_03_(cropped).jpg) Fernandez at the2025 Washington Open | |
| Full name | Leylah Annie Fernandez |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  Canada |
| Residence | Boynton Beach, Florida, U.S.[1] |
| Born | (2002-09-06)6 September 2002 (age 23) Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) |
| Turned pro | 2019 |
| Plays | Left-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Coach | Jorge Fernandez |
| Prize money | US $7,294,700 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 226–151 |
| Career titles | 5 |
| Highest ranking | No. 13 (8 August 2022) |
| Current ranking | No. 23 (19 January 2026) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | 3R (2025) |
| French Open | QF (2022) |
| Wimbledon | 2R (2023,2024,2025) |
| US Open | F (2021) |
| Other tournaments | |
| Olympic Games | 3R (2024)[2] |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 94–74 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 17 (23 October 2023) |
| Current ranking | No. 72 (20 October 2025) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 3R (2021,2025) |
| French Open | F (2023) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (2024) |
| US Open | QF (2023,2025) |
| Other doubles tournaments | |
| Olympic Games | 2R (2024)[2] |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 2R (2026) |
| Wimbledon | 2R (2023) |
| US Open | QF (2022) |
| Team competitions | |
| BJK Cup | W (2023), record 16–4 |
| Last updated on: 20 October 2025. | |
Leylah Annie Fernandez (born 6 September 2002) is a Canadian professionaltennis player. She has been ranked as high as No. 13 by theWTA on 8 August 2022. Her best doubles ranking is world No. 17, achieved on 23 October 2023. Fernandez won her first WTA Tour title at the2021 Monterrey Open, and has won five WTA singles titles overall. As a 19-year-old, she finished runner-up at the2021 US Open to fellow teenagerEmma Raducanu, defeating three top-5 players en route to the final, including defending championNaomi Osaka.
Fernandez played a pivotal role in Canada's first-everBillie Jean King Cup win in2023, defeatingJasmine Paolini in the final.
Fernandez (Spanish:Fernández) was born inMontreal, Quebec.[1] She attendedÉcole secondaire Antoine-de-Saint-Exupéry. Her fatherJorge is fromEcuador. Her mother Irene (née Exevea) is aFilipino Canadian.[3] Her younger sisterBianca is also a tennis player.[4]
On 25 January 2019, as a 16-year-old, Fernandez reached theAustralian Open girls' singles final, where she lost to the top-seededClara Tauson.[5] On 8 June 2019, Fernandez defeatedEmma Navarro in theFrench Open final to become the first Canadian female winner of a juniorGrand Slam title sinceEugenie Bouchard at the2012 Wimbledon Championships,[4][6][7] a victory that earned her the world No. 1 junior ranking.[8]
On 21 July 2019, Fernandez won her first professional singles tennis title when she rallied to beat fellow CanadianCarson Branstine in the final of theGatineau Challenger. Fernandez also won her first professional doubles title on the same date when she teamed withRebecca Marino of Vancouver. The pair defeated the second-seeded team ofMarcela Zacarías of Mexico andHsu Chieh-yu of Taiwan.[9] The following week, she made her second consecutive ITF final inGranby,[10] losing toLizette Cabrera of Australia.
Fernandez made her major debut at theAustralian Open. After qualifying, she lost in the first round toLauren Davis.[11]
She achieved the biggest win of her career the following week in the2020 Billie Jean King Cup qualifying round against world No. 5,Belinda Bencic.[12]
In late February, at theMexican Open, she qualified and reached her first WTA Tour final, losing to world No. 69Heather Watson.[13] A week later, she defeated fifth seedSloane Stephens to reach the quarterfinals of theMonterrey Open,[14][15] losing to top seed and eventual champion,Elina Svitolina.[16]
In October at theFrench Open, Fernandez reached the third round, first by upsetting 31st seedMagda Linette in the opening round,[17][18] and then defeatingPolona Hercog,[19] before losing to seventh seedPetra Kvitová, in straight sets.[20]
Fernandez began 2021 without consecutive wins in her first four tournaments. However, in March at theMonterrey Open, she won her first four matches to reach the final, defeatingViktorija Golubic to win the first WTA Tour title of her career. At 18 years old, she was the youngest player in the main draw, and won without dropping a set during the tournament.[21][22]
At theUS Open, Fernandez became a fan favorite due to hersuccess as an underdog.[23][24] She defeated the third seed and defending champion,Naomi Osaka, in three sets in the third round,[25] former world-number-one and three-time major champion,Angelique Kerber, in the fourth round, in three sets,[26] and fifth seed Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals, again in three sets, to reach her maiden major semifinal a day after her 19th birthday. She then defeatedAryna Sabalenka, the second seed, to reach her first major final.[27] It was the third time in theOpen era that a woman defeated three of the top five seeds at the US Open.[citation needed] In thefinal, she lost to fellow teenagerEmma Raducanu, in straight sets.[28]
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Fernandez then made herIndian Wells Open debut as the 23rd seed. She first beatAlizé Cornet in the second round and French Open finalistAnastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third, before suffering an upset in round four byShelby Rogers.
At the end of the year, Fernandez was given theBobbie Rosenfeld Award by theCanadian Press as its choice for Canadian female athlete of 2021.[29]
Fernandez started the season at theAdelaide International where she advanced to the round of 16, in which she was defeated byIga Świątek, in straight sets.[30] She lost toMaddison Inglis in the opening round of theAustralian Open as the 23rd seed.[31]
In March, Fernandez defended herMonterrey Open title, reaching her fourth final and winning her second career title. BeatingAnna Karolína Schmiedlová,Zheng Qinwen,Wang Qiang andBeatriz Haddad Maia to reach the final, Fernandez won againstCamila Osorio in three sets, saving five championship points in the final set.[32][33] She also entered thedoubles competition with her sister,Bianca Fernandez. They lost in the first round toElixane Lechemia andIngrid Neel.[34]
Fernandez subsequently entered theIndian Wells Open. Receiving abye in the first round, she advanced to round three after a retirement fromAmanda Anisimova. In her third-round match, she won the second-set tiebreak and defeatedShelby Rogers in three sets, before losing to defending championPaula Badosa in the fourth.[35] In thedoubles competition, partnering with Alizé Cornet, the pair reached semifinals losing there to eventual championsXu Yifan andYang Zhaoxuan.[36]
In May, at theFrench Open, Fernandez beatOlympic champion Belinda Bencic and2019 French Open semifinalist Amanda Anisimova in the third and fourth rounds, respectively, before losing toMartina Trevisan in the quarterfinals.[37]
A Grade-III-fractured foot acquired during her quarterfinal match with Trevisan forced her to missWimbledon, after a first-round exit the previous year toJeļena Ostapenko.
At theCanadian Open, Fernandez lost in the second round to eventual finalist Beatriz Haddad Maia.[38] At theCincinnati Open, she lost in the first round toEkaterina Alexandrova.[39]
Fernandez entered theUS Open seeded 14th and defeatedOcéane Dodin, before losing toLiudmila Samsonova. With the loss of most of her points from reaching the final last year, Fernandez fell outside of the top 30.[40] In thedoubles draw, pairing withDaria Saville, she reached the second round, and withJack Sock in themixed doubles the quarterfinals.[41][42]
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Fernandez started the season by reaching the quarterfinals at theAuckland Open.[43] At theAustralian Open, she won her first-round match against Alizé Cornet. In the second round, she lost to world No. 4,Caroline Garcia, in a hard-fought match, having set points in both sets.[44]
At theMiami Open in thedoubles competition, partnering withTaylor Townsend, they reached the final where they lost to American No. 1 duoCoco Gauff andJessica Pegula. As a result, she moved up 40 positions to a new career-high of No. 42 in the doubles rankings, and later in beginning of May to No. 36.
At theFrench Open insingles, she reached the second round but lost toClara Tauson.[45] At the same tournament, indoubles, she reached her first major doubles final alongside Taylor Townsend.[46] As a result, she moved into the top 20 in the doubles rankings, on 21 August 2023. AtWimbledon, Fernandez lost in the second round to Garcia in a third-set tiebreak. With Townsend, she again lost to Garcia and her partnerLuisa Stefani in the second round of the women's doubles, and partnered withWesley Koolhof in the mixed doubles, losing in the second round.
Fernandez had mixed results during the US Open swing. She lost toMaria Sakkari in the second round ofWashington Open, and scored a win against 11th seedBeatriz Haddad Maia in the second round of theCanadian Open, before losing toDanielle Collins.[47] After failing to qualify for theCincinnati Open, Fernandez reached the quarterfinals ofTennis in Cleveland. Fernandez was knocked out of theUS Open in the first round byEkaterina Alexandrova,[48] but again with Townsend, reached the quarterfinal of thewomen's doubles losing to eventual champions,Erin Routliffe andGabriela Dabrowski.
Fernandez showed better results post US Open swing. She reached her first WTA 1000 singles quarterfinal at theGuadalajara Open, losing there toSofia Kenin. At the same tournament, she also made the quarterfinals in doubles with Townsend.[49]
At the beginning of the Asian swing, Fernandez failed to qualify for theChina Open, but won her first title since February 2022 at theHong Kong Open, defeatingVictoria Azarenka,Mirra Andreeva,Linda Fruhvirtová,Anna Blinkova andKateřina Siniaková.[50] With her title, she reentered the top 50 at No. 43 for the first time, since she dropped her Roland Garros quarterfinal points in May.[51] At the next Asian tournament, theJiangxi Open, she lost this time to Siniaková in the semifinals. She climbed back to the top 35 in the singles rankings and set a new career-high in doubles of No. 17, on 23 October 2023.
Fernandez led the Canadian team to victory at the2023 Billie Jean King Cup, winning her four singles matches and one doubles match, and defeating her first top ten opponent (Markéta Vondroušová) since the 2021 US Open.[52] This was Canada's first-ever Cup win, immediately hailed as a major moment in the history of Canadian tennis, and Fernandez was widely singled out for praise for her contributions.[53][54][55] She said that the achievement "means the world to me," adding that it "gives me a lot of confidence, but also the group of girls and Canada a lot of confidence."[53] Fernandez won the Heart Award for both the Qualifiers and the Finals, becoming only the second player in history to win the award twice in one season.[56]
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At her home tournament, theCanadian Open in Toronto, she reached the doubles semifinals with her sister Bianca where they lost to Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe.[57] At the next WTA 1000, theCincinnati Open, she reached the quarterfinals in singles with victories over fourth seedElena Rybakina, her first win over a top five ranked opponent since her run to the 2021 US Open final,[58][59] andDiana Shnaider.[60] She lost in the last four to Jessica Pegula.[61] Partnering withYulia Putintseva, Fernandez reached the final of the doubles at the same event but the pair lost toAsia Muhammad and Erin Routliffe in a champions tiebreak decider.[62]
Seeded 30th, Fernandez reached the third round at theAustralian Open with wins overYuliia Starodubtseva[63] andCristina Bucșa,[64] before losing to third seed Coco Gauff.[65]
At theAbu Dhabi Open, she was seeded eighth and overcame lucky loserMoyuka Uchijima[66] andLulu Sun[67] to make it through to the quarterfinals, where she lost toAshlyn Krueger.[68]
Partnering Lulu Sun, Fernandez finished runner-up at theWTA 125 Catalonia Open, losing in the doubles final toBianca Andreescu andAldila Sutjiadi.[69]
At theWashington Open, Fernandez won her fourth career title after 21 months, her firstWTA 500 title. She defeatedAnna Kalinskaya in the final after winning a three-set, three-tiebreaker match against Elena Rybakina one day earlier in the semifinals. In October, she won aWTA 250 title at theJapan Women's Open.
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Fernandez is a fan of football clubsReal Madrid andManchester City.[70]She speaks fluent English, French and Spanish[71] and is studying business atIndiana University East, which has partnership with theWTA and the Women's Tennis Benefits Association that enables players to pursue online bachelor's degrees while competing in tournaments.[72]
Fernandez started the Leylah Annie & Family Foundation, anon-profit organization dedicated to providing families with a better quality of life through education and sports.[73]
Fernandez is sponsored by Canadian brandLululemon for apparel and by French brandBabolat for racquets, currently using the Babolat Pure Aero racquet. In January 2022, she became the first global brand ambassador in tennis for Lululemon. Lululemon replaces her prior apparel sponsorAsics, which she will continue to use for footwear until Lululemon launches its tennis footwear line by the end of 2022.[74] She is also sponsored by wireless telecommunications companyTelcel/Claro, cosmetics companyBirchbox,Morgan Stanley, and EasyPost.[75] She also is a brand ambassador forFlair Airlines along with fellow CanadiansEugenie Bouchard andFélix Auger-Aliassime.[76] Additional sponsors includeUSANA, Microsure, and Cambridge Global Payments.[77][78] In January 2022, she became a Google ambassador in Canada for the GooglePixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro as well as Gatorade Canada ambassador.[79][80]
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
Current through the2026 Australian Open.
| Tournament | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | SR | W–L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 3R | 1R | 0 / 7 | 4–7 | 36% |
| French Open | A | A | 3R | 2R | QF | 2R | 3R | 1R | 0 / 6 | 10–6 | 63% | |
| Wimbledon | A | A | NH | 1R | A | 2R | 2R | 2R | 0 / 4 | 3–4 | 43% | |
| US Open | A | A | 2R | F | 2R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 0 / 6 | 10–6 | 63% | |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 7–4 | 5–3 | 3–4 | 4–4 | 5–4 | 0–1 | 0 / 23 | 27–23 | 54% |
Current through the2025 US Open.
| Tournament | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | SR | W–L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | A | 3R | 1R | 1R | A | 3R | 0 / 4 | 4–4 | 50% | |
| French Open | A | A | 1R | 3R | 2R | F | 3R | 2R | 0 / 6 | 10–6 | 63% | |
| Wimbledon | A | A | NH | 1R | A | 2R | 3R | 1R | 0 / 4 | 3–4 | 43% | |
| US Open | A | A | A | 3R | 2R | QF | 1R | QF | 0 / 5 | 9–5 | 64% | |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 5–4 | 2–3 | 9–4 | 4–3 | 6–4 | 0–0 | 0 / 19 | 26–19 | 58% |
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 2021 | US Open | Hard |  Emma Raducanu | 4–6, 3–6 |
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 2023 | French Open | Clay |  Taylor Townsend |  Hsieh Su-wei Wang Xinyu | 6–1, 6–7(5–7), 1–6 |
Women's Tennis Association: Top female singles tennis players from the Americas | |
|---|---|
as of 19 January 2026 | |
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Women's Tennis Association: Top Canadian female singles tennis players | |
|---|---|
as of 2 February 2026 | |
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Women's Tennis Association: Top Canadian female doubles tennis players | |
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as of 19 January 2026 | |
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