Leylah Fernandez justifies the signing of the former coach of the Williams sisters: "His mentality and playing style seem to fit me very well"

Leylah Fernandez wants to make a change in her career. The Canadian is not satisfied with being in the middle of the WTA ranking table; she seeks to take another step forward and entrusts her future to Eric Hechtman, who was the coach of both Serena Williams and Venus Williams at different stages. All of this comes before starting one of the most special tournaments for the 23-year-old tennis player: the WTA 1000 in Canada, which is taking place in Toronto this year.

The announcement of Hechtman's hiring took up most of her press conference during 'Media Day,' which also revealed that her father, who has been her coach throughout her career, will gradually step back. She also stated that winning in Canada would be one of the greatest milestones of her career.

Leylah Fernandez explains the reasons for adding the former coach of the Williams sisters to her team

“For a few years, my father and I have been talking about adding another coach who can help, who can share the weeks of training with him. The first reason is that my father also has other projects. We’ve been patient, searching, talking to different coaches, and looking for the best option. Talking with Eric, we liked how his mentality and playing style seem to fit well with our mentality and our playing style.

Image

I believe his experience and the way he has worked with the Williams sisters and different players, helping them rise in the rankings in a short time and improving their performance on the court, can help me as well. Plus, as I said, he can help my father manage the weeks better.”

Fernandez confesses that her father will stop being the main coach

“My father is going to step back; he will be more of a consultant, helping. It will be a collaboration between the three of us. What I like about what I’ve seen so far is that they both have a good relationship, talk a lot, and appear to communicate well. That also helps me on the court because I can listen to what Eric says and also what my father says, and there are no disagreements or anything that goes against what one says or the other because they seem to understand each other very well.”

Leylah Fernandez assures that winning in Toronto would be one of the most important milestones of her career

“It would probably be one of the most important titles, one of the best memories, and one of the most special tournaments. It’s where I grew up; it’s a tournament I watched when I was a little girl, so it would mean a lot.”

🇨🇦Leylah Fernandez & 🇺🇸Iva Jovic put on a fun, entertaining practice session on Centre Court today.

Leylah's team was also courtside, with Eric Hechtman, her father Jorge Fernandez, and 🍁Heidi El Tabakh all watching on.

Fernandez plays her R2 match on Wednesday night! #NBO26 pic.twitter.com/joo5iJqMUQ

— Jacob Pacheco (@JacobPacheco6) August 1, 2026

“It’s among my big goals and dreams. I always want to win a Grand Slam and be number one in the world, but winning here would also be something special because not many people, and not many athletes, can say they not only practice their favorite sport but also have the opportunity to compete at home and win a title at home. Just having the chance to be here is already a great gift, and hopefully winning the tournament will be an even greater blessing.”

Leylah Fernandez praises her doubles partner, Venus Williams

Primarily, it was the mindset and self-confidence. Venus's mindset and mental strength are on another level. Playing with her, seeing how she thinks, how she refocuses after a mistake, and the confidence she has after missing a point or making an error… she always comes back and tries again, and most of the time, she succeeds.

Her mentality is that of a true professional, and that’s why she is also a legend. She has won multiple Grand Slams, many singles and doubles titles, so she is a legend. That’s what I learned from her, and it’s something I have been working on a lot over the past year. I also think it’s something that young players aspiring to go far should work on: not just technique, but also mental strength,” concludes a Leylah Fernandez who wants to boost her career with Eric Hechtman.
 

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Leylah Fernandez justifica el fichaje del exentrenador de las Williams: "Su mentalidad y su estilo de juego parecen encajar mucho conmigo"