At just five years old, Leylah Fernandez picked up a tennis racket for the very first time. By the age of 10, she was already competing in tournaments, and it didn’t take long for the young Canadian to start making headlines. Fernandez soon became the youngest Canadian ever to win main-draw matches at ITF 25K events, signaling the arrival of a rising star.

Behind those early milestones stood her father, Jorge Fernandez, a former soccer player who has been by her side through every major step of her journey. From trusting his instincts to coach his daughter to helping her unlock her potential, Jorge has played a massive role in shaping Fernandez’s career. So when Fernandez recently struggled to rediscover her best form, a conversation with her father quickly grabbed attention, leaving many wondering what exactly unfolded behind the scenes.

With no singles titles and only semifinal appearances this year, she hasn’t improved her ranking. The World No. 24 could even suffer significant losses if she doesn’t bring a change in her form. Fernandez’s latest setback came at the Strasbourg Open where she recorded a 4-6, 4-6 defeat against Victoria Mboko in the quarterfinals. However, the main talking point of the match was the brutal on-court scolding that she received from her father and coach, Jorge Fernandez.

During a break in the match, the Canadian’s father was seen giving an unfiltered lecture to Leylah. He sharply criticized her shot-selection and overall form. Instead of giving Leylah some encouragement, Jorge let her know that he wasn’t happy at all with the way she was playing.

“You know the parallel backhand is a good option and speeds up your game. So why do you go into that one? You don’t want to admit it. Many times they have to slap you in the face for you to defend yourself. How many more times? Out, out, into the net… and I have to tell you to work the ball. You have to impose your game: stay back, give it more spin. You have so many open parallels and you boot them all. You don’t want to listen,” Jorge told Leylah during the match.

At one point, he even asked Leylah if she wants to continue playing tennis or not. And if this wasn’t all, then he even compared her struggles to Mboko’s recent success, pointing out that the latter has been consistently grinding results at Grand Slams.

“Do you want to play tennis or not? It’s not more complicated than that. This girl is a solid Top 10. She makes Grand Slam quarterfinals, something you haven’t done in the last four years. If you want to get back to that level, you have to bring out your game, put your head down, and trust everything you know,” he concluded.

As Jorge went about his rant, Leylah couldn’t help but just helplessly stand on the court. She only made eye contact with her father after he brought Mboko into the conversation. The most painful part of the scolding for Leylah was likely the criticism towards her Grand Slam record. She has struggled to make deep runs in all of the four majors since her breakout final appearance at the 2021 US Open. Despite her five WTA title victories, it won’t be wrong to say that Leylah hasn’t really been able to live up to her potential.

Jorge Fernandez has been coaching Leylah Fernandez for almost her entire life. When Leylah began playing tennis at the age of five and started competing by 10, Jorge learned the sport himself so he could coach both her and her sister, Bianca Jolie Fernandez.

But after years of working together, questions are now beginning to surface about whether a change could benefit Leylah. Despite flashes of promise, the Canadian’s results have struggled to improve consistently, and it may finally be the point where a fresh voice in her camp becomes necessary.

He had even been accused of treating his daughter badly by a former player last year.

Leylah Fernandez’s father accused of “insane” treatment

Former WTA pro Barbara Schett had criticized Leylah’s father while addressing the saga between Elena Rybakina and her former coach, Stefano Vukov. Notably, Vukov had been suspended by the WTA after he parted ways with Rybakina in 2024 after facing allegations of abusive conduct. Though the Kazakh stood by him and criticized the WTA for the handling of the situation, Vukov’s image was severely tarnished due to this.

“The problem is that many players don’t dare to say anything because they’re afraid of personal consequences. For example, I was incredibly afraid of Jelena Dokic’s father. I would probably never have said anything because I thought he would kill me. But I believe that a number of players have already spoken to the WTA about Rybakina and Vukov. It is important that anonymity is maintained because they are simply afraid,” Schett had said.

She had then brought up Jorge into the conversation and had accused him of treating his daughter terribly.

“And I am also curious to see what happens to Leylah Fernandez’s father because the way he treats his daughter is insane… It is terrible that something like this still exists today and is sometimes accepted,” she added.

Following her elimination from the Strasbourg Open, Leylah will now be shifting her focus to the Roland Garros and will be aiming to end the clay swing on a positive note. The 23-year-old will begin her campaign with the clash against World No. 80, Alycia Parks. They have met twice, with the H2H record tied 1-1. While Leylah may hold a significant advantage when it comes to the rankings, Parks is very well capable of causing an upset.

Will Leylah Fernandez be able to make a strong start to her French Open campaign, or will she fall on the first hurdle itself? Let us know what you think in the comments!