The Canadian player, Leylah Fernandez, garnered a lot of attention when she became a finalist at the US Open in 2021. Though she could not win it, she became the player who was thrust into the limelight at a young age. And with this came a lot of scrutiny and criticism. However, the 20-year-old turned out to be tougher than people assumed her to be. Last month, she opened up about dealing with the online hate or criticism she gets.

Furthermore, she has set some rules to focus on her on-court performances. Fernandez started off the year by winning the Monterrey Open but after that has not been able to clinch another title.

Leylah Fernandez on ignoring the noise of the haters

The world no.39 has taken a very effective approach to deal with negative criticism. Though she is just 20 years old, she has adopted a mature approach to keeping her mental health in check. In the WTA series, ‘The Real Me’, she talked about some set rules. Fernandez said, “We have actually this one rule, to never ever read an article about myself.”

A carefree attitude has also helped her in dealing with it. She said, “Even if I do hear a negative comment, it goes from one ear and out the other. I don’t try to dwell on it too much.” 

She talked about the harshest criticism that she had to hear. She said, “I think the biggest one was- I’m too short, not fast enough, not strong enough, not powerful enough, and that my tennis game, my style of game will not work against bigger players.”

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Consequently, these comments only boosted her determination. She said, “Just hearing that has always fueled me, but also my family. Whatever those people are saying, just take it and we are gonna prove them wrong.”

Fernandez’s fellow US Open 2021 finalist also came under heavy scrutiny

The other 2021 US Open finalist and eventual winner of the major, Emma Raducanu, also faced a lot of criticism. The sudden rise to the top made her the talk of the town. Her Porsche endorsement, announced on March this year, also garnered a lot of negative comments toward her.

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Young players like Coco Gauff, Paula Badosa, and Naomi Osaka have also opened up about the online criticism that they receive from all over the world. This has raised concern about the players’ mental health and their subsequent drop in performance on the tour.