Leylah Annie Fernandez (born 6 September 2002)[1] is a Canadian professional tennis player. She won her first WTA Tour singles title at the 2021 Monterrey Open.[2] Fernandez reached her first Grand Slam final at the 2021 US Open, finishing runner-up to Emma Raducanu. Following this performance, she reached a career-high singles ranking of 28 on 13 September 2021.
Fernandez was born in Montreal, Quebec.[1] Her father Jorge is from Ecuador and is a former soccer player. Her mother Irene (née Exevea) is a Filipino Canadian.[3] Her younger sister Bianca Jolie is also a tennis player.[4]
On 21 July 2019, Fernandez won her first professional singles tennis title when she rallied to beat fellow Canadian Carson Branstine in the final of the Gatineau Challenger. Fernandez also won her first professional doubles title on the same date when she teamed with Rebecca Marino of Vancouver. The pair defeated the second-seeded team of Marcela Zacarías of Mexico and Hsu Chieh-yu of Taiwan.[6] The following week, she made her second consecutive ITF final in Granby,[7] losing to Lizette Cabrera of Australia.
2020: Grand Slam debut, first WTA Tour final, French Open third round[edit]
Fernandez made her Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open. After qualifying, she lost in the first round to Lauren Davis.[8]
In late February at the Mexican Open, she qualified and reached her first WTA tournament final, where, after winning 12 sets in a row, she was defeated by world No. 69, Heather Watson. A week later, she upset Grand Slam champion Sloane Stephens to reach the quarterfinals of the Monterrey Open, losing to the eventual champion Elina Svitolina.
Fernandez began 2021 without consecutive wins in her first four tournaments. However, in March at the Monterrey Open she won her first four matches to reach the final, defeating Viktorija Golubic to win the first WTA 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.[10]
At the US Open, Fernandez became a fan favorite due to her unexpected success as an underdog.[11][12] She defeated the third seed and defending champion, Naomi Osaka, 5–7, 7–6(7–2), 6–4 in the third round,[13] former world No. 1 and three-time major champion Angelique Kerber in the fourth round, 4–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–2,[14] and fifth seed Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals, 6–3, 3–6, 7–6(7–5), to reach her maiden major semifinal a day after her 19th birthday. She then defeated Aryna Sabalenka, the second seed, to reach her first major final[15] and in the process became the first player born in 2002 to reach the final. It was the third time in the Open Era that a woman defeated three of the top five seeds at the US Open.[citation needed] In the final she lost to fellow teenager Emma Raducanu 4–6, 3–6.[16]
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Canada
Emma Raducanu
Viktorija Golubic
Lizette Cabrera
Fernanda Contreras
Hsu Chieh-yu 
Bibiane Schoofs
Robin Anderson 
Jessika Ponchet
Veronika Pepelyaeva 
Clara Tauson
Angelique Kerber
Naomi Osaka
Aryna Sabalenka
Petra Kvitova
Elina Svitolina
Jelena Ostapenko
13)
45)
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