After tough start to season, Canada's Leylah Fernandez rides momentum into NBO

Winnipeg Free Press

3 days ago

MONTREAL – Leylah Fernandez won't sugar-coat it.
Less than 24 hours after winning the D.C. Open, Fernandez offered a blunt assessment of her season before that title run.
'The rest of the year hasn't been great,' she said. 'It's been pretty shit, to be honest.'
Before Washington, Fernandez held a 16-17 record and hadn't won more than two matches at a tournament this year.
So how did she suddenly rattle off five straight wins — including gruelling battles against two of the best in tennis — to capture the biggest title of her career?
The 22-year-old from Laval, Que., highlighted the positive energy around her team and the chance to train with other Canadian players in Washington, helping her gain confidence.
She also rediscovered her love for the game after a difficult stretch earlier this year, when her mother and sister's surprise health scares took an emotional toll.
'It was difficult to manage and disconnect from my emotions,' Fernandez said at a news conference Monday. 'But after Roland-Garros and while preparing for Wimbledon, we talked a lot about maybe training a little less and just finding the joy of tennis, and it helped me a lot.
'I was just enjoying myself a lot more and I was able to play well in front of a big crowd. I guess everything just clicked in that week, and hopefully it continues for Montreal.'
Fernandez, who jumped 12 spots to No. 24 in the world Monday, begins her hometown National Bank Open with a first-round match Tuesday against Australia's Maya Joint — also her opening opponent in Washington.
It's a quick turnaround after a whirlwind past 24 hours.
Fernandez claimed the Washington 500-level title — her fourth WTA crown — with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Anna Kalinskaya of Russia in the championship game on Sunday, hurried to the airport after media duties and packing, and landed in Montreal at 2 a.m.
After 'three or four' hours of sleep, she was at IGA Stadium around 8 a.m. Monday morning for an event with her foundation. Next up on her schedule? Some rest.
'As much downtime as possible,' she said. 'The most important thing is to stay positive, to have a clear mind and to enter the tennis court with a lot of confidence and a lot of motivation to play.
'Play well, have fun, and put on a good show for the crowd.'
The 2021 U.S. Open finalist had previously won three WTA 250 titles: the Monterrey Open in 2021 and 2022, and the Hong Kong Open in 2023.
Fernandez certainly put on a show in D.C. by eliminating third seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in a three-hour, 12-minute semifinal match. She also knocked out top seed Jessica Pegula of the United States in the second round.
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'Really tough match. I was up in the third against Leylah, but obviously she's clearly playing some really good tennis,' said Pegula, the world No. 4, on Sunday. 'She's really tricky. I played her a couple of times last year and every match honestly felt like it could have gone either way. I was trying not to be too upset about that match.'
In a departure from the pro athlete's usual healthy diet, Fernandez found a winning routine of devouring burgers, hotdogs and cheese fries from American fast food chain Shake Shack after each victory.
She'll need to find a new recipe for success with this year's NBO taking place in Montreal. Shake Shack currently has only three Canadian locations — all in Toronto.
'We're gonna have to find a different type of routine,' she said. 'There's definitely a list of restaurants that we want to go to this week that they don't have in the U.S., only here in Canada, so that's definitely on our to-do list.'
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2025.