Tennis champion Leylah Fernandez is back home in Montreal, Canada, and couldn’t be happier. Fernandez, 21, shared a video of herself training on the court and running outside, wearing a variety of cool workout gear. “I wanted to give a little insight into why I chose to come back to my hometown, Montreal, for the pre-season 🇨🇦✨ Coaching here isn’t just about the courts; it’s also about the memories etched in every shot. These are the very places where my passion for tennis was first ignited. Coming back is like flipping through the pages and reconnecting with the journey that brought me here. There is a unique energy here that fuels my determination. Every workout, every race is a nod to deep roots,” she captioned the video. Here’s what Fernandez’s training and workouts look like.
Fernandez did beach workouts when training for the 2022 Australian Open. “We try to work out at the beach as much as possible because the sand makes the movement a little harder to execute,” she told Body + Soul. “But the most important thing is that working out at the beach helps me clear my mind with the sound of waves. It rejuvenates me so I can train harder on the tennis court. [I do] cardio and plyometrics workouts, that are tennis related movements. We train one to two hours of fitness work, five to six days a week. We also have three to four hours of tennis practice during the week.”
Fernandez loves to play soccer and do yoga alongside her tennis training. “I love to play soccer as a way to help with my tennis,” she told Body + Soul. “Soccer requires a lot of running and sprints – which is similar to tennis. I also like to run. Tennis requires a lot of cardio, so running helps me getting ready for the long matches and long points… We like to do a lot of yoga to recuperate the body. Mostly stretching yoga. It not only recuperates the body, but also it calms the mind. Especially since during the day we are always in a rush; yoga helps with rejuvenation.”
Fernandez is partnered with yoga and sportswear brand Lululemon. “It’s important for me to look and feel good when training,” she told The Standard. “Lululemon makes the most comfortable and stylish outfits to wear on the court or in the gym. The brand has also recently released their new running shoe which is super comfortable and is my go-to shoe when training away from the tennis court… My personal style is evolving. In the past, you’d usually find me in either comfortable athletic-inspired clothing or in casual jeans and a t-shirt. Now as I’m getting a bit older and going to more public events, I’ve really enjoyed expanding my wardrobe to also include more sophisticated looks.”
Fernandez trains hard, so rest time is crucial for her wellbeing. “Once or twice a year I like to treat myself with a nice vacation,” she told The Standard. “Usually a warm weather, low key location where I can relax and just hang out. I’m not a big partier so I prefer a quiet place where I can enjoy time with my family and friends. Last year I went to Turks & Caicos. It was amazing and really allowed me to recover physically and mentally from the long tennis season.”
Fernandez says there is no short cut to success—just a lot of very hard work. “I am very hardworking,” she told Tennis Majors. “There is no secret to playing tennis, you need to work hard every day. I am glad that my parents have taught me the value of working hard from a very young age; that it does not matter what I did yesterday, because today is a new day and a new opportunity to do better. Also, my parents and grandparents taught me how to fight for what I want – I want to be a tennis professional, every day I have that in my mind and I want to prove that to everyone.”