Leylah Irene Exevea, the mother of Annie Fernandez, applauded from the audience after Annie defeated Elina Svitolina and advanced to the US Open semifinals.
A day following the celebration of her 19th birthday, Fernandez won. Leylah didn’t just stumble into the semifinals; she produced heart-stopping comeback victories over Angelique Kerber and Naomi Osaka to earn a meeting with Elina Svitolina.
After the game, Annie admitted that her historic victory was motivated by two pieces of advice from her father. Your first quarterfinal is today. Jorge Fernandez urged his daughter over the phone, “Don’t make it you last.” “Defend your dream.”
Where was Leylah Annie Fernandez born? Ethnicity, Nationality, Family
Page Contents
- 1 Where was Leylah Annie Fernandez born? Ethnicity, Nationality, Family
- 2 Jorge Fernandez became Leylah’s tennis
- 3 Other coaches questioned Jorge’s techniques, but he stuck by them
- 4 Jorge allows Leylah to make her decisions and is slowly detaching
- 5 Leylah’s mother and sister provide the perfect tonic to Jorge’s abrasive style
Jorge Fernandez and Irene Exevea welcomed Leylah Annie Fernandez into the world on September 6, 2002, in Montreal, Canada. Irene is Filipino-Canadian and Jorge is from Ecuador. Three girls, Jodeci, Leylah, and Bianca, have been raised by them.
Jorge began playing football professionally in Ecuador when he was just 13 years old. He encouraged Leylah’s love of tennis when she first showed it at age five. Tennis took precedence despite her participation in and success in football and track and field.
Leylah described her love of tennis to CBC as “it’s the beauty of it.”
Every time I watched tennis on television, Annie remarked, “It was so beautiful.” Leylah joined a provincial development program that collaborated with the federal program when she was 7 years old.
Jorge Fernandez became Leylah’s tennis
Leylah, however, was dropped from the program because, in their opinion, she was too slow, used poor technique, and didn’t work on her serve. Fortunately, Annie’s love for tennis was unaffected by the setback. Jorge said to CBC:
I asked the young girl, “Honey, is this truly important for you?” as she sobbed. Yes, she said, adding that she wished to play. If you want, I’ll coach you, I said.
Jorge had learned what little he knew about tennis from watching Leylah practice with coaches. He knew which coaching methods worked best for Leylah.
He also discovered that Serena Williams and Steffi Graf, two of the greatest female athletes ever, were mentored by their fathers. Fernandez enjoyed trying to make Leylah mentally impenetrable although knowing it would be difficult. Jorge discussed his strategy with CBC:
“The one-eyed guy is king in the country of the blind. I only had one eye and decided that since my wife and children didn’t know any better, I wouldn’t face too much criticism. I decided to put a lot of emphasis on physical condition, mental toughness, and quickness. a lot of precise tennis, with the occasional knockout punch.”
Other coaches questioned Jorge’s techniques, but he stuck by them
Leylah would be rewarded for scoring goals and punished for missing them. Jorge’s reward and punishment coaching method perplexed other coaches. Fernandez continuously set greater goals for his daughter, thus he rarely dwelt on Annie’s accomplishments.
The red line must always be crossed before a new red line may be found, according to Jorge.
“Until the red zone turns into a normal zone, you have to be there. You possess mental toughness, and you frequently accomplish things that you formerly believed were impossible.”
Jorge was unaffected by the scowls of the other coaches. During several sessions, Leylah broke down in tears, and because of his knowledge gained as a young footballer, he recognized when she needed a reassuring arm around the shoulder. Leylah informed CBC that she was familiar with her father’s methods:
“All he wants is for me to keep competing, keep correcting, and improving. In practice, he explained, he would put me in awkward situations, and it was my responsibility to work through them and come up with solutions.”
Jorge was certain that Leylah would never back down due to the magnitude of her adversary. Most of her opponents would be taller than her because of her diminutive size. Therefore, Jorge wanted Leylah to understand that the scale of the opposition didn’t matter.
Jorge allows Leylah to make her decisions and is slowly detaching
Leylah’s coach, Jorge, still is, but he defers her on the important choices. Jorge would have supported her choice if she had decided to stop playing tennis.
Tennis is not the only activity in life that will bring happiness, but for me, I just continued getting better, kept my head down, and worked hard, she added.
Fernandez developed Leylah’s strength and mental toughness, but he acknowledged that other areas of training were outside of his area of competence.
Jorge employed seasoned tennis instructors to shape Annie into a full tennis champion. In an interview with CBC, coach Romain Deridder discussed his work with Jorge:
I get along pretty well with Jorge both on and off the court. I believe we are a good match for one another. Since he has spent their entire lives together on the court, I wanted to absorb as much from him as I could when we first met, and I still do, to fit in with the squad, understand what I can provide, and know how to approach Leylah.
After Leylah’s extraordinary ascent to professional status, Jorge has shifted from coach to more of an advisor. Leylah told CBC that Jorge allows her liberty to make her own decisions and offers advice.
He teaches me all these things because he wants me to be independent, but he says,
“I have my opinions, and I make my judgments. I have to live with my decisions, whether they are good or terrible, and deal with the repercussions.”
Although Jorge is still Leylah’s instructor, he has been professionally separating himself from her so that tennis coaches can do their magic. Leylah’s game has a ton of room for improvement, and he realizes he may not be the best mentor for her as she develops. Leylah remarked:
Leylah’s mother and sister provide the perfect tonic to Jorge’s abrasive style
When Leylah takes a vacation from playing tennis, Irene and Bianca make themselves available for her. Under Jorge’s instruction, Bianca is also developing as a tennis player.
Leylah Annie Fernandez frequently hangs in Bianca’s room despite the recent separation between the two. The oldest sister of the two resides in Vermont and keeps out of the spotlight. Leylah dedicated the following message to her mother and sisters on International Women’s Day in 2021:
“I had to take a moment to honor my incredible mami, my incredible sisters @biancajolietennis & Jodeci, and the three ladies who have had the greatest influence on my life! We don’t always have the opportunity to be together because of my travel schedule, but they are always in my heart no matter where I am! I adore you, ladies!
In addition to tennis, Leylah and Jorge frequently have fun together. Together, they occasionally eat burgers and enjoy movie nights. She discussed her father’s carefree demeanor outside the court with CBC:
It’s quite awesome that he isn’t overly stringent outside of court because he lets me eat whatever I want. Like every father, he is just rigorous about my schoolwork; aside from that, he simply advises me to balance my life, saying that I should take time to relax and hang out but that when it’s time to work, I should work. He only wants me to have that and to be independent.
Also Read: Look Inside Shannon Thornton’s Secret Love Life
