Fernandez for maiden Grand Slam". BBC Sport. 12 September 2021. Archived from the original on 14 September 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  17. Westerby, John (11 September 2021). "US Open: Small and tenacious Leylah Fernandez has taken inspiration from Pep Guardiola". thetimes.co.uk. The Times. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  18. "Leylah Fernandez [CAN] | Australian Open". Australian Open. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  19. "Head to Head". WTA Tennis. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
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