"Growing up my dad would forbid me looking at the rankings, points or results" - Fernandez on tennis journey

Leylah Fernandez returned to tennis with a win in Toronto but ahead of her return Fernandez spoke a bit about her journey.

The Canadian has a unique story due to her tremendous tennis talent and specific background. Her father hails from Ecuador but spent the majority of his life in Canada while her mother is Canadian of Filipino ancestry. Her father particularly was a huge influence on a young Fernandez as he adopted the mantle of the coach from the early stages of her journey.

They worked hard over the years as Jorge draw parallels from his association football days and it turned out pretty well. Speaking ahead of Toronto, Fernandez shared some of the things her father did to help her develop:

Read also

ATP Rankings Update: Kyrgios moves up 26 spots to number 37, battle for no.1 between Medvedev, Zverev, Nadal and Alcaraz

"The only anything I can say is that first and foremost he's my dad. He will tell me the truth when I'm doing things wrong. And there were some moments where I was not grounded, I will not lie because that happens to everybody. But he was there. My mom was there to pop my bubble and just to tie a huge brick and bring me down as quickly as possible down to earth."

She continued:

Read also

"I guess there's just a light at the end of the tunnel" - Serena Williams drops retirement hint after opening win in Toronto

"You know, growing up my dad, it's actually hilarious, my dad would forbid me looking at the rankings, looking at the points or looking at the results. So growing up, I would only show up at the tennis match and play tennis and without that worry in my mind."

It allowed Fernandez to worry about things she can control, her tennis and the amount of work she puts in. Jorge still helps Fernandez and she is grateful for it:

"Just lately, one thing that has helped me a lot is my dad said that we're not gonna defend points, we're gonna go get them. So instead of seeing it as we're on the defence, let's go on the offense and focus on the tournament that's right now."

Read also

"My body feels amazing" - Fernandez happy about win in Toronto