"Her story has a little bit of a parallel with mine": Leylah Fernandez praises Venus Williams' inspiring return to Tour

Leylah Fernandez has offered words of praise for former world No. 1 Venus Williams, following the American's notable return to the courts at the DC Open. Leylah, 22, has previously acknowledged that she and her family drew inspiration from "the Williamses," noting that both she and her sister Bianca have been coached from a young age by their father, Jorge Fernandez.

The 2021 US Open finalist is starting to find her form this week on the hardcourt swing, having reached the quarterfinals of the WTA 500 event in DC. She defeated teenager Maya Joint in straight sets in her debut, but delivered a major upset against top seed Jessica Pegula in the second round. After a long battle, she survived a Pegula comeback and being a break down in the third set, securing the victory 6-3, 1-6, 7-5.

After her victory over Pegula—her sixth win against a top-5 player—Fernandez spoke about seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, who she recognizes as a great inspiration and with whom she shares particular similarities. "She’s been a huge impact not only for myself but for my whole family."

The 45-year-old American returned to the courts this week, playing her first WTA Tour match since March 2024. Venus Williams secured a singles victory—her first in almost two years—defeating none other than world No. 35 Peyton Stearns in straight sets. The veteran's tournament run ended on Thursday night, however, after a decisive loss to fifth seed Magdalena Frech.

While Leylah is enjoying a good run at the DC Open—where she's starting to emerge as a title contender—the 22-year-old Canadian spoke about Venus Williams' return, acknowledging the inspiration she has felt from her. "Her story has a little bit of a parallel with mine and my dad and my mom, so it’s so cool to see a legend still playing, still doing what she loves.

"It’s not kind of to prove people wrong, but it’s because she truly loves the sport, and you can see the kid in her. I love that. I love that, because sometimes we forget that we started playing this sport as a kid with joy and passion. We think of it more as a job, and we lose that joy."

Fernandez commented that Williams' return has inspired her this week, especially seeing her continue to play purely for the love of tennis, something that is often difficult to remember at the highest level. "But Venus, she reminded me that tennis is a privilege, that tennis is a sport where you have fun, you get down and you get back up, and you’re still laughing, if you lose a point or when you win the point and you kind of just compete that way."

Leylah will face her former doubles partner Taylor Townsend in the quarterfinals – another player who surprised with a notable win against sixth seed Sofia Kenin. The Canadian is initially seen as the favorite, in an important opportunity for her to gain points and confidence at the start of the American swing. Fernandez has already secured a climb to world No. 31 and can advance to No. 29 if she reaches the semifinals. Another victory would practically guarantee her a seeded spot at the US Open.

Leylah's father, Jorge Fernandez, is a former professional footballer, born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and a Canadian citizen since his adolescence. Despite having no tennis experience, the former athlete used his coaching skills from his football career to apply them to the training of his two daughters, Leylah and Bianca (21). The younger Fernandez sister had some doubles experience, most notably alongside her older sister.

Leylah herself admitted that her father drew inspiration from the Williams sisters' father, Richard Williams, as well as other fathers of tennis legends. "My dad did his homework with all the fathers who have helped the WTA and ATP players," commented Leylah Fernandez in 2022. "He was kind of looking into Maria Sharapova’s dad, also Andre Agassi’s dad, Pete Sampras’ story, too."

The younger Fernandez, Bianca, made her debut alongside Leylah in a doubles draw back at the 2022 Monterrey Open, falling in the first round, while their first joint victory came at the 2022 Canadian Open, defeating Kirsten Flipkens and Sara Sorribes Tormo.

Their best campaign was undoubtedly at the WTA 1000 Canadian Open 2024, again with her sister, where they reached the semifinals after receiving a wildcard. They fell to top seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe, and Bianca saw a rise of over 700 positions in the WTA doubles ranking, reaching her best ranking for the first time within the top 200.