"Objective is to finish very high next year" - Leylah Fernandez's new coach Julian Alonso sets Top-10 goal for Canadian in 2023
Leylah Fernandez will approach the 2023 season with a new coach who has already set some big goals for the youngster come next season. Former Top-30 ATP player Julian Alonso has joined Fernandez's team and is excited to be working with a player who he believes has top-10 potential at the very least.
Alonso's addition is a crucial development in the Canadian youngster's young career as the Spaniard is the first person to join her team as a coach other than her father Jorge Fernandez. Alonso, who previously worked with Arantxa Rus, will work alongside Jorge Fernandez going forward.
After weeks of trial, Leylah Fernandez decided to onboard Alonso, and he has already had a close look at the 2021 US Open finalist's potential. Alonso recently opened up about the team's immediate goals and while he is cautious not to "obsess over the numbers," he declared a top-10 goal in 2023 for the former World No. 13.
"The objective is to finish very high next year, but without obsessing over the numbers. She [Leylah Fernandez] wants to compete and be among the best, which is normal for someone who has already been in the top 15," Julian Alonso said in a recent interview with Punto de Break.
"We haven't talked about ranking goals, but reaching the top 10 would be consistent with the potential she has," he added.
Similar to her 2021 US Open final opponent Emma Raducanu, Fernandez had a challenging 2022 season, which was largely affected by injuries. Fernandez was able to play just 36 tour-level matches all season and was also forced to sit out for over two months right after the highs of reaching the French Open quarterfinals.
Alonso shared his thoughts on the same and said that the unfortunate break after Roland Garros "hurt" the 20-year-old, who now aims to be fit and consistently competitive in 2023, more than all else.
"After a few months of absence, she is always complicated, the break after Roland Garros hurt her, so now what she wants most is to be competitive again," Alonso expressed.
Julian Alonso is impressed with Leylah Fernandez for not being "overwhelmed" by rankings
After reaching her career-high ranking of no. 13, Leylah Fernandez ended the 2022 season at No. 39 in the WTA rankings, a drop that was largely due to the points she lost by not being able to defend her run to the 2021 US Open final.
While young players can be negatively affected by such a drop in the rankings, Fernandez's new coach Julian Alonso was positively surprised to see the Canadian staying upbeat. Alonso expressed his admiration for Fernandez and her father Jorge, who are focused on the process and believe the results will follow.
"The good thing is that they are not overwhelmed by the ranking issue, that is what has surprised me the most," Alonso expressed.
"Her father is convinced that Leylah is in the process of training and that it will take her a while to reach her maximum level. They firmly believe in the process, their confidence goes beyond the results," he added.
Fernandez will begin her 2023 season at the ASB Classic in Auckland, where she will be joined by the likes of Coco Gauff, Emma Raducanu, and Sloane Stephens. The Canadian star's last tournament in 2022 was the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, where she beat Federica Trevisan before losing to Belinda Bencic.