Leylah Fernandez is just over 24 hours away from playing her first Grand Slam final, when she takes on fellow teen Emma Raducanu in the US Open final, so you'd think her dad-slash-coach Jorge would be trying to catch a flight from Florida. You'd be wrong.
"I'm extremely superstitious. My daughter is as well," said Jorge during a press conference with the media around 2:15 p.m. ET on Friday. "I've been using the same shampoo on game day. I've been kind of using the same jeans on game day. I think the same socks and underwear. It's just taken to a completely different level and it's always been that way though. It's nothing new ... Leylah and I have always kind of, when we figured out what's working, we don't mess with it."
Surely not. After all, it's certainly working right now for the recently turned 19-year-old from Laval, Que.
In just her seventh major, she has powered her way past multiple US Open champions and top-seeded players on the way to the ultimate round. Her first upset was against defending champion Naomi Osaka in the third round in three sets. She next sent 2016 winner Angelique Kerber home before knocking off top-five players Elina Svitolina and Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.
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Leylah Fernandez's road to the final
| ROUND | OPP. | SCORE |
|---|---|---|
| First | Ana Konjuh | 7-6(3), 6-2 |
| Second | Kaia Kanepi | 7-5, 7-5 |
| Third | (3) Naomi Osaka | 5-7, 7-6(2), 6-4 |
| Round of 16 | (16) Angelique Kerber | 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 |
| Quarterfinals | (5) Elina Svitolina | 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5) |
| Semifinals | (2) Aryna Sabalenka | 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4 |
Jorge tried to do the last-minute final appearance before. He went to Acapulco when Fernandez advanced to the final at the 2020 Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, Mexico. She lost in three sets to Great Britain's Heather Watson.
"I was hating myself for a good two months afterward and I didn't really want to talk about it, didn't want to talk to anybody. And, you know, they say, 'Come on it's just the game. She made it to the finals, right? Like, come on.' But inside me it's like, no, I shouldn't have shown up. I shouldn't have been there. So, it's, it's really about superstition and she knows that I'm supporting her from afar," he said.
The support by her dad has helped Fernandez thrive under the sport's brightest lights and on its biggest stage. She's consistently mentioned in her post-match interviews what he's said to her over the phone to prepare her for these moments.
"I don't know why finally my game is clicking," she said in her postgame press conference after ousting Osaka. "The past few months, even after Monterrey (in March when she won her first WTA title), I've been working hard, training super well. My coach, my dad, is saying 'be patient, have confidence in your game, it will show in matches.' I'm glad it finally did."
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According to Jorge, the duo talk often before each match. On Friday night they'll go over her match against the Toronto-born, Great Britain-raised Raducanu. Saturday morning they'll connect to go over the day and then, before the clock hits 4 p.m. ET on Sept. 11, they'll have the father-daughter talk.
"It's more of a motivating conversation and it's really based on, what I say is what I'm feeling in the moment, like what I'm feeling from her," he said. "If I'm feeling that she is nervous, we talked a little bit about that. If I'm feeling that she's scared, we talk about that. I know we say that she's just unbelievable with her mindset right now and she shows so much fight but she is human, and she does feel those emotions."
Fernandez has been on a big stage at a major before. She lost in the 2019 Australian Open girls' singles final and won the French title just a few months later. She's also played Raducano before, most notably in the 2018 Wimbledon girls' singles Round of 16, losing 6-2, 6-4.
Now the pair will be going toe-to-toe for one of tennis' top prizes. Emotions will be running high for everyone involved but as Jorge said she just needs to follow the match plan — which she has done very well to this point — and go big or go home.
"It's a finals, alright, so let's leave it all on the table," he said when talking about his simple approach to motivating Leylah Saturday. "Let's sweat it all out.
"Let's make sure that no matter how it finishes there are no regrets"