Leylah Fernandez is the brightest prospect in Canada’s women’s tennis. The current world number 38 famously reached the final of the 2021 US Open and climbed as high as 13th in the WTA rankings. Leylah Fernandez’s most recent tryst with glory has come while leading the Canadian women’s team to its Billie Jean King Cup victory.

Here’s How Leylah Fernandez Helped Canada Seal The Billie Jean King Cup

Leylah Fernandez is helping Canada become a tennis powerhouse

The finals of the Billie Jean King Cup in Seville have placed Canada, the champions, as the new number-one country in the women’s world ranking. If we add to this the award won last year by its men’s team in the Davis Cup Finals, which they will soon defend in the Malaga Finals, we find confirmation that the North American country is carrying out serious and effective work. 

It is achieving results superior to those of countries with more tradition, quarry, and means, since, until now, Canada was never a front-line country in world tennis.

Leylah Fernandez is the undisputed number 1 female tennis player in Canada

The Canadian victory in the finals in Seville has been based on presenting a team with hidden strengths and, in reality, highly compensated and with an important role in the vision of the captain, Heidi El Tabakh. Leylah Fernandez was number 30 in the WTA and her status as the Canadian number 1 was undisputed. But for number 2 he chose the 18-year-old Marina Stakusic, who had never played BJK Cup. But she performed at a high level, playing with determination and aggressiveness – “I thought she would be nervous on her debut and I wondered how I could calm her down – said El Tabakh after the final – but after seeing her first points I said to myself ‘she’s ready’, I think a star has been born.” 

There was also Gabriela Dabrowsk, US Open doubles champion, and the veteran Eugenie Bouchard, a former world number 5, who despite having been in decline for years and preparing her jump to pickleball, returned to the team and performed perfectly. Rebecca Marino didn’t appear in any match

Leylah Fernandez hopes to make tennis more popular in Canada

The protagonists of success hope that Canadian tennis manages to become more popular, although they know that there is a practically unbreakable ceiling. It is narrated by Leylah Fernandez, the main protagonist: “Ice hockey in Canada has always been the number one sport and it will be very difficult to surpass it, but tennis is rising and showing that it is a very good sport for girls and boys. And now, we are showing that we have very good athletes, playing well and winning titles. So now we can boast that we are world champions, and others know that Canada is one of the countries to be careful with.”

Leylah Fernandez has had a solid, young career

Leylah Fernandez, 21, rose to fame when he reached the final of the US Open at the age of 18. He fell in it to Emma Raducanu, but since then her career has been much stronger than the British one. She has three WTA titles, two in Monterrey (2021 and 2022) and the Hong Kong Open in 2023. In addition, this year she has revealed herself as a great doubles player, reaching the finals in Auckland, the WTA 1000 in Miami, and Roland Garros.

Leylah Fernandez has learned well from her failures

“From that US Open to here my career has had ups and downs, as is normal,” said Leylah, “but I am very happy with my work ethic, that has never changed. I am learning a lot about myself, as a person and also as an athlete. And that’s why I think that in recent months I have been able to show my best tennis, although I still haven’t played perfectly. Every day I love this sport more and I am happy to be able to show it on big stages.”

One of them was in the first game: against Sara Sorribes, the leader of the host team, and before a stand overturned with her rival.

“The initial match against Sara Sorribes was very important for the team and me, because I had in mind that the last time we played, she beat me and I had it in mind. It was difficult because of the nerves and because Sara never puts things on you. easy. Having won that match gave me a lot of confidence and helped me improve in each subsequent match.”

It was one of those matches that helped a tennis player grow. Both because of the technical and physical difficulty as well as the emotional one. Alluding to her, Leylah talks about the importance of the technical environment, which in her case is also family: her father is her coach, although she also collaborates with other technicians, such as Julian Alonso.

Leylah Fernandez’s father works on both her mental and physical strength

“It is not easy to train the mental aspect. My father, as a coach, makes things difficult for me so that I can train my mental strength. As he was a professional athlete, he knows what situations you can find yourself in and prepares you to face them. Thus, I know “what I have to do, because in the end what you have to do in the game is apply what you train. And I have been able to execute it almost perfectly this week.”

Leylah Fernandez was born in an immigrant family

Leylah Fernandez’s father, of Ecuadorian origin, was a professional soccer player. Leylah’s mother is of Filipino origin. She speaks three languages, English, French, and Spanish. Second or third generation immigration is a common feature of Canadian teams, men’s and women’s, and for Leylah Fernandez, it has to do with her success.