Leylah Annie FERNANDEZ

Leylah Annie Fernandez, born in Montreal, Quebec, to an Ecuadorian father and a Filipino-Canadian mother, started playing tennis at five and competing at 10. She quickly made history as the youngest Canadian to win main draw matches in ITF 25K tournaments.

The left-hander's talent was evident. In 2019, she reached the junior final at the Australian Open but lost to top-seeded Clara Tauson. However, she bounced back later that year by beating Emma Navarro to claim the Roland-Garros Girls' title and moving to number one in the world junior rankings.

In 2018, Fernandez made her WTA main draw debut at the WTA 250 Tournoi de Quebec. After winning her opener against fellow Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski, she fell to Britain's Heather Watson.

Leylah Fernandez's run to 2021 US Open final

The youngster started to make real progress in the world rankings in 2020. After qualifying for the Australian Open, her first Slam main draw, she defeated world number five Belinda Bencic in the Billie Jean King Cup. Fernandez then reached her first WTA final at the Mexican Open in Acapulco without dropping a set. Watson would again get the better of her to take the WTA 250 event.