Watch: Taylor Townsend consoles crying Leylah Fernandez after losing French Open doubles final
The promising pair of Taylor Townsend and Leylah Fernandez lost to Hsieh Su-wei and Wang Xinyu in the finals of the French Open women's doubles.
Up against Su-Wei and Xinyu, Townsend and Fernandez convincingly took the early lead. But they were soon overpowered by their opposition and eventually lost the match, 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-1 to win the 2023 French Open women's doubles title.
Despite losing the match, Townsend won hearts as she was seen consoling 20-year-old Fernandez while the latter was sitting on the bench beside the court.
Townsend and Fernandez beat the American pair of Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff, the second seeds, 6-0, 6-4, in just over an hour to reach their maiden Grand Slam final as a pair.
A doubles duo we'd love to see more of!
Well fought, @TaylorTownsend and @leylahfernandez. That pep talk looks like a good one Taylor 😉
#RolandGarros https://t.co/xGhKVuwqzx
While Leylah Fernandez played in her maiden Grand Slam doubles final, her first appearance overall in a Grand Slam final was at the 2021 US Open. She lost to Emma Raducanu on that occasion in the women's singles division.
On the other hand, Townsend earlier partnered up with Caty McNally as they lost to Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova in the 2022 US Open doubles final. That was Townsend's maiden Grand Slam final appearance.
"It has helped a lot; Taylor is super positive" - Leylah Fernandez on Taylor Townsend's influence in moving on from tough losses
Former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez recently opened up about the influence Taylor Townsend has had on her.
Speaking to the media after her first-round win over Magda Linette, the 20-year-old American said that having Townsend as her doubles partner helped her a lot. Heaping praise on the Canadian, Fernandez revealed that after a defeat, Townsend always sends her "good vibes" and messages.
"It has helped a lot. You know Taylor is super positive. So say, after I lose or if I win, she always sends me a message, like sending good vibes. I think that has helped me a lot, like acceptance," Fernandez said.
She also said how playing doubles has helped her forget about her singles campaign. She added that playing doubles has benefited her for her singles matches as well.
"And doubles has helped me to forget about my singles and let’s move on," she added. "That's like focus on the doubles. I want to do well. I want to get through the rounds and we've been having a lot of fun on court. And I see the advantage of playing doubles and it has helped me a lot in singles too," Leylah Fernandez added.