Tennis: Filipino-Canadian sensation Leylah Annie Fernandez on winning streak

Vancouver, B.C.

Giant killer has her dad as coach

Charmaine Rodriguez Kara

Canadian tennis sensation Leylah Annie Fernandez, who is of Ecuadorian and Filipino descent, continued her winning streak at the US Open and made it to the semi-finals after beating No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) last Tuesday, September 7, 2021 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The New York crowd could not get enough of the 19-year-old who celebrated her birthday a day before the semis match. She already made waves this week after beating former US Open champions Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber in separate matches.

Now nicknamed a giantkiller, the 5’4”-tall Fernandez attributes her success to the coaching of her father, Jorge, who is a former soccer player of Ecuadorian origin and the support of her mother Irene Exevea, who is a Canadian of Filipino origin. Irene’s father and mother are reportedly from Ilocos Norte and Leyte, respectively.

“I honestly have no idea what I’m feeling right now. Throughout the whole match I was so nervous,” she said during a post-game interview as the excited crowd just continued cheering. “I was trying to do what my coach told me to do. Thanks to you, to the New York crowd, cheering me on, fighting for me and never giving up for me. Thank you. I was able to push through today,” she added.

She almost won against Svitolina two times earlier in the match but the latter’s experience proved to be an advantage during those moments. Svitolina of Ukraine won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics last month and had eight aces and won 72 per cent of her first-serve points during Tuesday’s match. “Svitolina, she’s a great player, she fought for everything, she runs for everything. She deserves to be in the quarterfinals and I’m honoured to have a fight with her. So I just told myself to trust my shots, trust that everything’s going to go well. Even if I lose, I’ve got to go for it, and I’m glad I did,” she added.

When asked what her dad-coach, who wasn’t at the player box, told her, she answered: “My dad told me so many things but today, he told me to go out there, to fight for every ball..fight for every point. Today’s your first quarterfinals. Don’t make it your last over here. Fight for your dream.”

As for her mother, Fernandez said “Honestly, she’s just here as a great support. I love you, Mom. I love you, Bianca. Thank you for coming today,” she said to her mother and sister while blowing kisses in their direction.

The star celebrating Women’s Day with her family. (Photo: HollywoodsMagazine)

During the interview, she was also asked what Canadians eat to play great tennis. In jest, Fernandez said “I would say it’s the maple syrup. The Canadian maple syrup is very good,” eliciting laughter from the crowd at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens. Fernandez, currently ranked No. 73 in the world, will play with either No. 8 seed Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic or No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the semifinals.

“From the very beginning I was underestimated a lot ­– from school to tennis to even soccer,” she said. “Nobody thought I could be a striker on a soccer team. Nobody thought I could be the smartest kid in class either, but I just love proving people wrong,” she told TSN’s SPORTSCENTRE.

Born in Montreal, the southpaw speaks French, Spanish and English. She is the third Canadian woman in the Open Era to reach the US Open Championships semis. Canada’s Carling Bassett-Seguso made it in 1984 while Bianca Andreescu qualified in 2019. Fernandez also now holds the distinction of being the youngest player to defeat two WTA Top-5 players at the same major since 17-year-old Serena Williams at the 1999 U.S..

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