"I feel winning Olympic medal is above winning a Grand Slam"- Leylah Fernandez on "greater sense of responsibility" ahead of Paris Olympics 2024
Before taking to the Roland Garros courts at the 2024 Paris Olympics for her second appearance at the Olympic Games, Leylah Fernandez has opened up on the 'responsibility' of representing your nation. The Canadian believes winning an Olympic medal is bigger than winning a Grand Slam.
In an interview with Remezcla earlier this month, Fernandez talked about the 'greater sense of responsibility' of playing for more than just herself.
“Personally, I feel that winning an Olympic medal is above winning a Grand Slam. I think the Olympic Games is a beautiful event, an incredible event where so many countries come together and so many different cultures participate," Leylah Fernandez said.
"Whenever I watched the Olympics, I had a great sense of motivation, of wanting to be part of it because I can’t think of anything bigger. There is also a greater sense of responsibility, as we are not playing for ourselves, but for a country, a community,” she added.
Fernandez burst onto the scene when she defeated three Top 5 players on her way to the 2021 US Open final. She finished as a runner-up with fellow teenager Emma Raducanu, winning the final.
Her most recent success has come in Canadian colors when she was representing her nation in the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023. Canada won the event with Fernandez winning her four singles and one doubles match.
Leylah Fernandez hopes to meet other Canadian athletes at the Paris Olympics 2024
Leylah Fernandez will be participating in her second Olympics in Paris after representing Canada in Tokyo last time. She was defeated in straight sets by Czech Republic's Barbora Krejcikova in the second round of the women's singles event in Tokyo but her experience was fulfilling. During an appearance on an episode of "Propulsion," Team Canada’s French-language podcast, Fernandez said (per tennisuptodate):
"At the Olympics, I met a ton of Canadian athletes who were there to compete and win a medal. It was really an honor and a pleasure to meet them and I hope to see them again in Paris."
"It also motivated and inspired me to watch other athletes train, to see their dedication to their sport. I saw that I wasn’t the only one working hard towards my goals,” she added.
Fernandez will be participating in the women's singles and the women's doubles events in Paris. She is seeded 16th in the singles and fifth in doubles, partnering with Gabriela Dabrowski. The other members of the Canadian tennis contingent include Felix Auger-Aliassime, Bianca Andreescu, and Milos Raonic.