Leylah Fernandez has had a shaky 2025, but she turned things around when she emerged victorious at the Mubadala Citi DC Open. Now, as she gears up for the Cincinnati Open, the youngster opened up about the off-court challenges she and her family have faced in recent times.
Fernandez first rose to fame in 2021, when she reached the finals of the US Open. However, she has since struggled to replicate that level of performance. In July earlier this year, the Canadian finally ended a 21-month long title drought when she beat Anna Kalinskaya in the City DC Open final.
Recently, Leylah Fernandez revealed that she’s faced certain challenges away from the tennis courts in the past few months, telling WTA,
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"Mental state’s been a little up and down. My family and I, we went through a bit of a scare earlier this year, and same with my team. I feel like this year we’ve been challenged a lot off the court.”
She added that she'd found a balance now, explaining,
“Now that we’ve found the balance, things are a lot better. We’re enjoying our time. We're very grateful to be here, and now I'm just excited to be playing the North American swing. It's been a while since I've been back in the U.S. and Canada, so it's great to be playing near home.”
After her victory in Washington, Fernandez went on to compete at the Canadian Open, where she lost out to Australia's Maya Joint in her opening round.
Leylah Fernandez reacts to possibly playing Venus Williams at the Cincinnati Open
After her heartbreak on home ground, Leylah Fernandez will now return to action at the Cincinnati Open. The Canadian is seeded 21st at the Masters 1000 events and has been given a bye in her opening round match.
For her second round encounter, Fernandez could run into tennis legend Venus Williams. Reacting to the possibility of playing the seven-time Grand Slam champion, the 22-year-old told WTA,
"Oh man, it's going to be an incredible match if it does happen. Venus, she's a legend. She's an icon. Growing up, when I first started playing tennis, people asked me, 'Who did you watch when you were growing up?' I always said Justine Henin and the Williams sisters.
Venus Williams will be playing Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro for her first round match. The winner of this encounter will then take on Leylah Fernandez on Saturday, August 9.
