Leylah Fernandez hopes to turn doubles success into singles revival at Wimbledon
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Canada’s Leylah Fernandez has one clear goal for the rest of the year: to raise her singles ranking.
The 20-year-old from Laval, Que., is on a tear in doubles this year, coming off a French Open final appearance with US partner Taylor Townsend. But her singles playing has not lived up to expectations.
Fernandez heads into Wimbledon ranked 95th in the world – a far cry from the No. 51 she entered the French Open with in May, and even further from the No. 13 she achieved last August.
The southpaw who stole the hearts of Canadians – and New Yorkers – with her surprise run to the US Open final in 2021 knows her record of 16-14 singles needs to be improved.
“I just need to start winning games,” Fernandez told The Canadian Press bluntly. “It hasn’t been the best year. Of course I want better results, I want to win, I want my ranking up.”
‘Still figuring things out’
Fernandez opens the singles match on the Grand Slam grass court against No. 86 Kateryna Baindl of Ukraine on Monday. If she wins, she will likely face No. 5 Caroline Garcia in the next round.
Despite her decline in the rankings, Fernandez believes she’s moving in the right direction – and she’s giving herself time to grow as a player so young in her career.
“It’s still a development phase for me, I’m still figuring things out and I think losing games is a hard part of the game,” Fernandez said.
“I don’t think it’s going very well, the results speak for themselves,” she added. “But every day in training I’m improving, I’ve gotten better and that’s the most important thing for me.”
LOOK | Fernandez eliminated in 2nd round of Bad Homburg Open:
Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., falls to Russia’s Anna Blinkova 7-5, 6-2 in the second round at a WTA Tour 250 event in Germany.
Fernandez attributes much of her dual success to her chemistry with Townsend, something that extends both on and off the court.
It also came together quickly. The two North Americans had not spoken before joining forces for Indian Wells and the Miami Open, where they also reached the final in April.
Townsend’s coach John Williams came up with the idea of signing Fernandez as he believed their games would complement each other. So far he has been right.
The duo’s success saw them seed sixth at Wimbledon, where a first-round match against Americans Alycia Parks and Peyton Stearns awaits.
Fernandez says playing doubles gives her a chance to correct some mistakes, and she hopes some of the confidence she’s building with Townsend could soon lead to a resurgence in singles.
“I want to do well in singles, like everyone else, but sometimes I can’t,” she said. “Doubles has given me the chance to work on my game while in competition and not just on the practice field. Hopefully I can translate that into singles soon.”
LOOK | Fernandez and Townsend fall in French Open women’s doubles final
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and China’s Wang Xinyu won the French Open women’s doubles final, defeating Laval, Que. native Leylah Fernandez and Taylor Townsend of America 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-1.
After a struggling clay-court season, Fernandez took a break to rest and gain a foothold for Wimbledon.
Fernandez, who has little experience playing grass tournaments, needed time to adjust to the speed of the game and the lack of sliding compared to clay, and to work on details such as hitting balls with less spin .
After a first round loss in her only Wimbledon appearance in 2021, Fernandez is still looking for her first Grand Slam win.
Other Canadians compete in London
Elsewhere at Wimbledon, Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., Rebecca Marino of Vancouver and Carol Zhao of Richmond Hill, Ont., join Fernandez in women’s singles.
Andreescu, ranked 50th, opens the tournament on Tuesday against Hungary’s Anna Bondar and 83rd-seeded Marino will play against No. 29 Irina Carmelia-Begu from Romania.
Neither player made it to the second round of the All England Club.
Former world No. 3 Milos Raonic returns to Wimbledon for the first time since 2019 in the men’s race.
The 32-year-old from Thornhill, Ontario, who made it to the finals in 2016, looked likely to have played his last game due to numerous injuries in 2021, but returned to play last month.
Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime – Canada’s top-ranked singles player at No. 12 – takes on American Michael Mmoh and Richmond Hill, Ontario product Denis Shapovalov, ranked 29th, plays Moldovan qualifier Radu Albot on Monday.
Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa, two-time Grand Slam champion, teams up with new partner Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia in women’s doubles.
Rob Shaw, a Parapan American Games champion, plays in the quads division.
