Leylah Fernandez arrived at the US Open with little momentum – then upstaged former world No.1s and multiple Grand Slam champions Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber from a set and a break down both times.
Into her first Grand Slam quarterfinal having just turned 19, this Canadian star has enthralled the New York crowds.
And it’s easy to see why.
X-factor
Fernandez appears a player designed for the big occasion.
The way she has elevated her game on the US Open’s biggest stages, and the manner in which she has celebrated winners, points to a personality infused with self belief.
“From the very beginning, right before the match, I knew I was able to win,” Fernandez confirmed, to huge cheers, when asked at what point she believed could beat Osaka.
WTA Insider reporter Courtney Nguyen said the teenager’s walk perfectly encapsulated her: “Her steps are purposeful, unhesitating, a statement of intent.”
This business-like approach is also reflected in her strokes; she takes them early and unleashes them with deceptive power, always seeking to take charge of points.
Her ability to execute such tennis – helped by angles she can create with her left-handed game – is especially impressive given her slight physique and height of just 168cm.
Notable stat
Prior to the US Open, Fernandez had won consecutive matches just twice since March, and had lost in the first round of Wimbledon, Montreal and Cincinnati. But her third-round win over world No.3 Osaka marked the biggest win, by both ranking and stature, of her career.
On court
So how did she arrive at this point? Fernandez was always tipped as a future talent given her junior results; she won the girls’ singles title at Roland Garros in 2019 and became the world No.1 junior that same year.
She transitioned quickly to the professional circuit, almost immediately making an impact by winning three rounds of qualifying to reach the Australian Open 2020 main draw.
And although she was ranked outside the top 200 then, just a month later she went all the way from qualifying to her first WTA-level final in Acapulco.
In September 2020, when pro tennis resumed following its five-month COVID-19 suspension, Fernandez advanced to the third round at Roland Garros in just her third career Grand Slam main draw.
That pushed her well inside the top 100, a place she consolidated when she captured her first WTA trophy in Monterrey in March 2021.
But she did not push on from that title breakthrough, going 9-11 in the next five months – making her US Open run all the more notable.
She said…
It’s not that she didn’t think she could pull off such a remarkable run.
“(I have) just a natural belief. From a very young age, I knew I was able to beat anyone, anyone who is in front of me,” Fernandez declared.
“Even playing different sports, I was always that competitive, saying I'm going to win against them, I'm going to win against my dad in soccer, even though that's like impossible.
"I've always had that belief. I've always tried to use that in every match that I go on.
“I have been working hard every day since the day I started playing tennis and since the day I set my mind to being a professional.
“I expected that one day my tennis game is going to come through and that I'm going to be on the big stage in front of a big crowd playing against big players and also getting the wins.
“I'm not surprised of anything that's happening right now. I'm just glad that it's happening now.”
Off court
Her reference to beating her father in soccer being “impossible” makes sense, given her father, Jorge, was a professional footballer in his native Ecuador.
Her mother, Irene, has Filippino heritage and Fernandez was born in Quebec, making her trilingual; she is fluent in English, French and Spanish.
She now lives in Florida.
Experts are saying…
“I think she has a great future. She has a lot of power in her forehand and she's going for her winners. I think she's always also enjoying her tennis out there. I think she can go really far in the next few years.”
- Angelique Kerber