Canada's Leylah Fernandez rips tournament organizers after crashing out of NBO

Globe and Mail

6 days ago

Leylah Fernandez has a bone to pick with tournament organizers.
Not only did she exit the court crushed by her lacklustre performance before a hometown crowd – tears still running down her cheeks more than 90 minutes after the match – Fernandez also blamed unfavourable scheduling that set her up to fail.
The top-ranked Canadian crashed out of the National Bank Open's first round with a lopsided 6-4, 6-1 loss to Australia's Maya Joint on Tuesday afternoon, two days after hoisting her fourth WTA crown at the D.C. Open.
Fernandez said she received 'a lot of promises' that she would take the court during Tuesday's night session, giving her more time to rest between the two tournaments, but learned Sunday while travelling to Montreal from Washington that wouldn't be the case.
'I did not receive that,' she said. 'That hurt me because I was very looking forward to be playing at night, but I guess it's a little bit political issues at that point.'
Valérie Tétreault, the National Bank Open tournament director in Montreal, responded that she promised Fernandez she would 'fight so that she could have the time she wanted.'
'But I didn't win my fight,' Tétreault said, noting that the WTA Tour determines scheduling. 'I received the request for her to play in the evening. It's my role to have conversations with the WTA, so I pushed as much as possible for her to have what she wanted.'
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Tétreault added that exceptions had already been made for Fernandez. The 22-year-old from Laval, Que., and Joint were among the final three first-round matches held until Tuesday, despite her half of the bracket starting play on Sunday.
Fellow D.C. Open finalist Anna Kalinskaya of Russia was also scheduled to play no earlier than 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, but she won her match 7-6 (6), 0-6, 6-3 over Ann Li of the United States.
'Normally when we have matches that are delayed, when there is catch-up to do, we have to play them as early as possible during the day,' Tétreault said. 'We pushed her at least so that it wouldn't be the first match at 11 a.m. to give her a chance to recover.'
Tennis Canada backed up Tétreault's words in a statement.
'WTA protocols mean first-round matches need to be completed before second-round matches are played, ensuring fairness to all players,' the statement read. 'Given Leylah won the title in Washington on Sunday, she was not able to arrive in Montreal until the early hours of Monday morning. As a result, the WTA made the decision to play her opening match in the latest possible first-round slot.'
Fernandez had previously detailed a whirlwind turnaround after her victory Sunday in Washington.
The 2021 U.S. Open finalist arrived back home in Montreal at roughly 2 a.m. Monday and slept about three hours before attending an event for her foundation at IGA Stadium around 8 a.m. later that morning.
The fatigue certainly showed on the court.
'It felt great being on court, hearing the fans and feeling their support. I was just disappointed with my level of play, and it wasn't fair for them,' the No. 24-ranked Fernandez said. 'It was a very, very low level.'
Fernandez gave up six break points and won only 49 per cent of her points on first serve. The 19-year-old Joint, ranked 45th, won 62 of 109 points to win the match in 75 minutes.
Fernandez fell down 2-0, double-faulting twice to drop her first service game. In a 5-2 hole, Fernandez saved a set point and battled back to make it 5-4, but failed to hold serve once again. Joint rolled to a 4-0 lead in the second and hardly looked back.
The Canadian also took issue with the WTA's tone when it revealed the scheduling to her coach – and father – Jorge Fernandez.
'They asked him with a sarcastic tone if two or three hours would make a difference,' she said. 'Yes, it would make a great difference. Maybe I win the match, maybe I don't, but of course it helps the two to three hours where I could sleep a little more.
'Physical recovery, maybe a stretching session, a massage could help me. But it's just small things of 'What if,' but it didn't happen and that's it.'
This year's National Bank Open – a WTA 1000-level tournament – debuted a revamped 12-day, 96-player format, with the top 32 seeds receiving byes to the second round.
Tétreault said she foresaw potential problems arising from her tournament's main draw beginning the same day as the WTA 500 final in Washington.
'The calendar is supposed to be made so that the 1000-level tournaments are prioritized over a WTA 500,' she said. 'We'll have to go back to the drawing table.'
Fernandez was only one story on a less-than-ideal day for Canadians, as Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., and Vancouver's Rebecca Marino also exited the tournament.
Andreescu withdrew with a left ankle injury, sustaining the ailment on match point of her first-round win Sunday night versus Barbora Krejcikova of Czechia. Marino, meanwhile, fell 6-1, 6-2 to eighth seed Emma Navarro of the United States in second-round action.
The 25-year-old Andreescu said she tore ligaments in her ankle but wouldn't rule out a return to the court at the Cincinnati Open, which begins in just over a week.
The former world No. 4 has repeatedly spent time off the court with back, shoulder, knee, ankle and foot injuries.
'I even screamed out like, 'Why does this keep happening to me?'' she said. 'At this point, it's laughable. It's just crazy. I'm trying to stay positive but it's getting really tough.'
Toronto's Victoria Mboko and Eugenie Bouchard, who extended her career Monday night with a first-round win over Colombia's Emiliana Arango, were the only Canadians remaining in the women's singles bracket.
Mboko took on No. 23 seed Sofia Kenin of the United States in the late match, after No. 1 seed Coco Gauff opened her tournament with a second-round meeting against fellow American Danielle Collins in Fernandez's desired slot.