The 21 & Under Club in '21: Leylah Fernandez

Will turn 22 on

• 9/6/2024

What she’s done since last summer

• Won her first WTA title in Monterrey
• Made the third round of Roland Garros
• Earned a victory over Sloane Stephens in Australia

Key Stat

• Fernandez has moved up 143 spots in the WTA rankings since the beginning of 2020

The Canadian teenager is in fine form after two weeks of hard quarantine threatened to disrupt her 2021 season.

Early exits in Australia gave way to an awe-inspiring title run in Monterrey, where she showed the form that helped her reach the third round of Roland Garros last October.

A trilingual lefty, Fernandez appears undaunted by the weight of her country’s enthusiasm, something that was on display through a winning Billie Jean King Cup weekend over Serbia, where she won both of her singles rubbers.

Primarily coached by father Jorge, the 18-year-old is even fitter than she was last season, a testament to her work with Romain Deridder, a former hitting partner to the likes of Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters. Fernandez is firmly ensconced in the Top 100 ahead of the grass-court swing, and will aim to rise even higher by the time the tour rolls into her home tournament in Montréal.