Leylah Fernandez's father breaks down while discussing her injury diagnosis, wishes she had stopped playing her French Open QF match
Leylah Fernandez looked physically hampered during her quarterfinal clash against Martina Trevisan at the 2022 French Open. The Canadian fought through the pain and gave it her all, but came up short as she lost in three sets. Unfortunately for her, she ended up aggravating her injury and is now out for three weeks with a stress fracture in her right foot.
Her coach and father, Jorge Fernandez, was emotionally distraught as he spoke to TSN about his daughter's current situation and how he felt when she continued playing her match despite being in pain.
"Anger. I was very angry. And very concerned. Again, it's very hard because you have both hats on. And of course, as a coach you kind of say like, okay you know what you got yourself into. That's your decision that you're going to make, then go ahead," Jorge said.
An emotional Jorge Fernandez - father and coach of Leylah Annie Fernandez - reveals that his daughter suffered a Grade 3 stress fracture in the top of her right foot, and explains how hard it is to watch his daughter while she's playing in pain.
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Jorge Fernandez also rued over the fact that the WTA doesn't allow quick consultation with the players in the midst of a match, especially when there's an injury scare.
"That's one of the problems with the WTA is you don't get a chance to consult our players. We don't get a chance to call a simple 30 second time-out and see what really is going on. You know, and I know they tried it in the past and just wonder why it stopped because," Jorge added.
He also felt that he could've made her understand the severity of the situation and that the injury could've been less serious.
"I think, you know, there was moment, you know, where I could've put some sense into her. And maybe instead of it being what it is now, it could've been a little bit less. Of course as a father I'm concerned and sad and I wanted her to stop," he added.
Leylah Fernandez will miss the entire grass season, including Wimbledon, because of the injury. She aims to return for the North American hardcourt swing in August at the Washington Open.
Says the stress fracture is between the second and third toes on her right foot, and could have been much much worse. Her goal is to return in Washington.
Leylah Fernandez was the runner-up at the 2021 US Open
Leylah Fernandez had a memorable run to the final of the US Open last year. She knocked out defending champion Naomi Osaka in the third round. She followed it up with a win over former World No. 1 Angelique Kerber in the fourth round.
Fernandez scored two more wins over top 10 players by defeating Elina Svitolina and Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. The Canadian was up against Emma Raducanu in her maiden Grand Slam final, but lost in straight sets.
Expectations for Fernandez will be measured when she returns, but the Canadian's form prior to the injury looked better with each match. If she has a successful return, Fernandez could be seed in the top 10 for the US Open.