Leylah Fernandez

Leylah Fernandez is a professional tennis player that impressed and inspired supporters and fans of the game when she made it to the U.S. Open finals in 2021. Leylah defeated three of the world’s top five players on her way to the finals and demonstrated to watchers that her acute understanding of the game and her opponents is not to be underestimated. 

Born in Montréal, Quebec’s provincial tennis association originally deemed Leylah too small to have a promising future in tennis; instead of letting that discourage her, Leylah kept playing and began her career as a professional player in 2019. Two years later, at 18 years old, Leylah first won at the Monterrey Open, earning herself her first-ever Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) career title. Soon after that, she skyrocketed to the U.S. Open finals, competing in the first all-teenage U.S. Open women’s singles final since 1999. Even though she was ultimately defeated, Leylah became a breakout Canadian tennis star on the international stage.