Leylah Fernandez About

Leylah Fernandez: the Flushing Meadows finalist who keeps the lefty firefight alive

Leylah Fernandez is the Montreal-born left-hander who came up through Canada's junior pipeline under her father and longtime coach Jorge Fernandez, winning the 2019 Roland-Garros junior title to reach junior world No. 1. She turned pro and qualified into her major main-draw debut at the 2020 Australian Open as a teenager, cracking the top 100 later that year.

Her game is a counterpuncher's blueprint: flat, early-struck lefty groundstrokes, elite court coverage, and a refusal to give ground that plays bigger than her 5-foot-6 frame. She takes the ball on the rise and redirects pace rather than manufacturing her own, which makes her most dangerous when an opponent expects a passive ball and gets a redirected one down the line. The serve is the swing variable — when the first-ball percentage holds, she's a problem for anyone.

The defining run came at 19. Fernandez reached the 2021 US Open final, knocking out defending champion Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber, Elina Svitolina and Aryna Sabalenka before falling to Emma Raducanu — becoming the youngest player to beat three top-five seeds at one major since Serena Williams in 1999. She backed it with a quarterfinal at the 2022 French Open, reached a career-high ranking inside the top 15, and has assembled a handful of WTA titles plus deep team-event tennis for Canada.

Now 23 and ranked No. 23, Fernandez remains a fixture in the back half of the top 30 — capable of running through a 250 or 500 draw on her week and equally capable of an early exit when the serve dips. With the clay swing through the Italian Open and Roland-Garros in view, she's still chasing the major encore the 2021 final promised.

Leylah Fernandez at a glance

Leylah Fernandez is 24 years old; was born in Montreal, Quebec; stands 1.68 m; plays left-handed; and is ranked No. 26 in the WTA rankings.