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Meet Leylah Fernandez, the teenage tennis star shining at US Open 2021

Leylah Fernandez - Tennis Canada

Source: SBS/Dario Castaldo

Widely regarded as a rising star, in February 2020 she reached her first WTA tour final in the Mexico Open - where she lost to Heather Watson from GB - and she's currently world number 73 despite having played only a few pro events last year.


Leylah was born in Laval, Quebec. Her father Jorge Fernandez is from Ecuador, her mother is Filipino-Canadian.  Both her maternal grandparents moved to Canada from Manila.

In this interview, Leylah talks about her very multicultural childhood, how and why she chose tennis over soccer and express her goal to reach the world's top 10 by the end of the year. 


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