Wednesday, Dec. 16 2020. 19:24
MONTREAL – Even more than all the effort she put in to climb 121 positions in the women’s tennis world rankings, the recognition of this work by Tennis Canada has proven to be Leylah Annie Fernandez’s most rewarding moment of the season.
The 18-year-old Quebecer and Ontarian Milos Raonic were named the female and male players of the year by Tennis Canada on Wednesday morning.
In addition to these honors, they also won the singles player of the year titles. Fernandez also earned the title of Most Improved Player in 2020.
Fernandez, 88th in the WTA Rankings, picked up the award for the first time in her career, having won the Junior Player of the Year category in 2019.
She succeeds Ontarian Bianca Andreescu, absent from the women’s circuit in 2020 due to a major knee injury.
It was after completing his morning workout on Wednesday that Fernandez learned the good news via email.
“Honestly, I was very moved, very happy. I felt all kinds of emotions. (…) It is an incredible feeling that I have, with all these players who received this award. It’s an honor to be on this list, ”Fernandez said in a phone interview with The Canadian Press.
For Fernandez, such a tribute somewhat confirms that she and her entire team are moving in the right direction. For this reason, she considers this award to be her best moment in 2020.
However, there is talk of a young player who toppled experienced Swiss Belinda Bencic in a Fed Cup qualifying game on February 8. Three weeks later, she made the final of the Acapulco tournament after having delivered six straight games without conceding a single set.
“The training is very difficult. There are always small doubts. Will what I am doing will help me for the future? Am I doing it right? With this nomination this morning, it motivates me more to continue, ”said Fernandez, who dreams of participating in the Olympic Games next summer.
For his part, Raonic has won this honor for the eighth time in his career and thus comes close to the record of Daniel Nestor, winner of 10 times.
On the other hand, Ontarians Gabriela Dabrowski and Denis Shapovalov were selected in the doubles player of the year categories, while Vancouverite Vasek Pospisil took the most improved doubles player.
