"I try not to read about it and even if I do hear a negative comment, it goes from one ear and out the other"- Leylah Fernandez on dealing with criticism
Leylah Fernandez spoke about how she deals with criticism and negative comments.
While speaking to the WTA for their "The Real Me" series, the Canadian said that she and her team have a rule of never reading an article about herself. Even if she hears a negative comment, she doesn't dwell on it.
"We've actually had this one rule to never ever read an article about myself. Whatever comes out, it comes out. So, I try not to read about it and even if I do hear a negative comment, it goes from one ear and out the other. I don't try to dwell on it too much," Leylah Fernandez said.
The 20-year-old said the biggest negative comment about her was one stating she wasn't fast or strong enough and her game would not work against bigger players.
"I think the biggest one was 'I'm too short, I'm not fast enough, not strong enough, not powerful enough, and that my tennis game, my style of game will not work against bigger players. So those comments that were very repetitive over the course of the year, people would say that I would not be able to achieve my goals because I was too small and that in the next level, it was not going to work," Fernandez added.
The Canadian also said that hearing negative comments fueled herself and her family to prove naysayers wrong.
"Just hearing that has always fueled me but not just me but also my family around me, like, whatever those people are saying, take it and we're gonna prove them wrong," she said.
"I was extremely terrified to get on court"- Leylah Fernandez on her first professional match
Leylah Fernandez also spoke about her first professional match and said she was extremely terrified to get on the court as she didn't know if she was fast or strong enough.
"I remember clearly the very first time I played my professional match, I was extremely terrified to get on court because I didn't know if I was strong enough, if I was fast enough and you know, I think all those doubts I played in my head and I was just kind of psyching myself up," the Canadian said.
Fernandez's most recent appearance this season came at the US Open, where she suffered a second-round exit at the hands of Liudmila Samsonova. As a result, she dropped to 40th in the WTA rankings.