WATCH: Sisters Leylah Fernandez & Bianca celebrate with father Jorge, exchange unique handshake after Canadian Open 1R doubles upset win
Leylah Fernandez teamed up with younger sister Bianca in the women's doubles event at the Canadian Open. The sisters started the WTA 1000 event with an impressive win over the fifth-seeds Luisa Stefani and Demi Schuur. They shared a unique handshake with their father in celebration.
Leylah, 21, and Bianca, 20, have been teaming up on the professional tour since 2022. The sisters are supportive of each other and their understanding was displayed in the Canadian Open first round on Tuesday, August 6. The Fernandez sisters defeated Stefani and Schuur 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the second round.
After earning the match-winning point, the sisters hugged each other and joined their father, Jorge, in the stands to celebrate. Jorge shared a unique handshake with his daughters.
Watch the celebratory moment below:
The Canadian sisters will face the American pair of Catherine Harrison and Ashlyn Krueger in the second round. The Americans emerged winners in a back-and-forth first-round encounter against Clara Tauson and Harriet Dart 3-6, 6-0, [10-5].
"It's so special" - Leylah Fernandez on teaming up with sister Bianca at the Canadian Open
Leylah Fernandez was asked during a pre-tournament press conference about 'reuniting' with her 'favorite doubles partner', her sister Bianca. She recalled their participation at the event in 2022 and their first-round win.
"I want to thank the NBO and Tennis Canada for giving my sister and I the opportunity to play together once again," Leylah Fernandez said.
"It's a huge honor and I'm proud that I get to get to play our match together and that we get to play it here at home as we did a couple of years ago where we won our first match. So, it's so special and we just want to have fun and just kind of enjoy each other's company," she added.
The 21-year-old was also a part of Team Canada at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She participated in the women's singles and women's doubles events with Gabriela Dabrowski.
When asked what stood out to her in Paris, she mentioned the fans. At the last Olympics in Tokyo, she could not play in front of fans owing to the pandemic.
"You know, Paris came to an end a little bit earlier for me. But, it was a great experience. I'm super happy that I got to represent my country at the highest level and I got to play in front of the fans that was definitely one of my favorite parts," she said.
In the singles, Leylah started impressively with two wins over Czech Republic's Karolina Muchova and Spain's Cristina Bucsa. However, she was convincingly defeated by Angelique Kerber in the third round.
In the women's doubles, the Canadians defeated France 6-1, 7-5 in the first round but lost against the pair of Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva in the second round.
Leylah is also participating in the singles event at the Canadian Open. She will take on China's Zhang Shuai in the first round on Wednesday, August 7.