Leylah Fernandez said that she was “a very shy person” as a child and that she occasionally fell victim to bullying without realising it.
Fernandez’s mother Irene is a Filipino-Canadian, and her father Jorge is Ecuadorian.
The young prospect has once again become Canada’s No 1 singles player after a solid comeback campaign in 2023.
Born in Montreal, Fernandez turned 21 in September. Despite being Canadian-born, Fernandez always enjoyed South American culture and was proud of her heritage. However, Fernandez occasionally felt uneasy and “embarrassed” to introduce traditional recipes from South America to her peers.
However, Fernandez is fiercely proud of her heritage and is constantly inspired by her close-knit family.
“I think, growing up for me, like I was a very shy person. I didn’t notice when people would bully me. There were moments where I was sometimes embarrassed to bring my food like, Guatita,” Fernandez told CBC Sports.
“It’s a traditional food, Peruvian food, South American food, that’s extremely hard to make, but it’s super delicious and it does look very abnormal. So, that’s like one dish where I did feel maybe a little bit shy or scared of what other kids would think.
“I was just proud of where I came from, where my parents came from and where my grandparents came from, because I knew that what they wanted us to experience was just happiness, love and just acceptance. For me, the one thing that I would say, like, be proud of the food that you are going to bring because it’s part of your culture.
It’s part of where you come from, where your parents came from and you know, you kind of bring a part of your home and you’re presenting it to the world because you are proud of it.”
Fernandez feels that her family and team have been the cornerstone of her comeback.
“We had a very, very hard past couple of years,” Fernandez told the WTA.
“My family, my parents, my coach, and my performance coach stayed by my side. They motivated me to keep going and the hard work is paying off.
“Hopefully, we can keep going this way.”
Fernandez will start her 2024 season representing Canada in the United Cup team event.
At the United Cup, Canada have been drawn alongside Greece and Chile and they get their campaign underway with their tie against the South Americans on Sunday 31 December 2023.
Among the more eagerly awaited matches scheduled for Sydney’s Ken Rosewall Arena are the singles match between Fernandez and Maria Sakkari.