MUBADALA CITI DC OPEN

July 25, 2025

Leylah Fernandez

Quick Quotes

L. FERNANDEZ/T. Townsend

6-4, 7-6

Q. (Question about the match.)

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: It was definitely an adventure. I think this was the first time I have had to go through this, and for myself I'm proud that I was able to stay mentally tough and just kind of hear the crowd cheering me on, hear my team telling me to keep points, keep going, keep fighting. It was definitely an adventure for myself.

I'm glad that I was able to get through in two sets and that I was able to pull through in the tiebreaker.

Q. Emma said if there would have been a third set in her match, she wasn't entirely sure she would have got through it. How about you?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: I would like to think I would have gone through it, but you never really know. Sometimes the body will just tell you this is it, it can't go on. For me, I like to think positively.

I have been training very hard physically. I have gone through some of the toughest trainings, not only the past years but also when I first started playing tennis, pushing the limits.

So I'd like to think that maybe in the third set I would have found a way. I would have maybe played it ugly, so find a way to get through the finish line.

Q. (Indiscernible.)

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Yeah, you know, I think because we knew I wasn't going to be the tallest player, but we did know that I was fairly quick.

Little side note, funny story. When I first started playing tennis, there was like a mini camp and they were doing a physical test, kind of a straight-line sprint. I was probably the slowest out of all of the girls there.

The coaches were concerned, like she's not very good physically. They talked to my parents, and my parents said, Yeah, but if you put a tennis ball in front of her and you ask her to run for every ball, she's gonna do it. Her heart and her belief in herself is much bigger than most of the girls in that camp.

So, you know, I just kind of remind myself that that's the key. Every time I'm doing fitness, knowing that I'm not going to be bigger, stronger, faster than most girls, I know if I have the right mindset and right belief in myself, I can kind of get to a lot of the balls on court.

Q. Can you talk about your potential next two opponents?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Who?

Q. Can I tell you?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Yeah.

Q. The two that are playing right now.

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Oh, Rybakina and Magdalena.

Oh, it's going to be a tough one. They both have different game styles, but they're having an amazing year. I know Elena, she's finding her rhythm. Magdalena, she's been killing it since the end of last year, second part of last year till now.

It's not going to be easy. They're both fighters. They both deserve to be here. So I'm just going to try to execute my own game plan and my game and go from there.

Q. You still have goals to complete this weekend, but to reach the semis, take out the No. 1 seed, deal with the conditions as you did today, is there a level of satisfaction? Still business to attend to, but reaching a semi here.

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Yeah, it definitely feels good to reach a semis. I think it's been a while since I have reached a semis, almost a year.

So for me, it's a good steppingstone. I see that the work that I have been doing all year is paying off now. We wish it would have paid off earlier, but we can't really complain.

We have to take it one match at a time, one moment at a time, and stay present, enjoy our time, enjoy the good vibes that we're feeling in D.C.