Leylah Fernandez Opens Up About Drawing Inspiration From Justine Henin

Leylah Fernandez is a very young tennis player who didn't quite catch the peak of Justine Henin but she became a fan later on.

Fernandez got her big break in tennis after making a surprise run at the US Open beating several excellent players en route to the final. She would end up losing the final, something that had an obvious impacto n her career becoming a fan favourite in the US. It's why she was chosen alongside Gauff for an exhibition in Atlanta later this year.

Injuries further contributed to her drop in play and when she recently lost to a 15-year-old player in Madrid, things were looking quite bleak. She made a winning start at Roland Garros, an event where she had a really good run last year and things look a bit more promising now.

Her tennis is a very polarizing one and at times has been compared to the tennis of Justine Henin. It's actually how she became a fan of the legendary player after not knowing who she was growing up. She talked about her fandom of the Belgian in Paris recently.

It's interesting because I didn't know who Justine Henin was, but there was a coach who kept mentioning that I play a lot like her or my style of game can be a lot like her. That's when my dad actually looked her up on YouTube because by then she was retired. So when we looked her up, I saw her play. I just loved the way she was hitting her one-hander, how she was hitting the slices down the lines, using the variation of her game to her advantage. It was interesting how she made the players uncomfortable while doing that.

Like many, Fernandez was mostly impressed with her backhand as she knows how hard it is to have a one-handed backhand. She actually shared a small anecdote of her wanting to have a one-handed backhand when she was younger but abandoning it after seeing how hard it is.

t was very impressive. Growing up I've always wanted a one-handed backhand. When I did try, it was a lot of fun, but it was super hard to control. And to be able to control a heavy, fast ball the way that she did, it was incredible. I think it's inspiring to see a player who technically isn't that big, that tall, being able to put taller and powerful players uncomfortable.