“Yes I am (wearing basketball shoes)": Leylah Fernandez's footwear swap

Leylah Fernandez explained the reasons why she swapped her Roger Federer On sneakers for Breanna Stewart basketball shoes.

The Canadian had a great week at the WTA 1000 Guadalajara Open, reaching the quarterfinals, where she fell to Sofia Kenin 4-6, 7-6(6), 1-6. Fernandez earned important points that will place her as the world No. 60 starting on Monday, providing her with some comfort in her quest to approach the top 50 by the end of the year.

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The former US Open finalist caught attention with her footwear change in Mexico, leaving behind Roger Federer On sneakers for exclusive Breanna Stewart basketball shoes, a notable choice on the tennis courts:

“I’ve been getting a lot of questions and comments about that,” Leylah Fernandez said. “Yes I am (wearing basketball shoes), I’m wearing Puma Stewie 2 and they feel super comfortable. They actually look a lot like tennis shoes—that’s actually where I saw them.”

“I saw it close to the tennis shoes and it looked like a tennis shoe, and I’m like, Ah, let me try this out. The clerk just told me, No, it’s basketball shoes," she continued. “And then, some funny statement my dad made… He said why not just try it out on the tennis court? I’m like, yeah I’ll do it! Let me buy it and let’s try it out. And I fell in love with it.”

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“So far it’s been going super well,” Leylah Fernandez said. “I’m feeling great on court. I love the shoes, I love the colors. It matches super well with the Lululemon outfit. “I’m super happy that I get to experiment on a couple of things.”

The 21-year-old tennis player will have a couple of weeks of rest and then travel to Asia to compete in the WTA 250 Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, which begins on October 9th. The tournament's top favorites include Victoria Azarenka (17th) and Beatriz Haddad Maia (18th).