Leylah Fernandez Reaches First-Ever Grand Slam Final in Doubles at French Open

Posted on June 9, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Leylah Fernandez is thisclose to a first Grand Slam title…

The 20-year-old half-Ecuadorian Canadian professional tennis player and her women’s doubles partner Taylor Townsend, the No. 10 sends at the French Open, needed only 64 minutes to book their place in a first Grand Slam final together, defeating No. 2 seeds Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula 6-0, 6-4 at Roland Garros.

For Fernandez, the 2021 US Open runner-up in singles, the result marks her first Grand Slam final in doubles.

Townsend advances to her second major final, having been runner-up alongside Caty McNally at last year’s US Open to Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova. French Open

They will face unseeded Hsieh Su-Wei and Wang Xinyu for the title, after they upset No. 6 seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Ellen Perez in the other semifinal, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

The Canadian-American duo first teamed up at Indian Wells in March, and their record together now stands at 14-4.

The defeat of Gauff and Pegula reverses the result of the Miami final, which the all-American team won 7-6 (6), 6-2.

Townsend also exacted a measure of revenge for last year’s Roland Garros semifinals, which – partnered with Madison Keys — she lost 6-4, 7-6(4) to Gauff and Pegula.

“I’m just honestly so proud of how we were able to play and perform,” Townsend said afterwards. “I told Leylah after the match, ‘This is what we have been building towards over the past couple of months.’ From where we started as a team and just figuring each other out to now, understanding each other so well and being able to play such great, consistent tennis/

“Especially I’m really proud of how we were able to kind of put our last result behind us. We lost to Jess and Coco in the finals in Miami, and we were able to learn from it, detach from the result, and then just understand and take what we learned in that match and apply it into this one. I’m so proud of like how we were able to stay focused and committed to what we were doing on our side of the net and not worry about what they were doing.

“I’m so proud, but, you know, work is not done. We’ve still got one more. You know, this match, I’m sure for Leylah, as well, this match has made me even more hungry to hold the winning trophy.”

Beatriz Haddad Maia Defeats Karolina Pliskova to Reach First-Ever WTA Masters Final

Posted on August 13, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Beatriz Haddad Maia is one win away from her first-ever WTA 1000 title.

The 26-year-old Brazilian professional tennis player beat Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 7-6 (9) in the late semifinal at the National Bank Open to reach a WTA Masters event final for the first time ever.

She becomes the first Brazilian woman to reach a WTA Masters event final.

Haddad Maia was dominant for most of the first set, quickly building a 5-1 lead. Plishkova started to build some momentum, however, winning three consecutive games.

Haddad Maia’s 184 km/h serve on set point left Plishkova off-footed and the Czech player put her return into the net.

Plishkova had a strong start to the second set, building a 4-1 lead. But the 26-year-old Brazilian dug deep, tying the set 5-5.

After they exchanged games, the second set went to tiebreak.

Haddad Maia led the tiebreak 8-7 for second match point when Pliskova double faulted, angrily swatting away the Brazilian’s return.

Haddad Maia will face Simona Halep in the women’s final at Sobeys Stadium.

The WTA event was hard on seeded players with the top six all being eliminated before the quarterfinals. Haddad Maia was responsible for three of those upsets, taking down 13th seeded Leylah Fernandez, world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, and 14th seeded Pliskova.

Leylah Fernandez Defeats Amanda Anisimova to Reach Her First-Ever French Open Quarterfinals

Posted on May 29, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a new personal best for Leylah Fernandez at the French Open…

The 19-year-old half-Ecuadorian Canadian tennis player outlasted USA’s Amanda Anisimova 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in their fourth-round match on Sunday in Paris, France to reach her first-ever quarterfinals at Roland Garros.

Fernandez’s opportunities abound in a decimated women’s singles draw that lost nine of its top 10 seeds in the first week.

Only world No. 1 Iga Swiatek remains. She’s in the other half, and the two could only meet in the final.

“It was a very hard match, an incredible match for the both of us. I think we brought a high level,” Fernandez said of the win over Anisimova.

The American was a women’s singles semifinalist at age 17, in 2019, the year 16-year-old Fernandez won the junior girls’ title.

Since then, their careers have gone in somewhat opposite directions.

“I’m just glad that today I was able to fight through some difficult moments and just enjoy the game as much as possible,” Fernandez added.

Fernandez, now based in Florida, will next face No. 59 ranked Martina Trevisan, who beat Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich 7-6 (10), 7-5 in the fourth round on Sunday.

Fernandez is the first Canadian woman to make the Roland Garros quarterfinals since Eugenie Bouchard in 2014.

Leylah Fernandez Outlasts Camila Osorio to Claim Second Straight Monterrey Open Title

Posted on March 7, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Leylah Fernandez is a repeat defender…

The 19-year-old half-Ecuadorian Canadian tennis player outlasted Colombia’s Camila Osorio in an absolutely thrilling final at the Monterrey Open on Sunday night, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (3), to win the WTA 250 hard-court event for the second year in a row.

Fernandez has to fight off five match points late in the third set to win the tournament.

Fernandez has now won her last 10 matches in a row in Monterrey, 17 of her last 20 matches in Mexico and 19 of her last 24 matches in North America.

There were all kinds of momentum swings throughout the two-hour, 52-minute battle, including right from the get-go, as Fernandez stormed out to a 3-0 lead after just eight minutes on court, eventually extending that to 5-2—but an increasingly determined Osorio clawed back to take the opening set in a tie-break.

Fernandez got back on track in the second set, building a 4-1, double-break lead. Osorio began building another comeback, getting one break back, but Fernandez held onto the other one and ended up serving it out to take it to a decider.

After Fernandez broke in the first game of the third set, Osorio won four games in a row to build a 4-1 lead, then Fernandez came back to 4-all, and that’s when the tension reached its peak—Fernandez staved off five match points, one serving to stay in the match at 4-5 and another four serving to stay in the match at 5-6, the last one coming after a 15-minute-plus delay after several lights in the stadium went out.

But once the lights came back on Fernandez came alive one last time, winning 10 of the last 13 points to close it out, ripping a flurry of forehand winners along the way.

At the end of the day, Fernandez’s numbers were just a bit tidier than Osorio’s—she finished with 15 more winners, 44 to 29, to only 9 more unforced errors, 60 to 51.

Fernandez won her second WTA Tour title, having also won Monterrey last year. She’s the third woman in the 14-year history of the event to win it in back-to-back years, after Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (2010-2011) and Garbine Muguruza (2018-2019).

She had also come back from the brink of defeat in the second round earlier in the week—she was two points away from losing serving to stay in the match at 5-6 in the third set against China’s Zheng Qinwen before winning that one, 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (3).

Despite the narrow loss in the final, it was a great week for the 20-year-old Osorio, who reached her third WTA final—her first two came last year, winning Bogota and finishing runner-up in Tenerife. She also got the second-biggest win of her career along the way, beating No. 15-ranked Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals—her biggest win also came against Svitolina, when the Ukrainian was No. 6 in Tenerife last year.

The 20-year-old Colombian now rises from No. 44—which was already her career-high—to a new career-high of No. 35 on the new WTA rankings.

On this day a year ago, she was ranked No. 185.

Leylah Fernandez to Compete at This Year’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals

Posted on October 4, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Leylah Fernandez is gearin’ up for a special cup…

The 19-year-old half-Ecuadorian Canadian tennis sensation and U.S. Open finalist is among the players named to the 12 teams at next month’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals.

Fernandez will play for Canada in the competition.

But she isn’t the only Latina set to play in the Cup.

Two-time Grand Slam champion Garbiñe Muguruza will play for Spain along with Carla Suarez Navarro.

Meanwhile, Caroline Garcia is set to play for defending champion France, alongside her teammates Alize Cornet and Fiona Ferro, who were all part of the group that won the event in 2019. The 2020 edition was called off because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Matches will be played in Prague on Nov. 1-6.

The host Czech Republic will be led by 2021 French Open singles and doubles champion Barbora Krejcikova.

She is joined by Marketa Vondrousova, the 2019 French Open runner-up and the 2020 Tokyo Games singles silver medalist, and Katerina Siniakova, who was Krejcikova’s doubles partner for three Grand Slam doubles titles and a gold medal at the Summer Games.

Sloane Stephens is joined by Jessica Pegula, Danielle Collins, CoCo Vandeweghe and Caroline Dolehide on the U.S. roster.

Leylah Fernandez Defeats Aryna Sabalenka to Reach US Open Final

Posted on September 10, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Leylah Fernandez’s teenage dream run continues at the US Open…

The 19-year-old half-Ecuadorian Canadian tennis player made it through a semifinal filled with momentum swings to edge No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4.

At the outset Thursday, Sabalenka looked in control, claiming 12 of the first 14 points for a 3-0 lead. Just eight minutes had elapsed, and most spectators were yet to reach their seats. Not until later did the 20,000-plus in the stands rally the fist-aloft Fernandez with chants of “Let’s go, Leylah! Let’s go!” accompanied by rhythmic clapping.

“I’m glad that whatever I’m doing on court, the fans are loving it — and I’m loving it, too,” Fernandez said. “We’ll say it’s magical.”

At the end of the first set and again the third, it was Sabalenka who let things get away from her. In the last game, she double-faulted twice in a row to set up match point, then sailed a forehand long.

“This,” Sabalenka said, “is what we call pressure.”

No matter what, seemingly, Fernandez did not feel it. Didn’t waver.

This was the left-handed Fernandez’s fourth consecutive three-set victory over a seeded opponent. First came No. 3 Naomi Osaka, the 2018 and 2020 US Open champion. Then came No. 16 Angelique Kerber, the 2016 champ. That was followed by No. 5 Elina Svitolina and Sabalenka.

“There’s no limit to what I can do. I’m just glad that right now everything’s going well,” said Fernandez, who could give Canada its second US Open women’s title in three years, following Bianca Andreescu‘s triumph in 2019.

She’ll next face Emma Raducanu in the final.

Fernandez was born in Montreal to a Filipino Canadian mother and Ecuadorian father; the family moved to Florida after Leylah had success as a junior at age 12. Her dad is also her coach, although he is not with her in New York, instead offering coaching tips in daily phone conversations.

Perhaps he told his daughter to let Sabalenka make all the mistakes in a tiebreaker, because that’s what happened at the conclusion of the first set. Sabalenka went up 2-0 and then lost her way. Every point won by Fernandez came courtesy of a miss by Sabalenka.

“I wouldn’t say that she did something,” Sabalenka said. “I would say that I [destroyed] myself.”

In the second set, Sabalenka regained her form and Fernandez took a step back. But by the third, it was Fernandez’s time to shine.

“Now she’s like [a] top-10 player,” Sabalenka said. “We’ll see how good she will be in the future.”

Leylah Fernandez Advances to First Grand Slam Semifinal While Continuing Cinderella Run at US Open

Posted on September 7, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a birthday Leylah Fernandez will never forget…

The half-Ecuadorian Canadian tennis player, who just turned 19 on Monday, defeated No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) at the US Open to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal.

In the process, the unseeded Canadian teenager with an exciting game and enthusiasm to match became the youngest player to get that far in the women’s bracket at Flushing Meadows since Maria Sharapova.

Fernandez had previously recorded wins over past US Open champions Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber.

“I obviously have no idea what I’m feeling right now,” said Fernandez, a left-hander with quick baseline reflexes who is ranked 73rd and participating in only the seventh major tournament of her early career. “I was so nervous. I was trying to do what my coach told me to do.”

That coach is her father, who isn’t in New York; he stayed home and is offering tips in daily phone conversations. That helps, certainly, as does the loud backing she has been receiving from the spectators, who rose and cheered wildly each time Fernandez raised a fist high above her head or wind-milled both arms after winning a key point in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“Thanks to you, I was able to push through today,” she told the crowd after edging Svitolina, the 2020 Tokyo Games bronze medalist whose two Grand Slam semifinal runs include the 2019 US Open.

Not requiring any encouragement to get out of his seat was Fernandez’s fitness coach, who would leap and shout, pointing fingers or waving clenched fists. Svitolina’s husband, two-time major semifinalist Gael Monfils, offered similar support from Ashe’s other guest box.

It was touch-and-go down the stretch — even after Fernandez grabbed the opening set, and even after she led 5-2 in the third. One way in which she held a clear advantage: Of points that lasted more than eight shots, Fernandez won 26, Svitolina 16.

Five times, Fernandez was two points from winning but failed to collect the next point. Finally, at 5-all in the tiebreaker, she moved to match point when she smacked a down-the-line passing shot that got past Svitolina with the help of a bounce off the net tape.

Fernandez put up both palms, as if to say, “Sorry about that bit of luck,” while Svitolina put a hand to her mouth in dismay.

Svitolina’s backhand contributed to her undoing late, and when a return from that side landed long, it was over. Fernandez dropped to her knees at the baseline and covered her face; Svitolina walked around the net to approach Fernandez for a hug.

Next on this magical ride for Fernandez will come yet another test against a player who is ranked higher and has more experience on the sport’s biggest stages: Aryna Sabalenka. Sabalenka, the No. 2 seed, matched her best result in a Grand Slam tournament by reaching the semifinals via a 6-1, 6-4 victory over French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova, who was seeded No. 8.

Leylah Fernandez Defeats Former US Open Champion Angelique Kerber to Reach First-Ever Grand Slam Quarterfinal

Posted on September 6, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Leylah Fernandez has taken down another ex-champion at the U.S. Open…

The 18-year-old half-Ecuadorian Canadian tennis player, unseeded at this year’s event, won the last five games to eliminate 2016 title winner Angelique Kerber 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 on Sunday at Flushing Meadows, proving that her earlier upset of defending champion Naomi Osaka was no fluke.

In the process, Fernandez has reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, and she did a day before her 19th birthday.

With grit and guile, plus a veteran’s poise in the face of big deficits against much more accomplished opponents, Fernandez is displaying strokes and a demeanor that left Kerber offering this assessment: “She can go really far in the next few years.”

Ask Fernandez for the secret to her success, and she repeatedly mentions two factors. One is being sure to enjoy her time on court. The other is support of family, because her father, who is from Ecuador, her mother, who is Filipino Canadian, and her sisters “have definitely kept the joy for me.”

She credits Dad — who coaches her and has been offering instructions in daily phone calls while back home, taking care of a younger sibling — and Mom — who is leading the cheers with other family members and Fernandez’s fitness trainer in courtside seats — with teaching a valuable lesson that has nothing to do with tennis.

They made sure to emphasize, Fernandez said, that “you can’t take things too seriously, you’ve got to be mature but at the same time just be a kid, let loose, have fun, eat chocolate when you want to, and just have fun, watch movies, go past your bedtime.”

Just as against Osaka in Arthur Ashe Stadium two nights earlier, Fernandez dropped the opening set against Kerber in Louis Armstrong Stadium, which was so full that would-be spectators were being turned away at the doors.

And just as against Osaka, Fernandez trailed in the second set: Kerber led by a break at 4-2.

Both times, the 73rd-ranked Fernandez managed to get folks in the seats on her side, exulting with every of her on-the-run, impossible-angle groundstrokes that added up to a 45-28 edge in winners.

Fernandez redirects opponent’s shots swiftly and seemingly with ease, sometimes dropping to a knee near the baseline to get the proper leverage. That’s a very similar style to the one another lefty, Kerber, used to reach No. 1 in the rankings and claim three Grand Slam titles.

Kerber, 33, has been playing well enough lately to get to the Wimbledon semifinals in July, but instead of that experience paying off, Fernandez figured the age difference worked in her favor as the contest stretched past two hours.

“I was honestly tired in the third set,” Fernandez acknowledged. “But with that thought, I was telling myself, like, ‘If I’m tired, she must be exhausted.'”

Still, in the last set, Kerber held a break point with a chance to go up 3-1. Fernandez erased that chance with a cross-court forehand winner. Kerber wouldn’t claim another game.

When it ended, Fernandez lifted her arms, then leaned forward to put her hands on her knees and smiled. She stood and patted her chest with her palm, while Kerber walked around the net to offer a clasp of hands and an arm around Fernandez’s shoulders.

“I remember the feeling really well,” Kerber said when asked about playing with the sort of loose-grip freedom Fernandez displays. “I mean it’s (a) few years ago. But of course, I mean, she has no pressure.”

Now Fernandez, who only once had been as far as the third round at a major tournament until now, will meet No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals.

Leylah Fernandez Upsets Defending Champion Naomi Osaka to Reach Fourth Round at US Open

Posted on September 4, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Leylah Fernandez has taken down the defending champion…

The 18-year-old half-Ecuadorian Canadian tennis player, ranked No. 73 in the world, defeated reigning US Open champion Naomi Osaka in their third round match on Friday night 5-7, 6-7 (2), 6-4.

Before this year’s US Open, Fernandez had never been past the second round of a Grand Slam..

“Right before the match, I knew I was able to win,” Fernandez said after her upset win over Osaka.

Osaka had come into Friday with a 16-match winning streak at majors and four career trophies, all on hard courts. But this was Osaka’s first Slam tournament since she pulled out of the French Open before the second round to take a mental health break — she also sat out Wimbledon, before participating in the 2020 Tokyo Games, where she lit the cauldron — and maybe the time off was an issue.

Another possible factor in her failure to close things out while serving for the victory against the left-hander Fernandez at 6-5 in the second set: Osaka hadn’t competed since Monday. That’s because the woman she was supposed to meet in the second round, Olga Danilovic, withdrew due to illness.

Osaka left the court after seven games to change outfits and put on a yellow dress. She was quite good down the stretch in the opening set. She grabbed 12 of the last 13 points, including the last nine, with a break at love to go up 6-5, and a hold at love with the help of a pair of aces at 112 mph and 114 mph to end it.

Osaka seemed on track for a similar conclusion in the second set, leading 6-5 and serving. But when she sailed a forehand wide, Fernandez had her first break of the match to make it 6-all.

“I guess I wanted to stay on court a little bit longer. And I wanted to put on a show for everybody here,” Fernandez said. “One hour was not enough for me to be on court.”

And so began Osaka’s downward spiral. She fell behind 5-0 in the ensuing tiebreaker, missing shots and displaying her frustration, as she occasionally has done in the past, by flinging her racket. Chair umpire Alison Hughes did not sanction Osaka then, although later a warning was issued for hitting a ball into the stands.

“Honestly, I wasn’t focusing on Naomi,” Fernandez said. “I was only focusing on myself and what I needed to do.”

More to the point, Osaka was not at her best. She left the court with a white towel draped over her head after the second set and never really got her game going the rest of the way.

Fernandez certainly had something to do with that, particularly because of her serve. She won 18 of 19 first-serve points — and never faced a break point — in the third set.

Fernandez’s knee-to-the-ground, quick-redirect style at the baseline is reminiscent of another lefty, Angelique Kerber, a three-time Grand Slam champion who won the 2016 US Open. And who just so happens to be the next opponent for Fernandez.

“I’m going to put on a show like I did tonight,” Fernandez said, “and we’re going to see how it goes.”

Maria Camila Osorio Serrano Wins First Career WTA Title at Copa Colsanitas

Posted on April 11, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a homecoming to remember for Maria Camila Osorio Serrano…

The 19-year-old Clombian tennis player completed her Cinderella run in front of her home crowd at the Copa Colsanitas in epic fashion, winning her first WTA title 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 over No.5 seed Tamara Zidansek.

“It’s been an unreal week for me,” Osorio Serrano said after her win. “I still cannot believe that I won the title.”

At two hours and 48 minutes, it was easily the longest final of the season, 40 minutes over the previous benchmark set by Daria Kasatkina‘s victory over Marie Bouzkova to take the Phillip Island Trophy.

“I played a really great match against Tamara, and I didn’t know how I turned the match,” said Osorio Serrano. “I lost the first set and I was a little bit tight, so I still cannot believe I won.”

World No.180 Osorio Serrano becomes the lowest-ranked WTA title winner since World No. 299 Margarita Gasparyan won Tashkent 2018.

The former junior World No.1 and 2019 US Open girls’ champion is the fourth teenage titlist on tour in 2021 following Iga Swiatek in Adelaide, Clara Tauson in Lyon and Leylah Fernandez in Monterrey.

She’s also the third Colombian to capture the Bogota title in the tournament’s 23-year history, joining four-time champion Fabiola Zuluaga (1999, 2002-04) and 2010 winner Mariana Duque-Mariño on the roll of honour.

“With this tournament, my calendar is going to be more open, I’ll have more options to play bigger tournaments, so I’m super, super happy with this win,” Osorio Serrano said. “And of course that I’m home, with my family, with my friends, with my fans from Colombia. ”

“That was my dream, and kind of a goal, to win the tournament,” Osorio Serrano added.

Osorio Serrano’s last appearance in Bogota had been a significant breakthrough – as a wildcard ranked World No.438, she reached the 2019 quarterfinals, where she lost a high-quality three-setter to eventual champion Amanda Anisimova. This year, playing just her fourth WTA main draw, Osorio Serrano’s talent was on display as she made the final without dropping a set.

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