Leylah Fernandez made a strong start to her North American hard court swing, winning her fourth WTA title at the Mubadala Citi DC Open. Barely two days later she played in her home tournament at the Canadian Open but lost in straight sets in the opening round to Maya Joint.

Ahead of her Cincinnati campaign which ended prematurely, the 22-year-old spoke at the press conference about her inspirations—seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams and another seven-time Grand Slam champion, Justine Henin:

Hailing from a country with little success in tennis, Henin, alongside Kim Clijsters, was a trailblazer in establishing Belgium as a leading force in women’s tennis. In women’s singles, Henin also clinched Belgium’s only gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Venus, along with her younger sister Serena Williams, redefined the sport and paved the way for women of color. Venus is a five-time Olympic medalist, and along with Serena, the legendary duo clinched 14 women’s doubles Grand Slam titles. Venus, who is now 45, is still playing tennis and recently made her appearance in Cincinnati, losing to Fernandez’s upcoming opponent Bouzas Maneiro in straight sets in the opening round.

Venus Williams’ return to the WTA tour

Venus Williams made her long-awaited return to the WTA tour after 16 months, receiving a wildcard at the Washington Open. She had not played an official singles match since the Miami Open last year, missing time due to a surgery to remove uterine fibroids.

She had an impressive comeback match, overcoming her compatriot Peyton Stearns, 22 years her junior, in straight sets in the opening round in Washington, D.C. With this victory, Williams became the oldest player to claim a tour-level singles match win since Martina Navratilova, who won her first-round match at the Wimbledon Championships in 2004 at the age of 47.

Williams lost in straight sets to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in her next round in D.C. She received a wildcard for the Cincinnati Open as well, and next up for her is the US Open mixed doubles, where she received a wildcard entry along with compatriot Reilly Opelka. Williams is a two-time women’s doubles champion at the US Open, triumphing in 1999 and 2009.

Leylah Fernandez’s North American hard court swing

The Washington Open triumph marked Leylah Fernandez‘s first title in nearly two years and also her maiden WTA 500 title . She had a remarkable run, overcoming top seed Jessica Pegula in the round of 16, Taylor Townsend in the quarterfinal, Elena Rybakina in the semifinal, and Anna Kalinskaya in the final. With this victory, Fernandez surged 12 spots in the WTA rankings to be the world No. 24.

The 2021 US Open runner-up was looking to replicate the same form once again in this country as she competed in Cincinnati, seeded 21. She faced Jessica Bouzas Maneiro for the first time on court in her opening round here, and suffered defeat in straight sets.