Leylah Fernandez proud of sister Bianca's as they reach Canadian Open doubles semis: "My sister stepped up for us"

Leylah Fernandez expressed her pride in her sister Bianca following a strong performance that led them to the quarter-finals of the Canadian Open. The world No. 25 suffered a disappointing loss in the Round of 16 to Ashlyn Krueger and exited the singles draw early, leaving no local players in the singles draw.

The 2021 US Open runner-up shared her frustration on social media after falling to Krueger (world No. 82), but remains active in the doubles draw with her sister Bianca Fernandez. The pair received a wildcard from the organisers and have now reached the semi-finals of the tournament.

From singles defeat to doubles success

Like in 2022 and 2023, Leylah Fernandez entered the Canadian Open as the local favourite but was unable to achieve a deep run. She entered as the 15th seed, winning her first-round match against Nao Hibino (No. 159) but was eliminated by Krueger in straight sets.

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Following her singles elimination, Leylah played in the second round of doubles against Americans Catherine Harrison and Krueger. Earlier, she and Bianca had defeated the 5th seeds, Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani. "Yesterday’s singles loss felt horrible. I am very disappointed with how I played and left the court angry at myself. I didn’t know how I was going to put myself together and compete again in doubles," Leylah Fernandez wrote on Instagram.

The Fernandez sisters secured victory in a third-set tie-break (6-3, 4-6, 11-9), with Leylah giving full credit to her sister. "The truth is, my sister @biancajolietennis stepped it up for us. Our dad and coach gave her the green light to take the lead, and she did. I am so proud of her. That win was all her. Now we’re in the doubles quarters. Let’s take that sour feeling and channel it into doubles. Let’s keep going."

Leylah Fernandez at 2024 Madrid Open.

After their win against the Americans, the Fernandez sisters defeated Shuai Zhang and Kristina Mladenovic in another third-set tie-break (7-5, 5-7, 12-10). This secured them a spot in the semi-finals, where they will face New Zealand's Erin Routliffe and Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski, a recent bronze medallist in mixed doubles.

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Recently, Leylah thanked the organisers in a press conference for granting them the wildcard that allowed them to play together in doubles: "I want to thank the NBO and Tennis Canada for giving my sister and I the opportunity to play together once again."

Currently, Bianca is 20 years old and ranked world No. 1097 in singles and No. 911 in doubles. Despite this, her strong partnership with Leylah has allowed her to climb over 700 positions and guarantees her at least the world No. 191 in the doubles ranking.