Leylah Annie Fernandez learns to accept herself five years after US Open final at Flushing Meadows, New York; Mindset under pressure boosts resilience
Exclusive: How Leylah Annie Fernandez learnt to accept herself, five years on from teenage run to US Open final
How Leylah Annie Fernandez learnt to accept herself, five years on from teenage run to US Open final
The Canadian opens up to Olympics.com about heritage, playing with Venus Williams and learning from her Paralympic medallist boyfriend, Vincent Boily.
The famed tennis courts of Flushing Meadows in New York City will always hold special meaning for Leylah Annie Fernandez .
It is where, as a teenager, the Canadian made an unforgettable run to the 2021 US Open final. Among the opponents she defeated were Grand Slam winners, the reigning champion and top five seeds vying for the hard-court crown.
Fernandez, then 19 years old, would fall just short, as British qualifier Emma Raducanu completed her own fairtale run, winning the title without dropping a set all tournament.
But enormous expectations were placed on the Québécoise from that moment on, even if she has since won just three matches in her last four US Open appearances. Five years on from her sole major final, the 23-year-old has a new attitude.
“I needed to learn acceptance,” Fernandez told Olympics.com . “Acceptance that I wasn’t going to play my best tennis all the time, that maybe that week I do play my best tennis, but being okay in the good days or [bad] days to learn to live in that.
“Acceptance was a big part of learning and being okay in the s***. In the beginning, there [was] a lot of doubt, if I’m being frank and honest, and then being like, ‘Will I ever get back to that?’ But now, because I’ve learned the acceptance part, I know I can do it. I just have to be patient, keep working hard.”
Who knows what could have been had the result at Arthur Ashe Stadium been reversed. But Fernandez does not dwell on it, even if it has been a testing journey half a decade after such a seismic moment in her young career.
She broke into the top 30 after the 2021 US Open and almost cracked the top 10 a year later. The Canadian returns to the concrete jungle as one of the lower 32 seeds and as a different person with new expectations – even if another fairytale fortnight beckons.
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Leylah Fernandez: Shaped and made ‘too nice’ by sisterhood
Fernandez is a middle child, and though she jokes that it is for the best that her older sister does not play sport, her younger sister, Bianca Jolie , plays collegiate tennis at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
“Training with my younger sister has really helped me because she always wants to beat me and I always want to beat her,” said Fernandez. “My dad would always push us to compete against each other, and that has helped us become better tennis players. Once practice is done, we always give a big hug. So always be gracious at the end.”
The sisters have played doubles together on the WTA tour - most recently at this year’s Canadian Open - and hope to do so again, with 22-year-old Bianca planning to turn professional.
“Being the older sister… it’s a little weird, but I feel like it made me a little too nice sometimes,” Fernandez added. “I see my younger sister and I would try to understand her, and it wouldn’t be the time for that. When we play doubles together, that’s when you really see the different personalities. She’s a pitbull; she will not let go of her ground.”
Tennis is not Fernandez’s only sporting love - the mention of football lights a spark in her eyes. Her father, who is also the world No. 31’s coach, was a semi-professional player in Ecuador and instilled a passion for soccer into his three daughters.
Fernandez grew up dreaming of following in Jorge’s footsteps, but he preferred that his daughter forge her own path. They chose tennis instead, though they still make time for a kickabout in practice and attend top-level matches across the globe.
“I wanted to be a football player before being a tennis player,” admitted Fernandez. “He wanted me to find my own passion, and I was grateful for that, because he put me in different sports.
“That has helped me not only physically with footwork, but also the competitive drive and using different parts of my body. Sometimes you get into weird positions to get to a ball and that reminds me of the training that I’ve done when I was younger.”
Fernandez on lessons learnt from Venus Williams…
The Fernandez doubles duo will always have special significance for the family, as the sisters proudly represent their Canadian-Ecuadorian-Filipino roots. The 23-year-old was born in Montréal and speaks three languages: French, English and Spanish.
Her multicultural background evokes memories of watching the Spanish-language channel, eating Peruvian dishes (another line of heritage thanks to her grandfather), and trips to Toronto to meet up with extended Filipino family.
“I remember one time we drove six hours during the summer just to see my tito, titas, aunties: everyone,” Fernandez recalled. “The house was too small for all of us, but we didn’t care. We enjoyed everybody’s company, and we’d watch [Manny Pacquiao] fight.
“Then because my Lolo [grandfather] was also in the Filipino Heritage Band, they would have the band playing music. It was so fun to be around - doesn’t matter where you are in the world, I always see that the Filipinos always come out and cheer for us.”
Fernandez has enjoyed support from fans in Canada and the diaspora from the Philippines. She can also count on the U.S. backing, particularly when playing alongside four-time Olympic champion Venus Williams .
Despite being half her age, Fernandez (left) has formed a special bond with seven-time Grand Slam singles winner, Venus Williams.
They first played doubles at last year’s US Open and made it to the quarter-finals, losing out to top seeds Kateřina Siniaková and Taylor Townsend , then reunited in Miami this March. Despite being half her age, Fernandez has formed a special bond with the seven-time Grand Slam singles winner.
“She has been super positive, really like an older sister too,” Fernandez said of Williams. “I had my older sister cheering me on when I was younger, and going on tour, I was missing that a little bit.
“But the last year-and-a-half, I always see Venus a little bit, and she always cheers me on, always gives me some nice words to keep going and to never really feel down on myself, but always look into the future of what I can do better.”
“We’ll see what the future holds for us,” the Canadian said of a possible reunion. “I see her team sometimes watching my matches and that gives me a lot of happiness. It’s so cool that they included me in their little group now. Seeing her on tour smiling like a big kid is so fun. Hopefully we do get an opportunity to play again together.”
Leylah Fernandez on Paralympic medallist boyfriend, Vincent Boily
Fernandez comes into the 2026 US Open with renewed confidence, following her first top-10 win in over a year against Roland-Garros champion Mirra Andreeva .
When the Quebec native recorded her previous victory over a top-10 player (against Jessica Pegula on her way to winning the DC Open) in July 2025, she recorded something else that grabbed the tennis world’s attention.
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Fernandez had never been on a romantic date and published a social media video asking for potential suitors to contact her. In early 2026, a new post confirmed a new partner: Vincent Boily , a Canadian para ice hockey player and world champion.
Boily made his Paralympic Games debut at Milano Cortina 2026 , recording eight points (four goals, four assists) as Team Canada came away with the silver medal for the third straight Paralympics.
“While he was in the tournament, I told him to enjoy every moment,” said Fernandez. “I just tried to remind him, ‘Have fun, it’s your dream since you’re a kid. So go out there, have fun, make the most of it’. And he did amazing. He scored some important key goals [and] got all the way to the finals.”
A two-time Olympian herself, Fernandez appreciates their common experience of representing their country on the biggest stage. Boily has helped the tennis player to stay faithful to her journey, wherever that might take her next.
“This season, he’s helped me a lot in accepting [myself], not being okay with the loss but finding ways to improve and trying to find solutions,” she explained. “It’s good to hear it from someone that I care about a lot. It’s good that we both play sports, but we don’t play the same sports. There’s also that little disconnection that we can share.”
Fernandez concluded: “I have a great team around me. I’ve won some WTA titles, the Billie Jean King Cup in the meantime. I’ve done some good things and I have just got to keep improving in that aspect. It’s not going to come all at once. I’ve got to keep my head up and keep one foot in front of the other.”
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