Leylah Fernandez talks the 2024 Paris Olympics, her idols and growing up Latina

Leylah Fernandez is preparing for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The professional tennis player has been announced as part of Canada’s team at the Olympic Games, which begin on July 26 in Paris.e. Remezcla spoke with Fernandez about the Olympics, her idols and what it means to grow up in a Latin family as she prepares for her second Olympics. From the beginning, Fernandez was clear that the Olympics are “bigger than any other tournament” for her.

“For me, winning a medal is just as important as winning a Grand Slam,” Fernandez said. “I think the Olympics, what’s so beautiful about the event is that so many countries and cultures can participate in the Olympics. And you know, every time I’ve watched the Olympics, I always felt the motivation that I wanted to participate, because there’s something bigger than any other tournament. There’s a bigger sense of responsibility, because we’re not just playing for ourselves, we’re playing for a country, a community, our family, everything.”

But for Fernandez, representing Canada doesn’t mean she’s forgetting her heritage. That’s never happened. “I don’t think a lot of people understand that yes, I was born in Canada. Yes, I grew up in Canada. I moved to the U.S. to play tennis. But the reality is that I’m also Latina and Filipino. My father taught me the values ​​of his parents, my grandparents who were from Peru and Ecuador and who immigrated to Canada.”

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And that’s something Fernandez takes with her everywhere she goes. “They taught my dad their values, values ​​of hard work, values ​​of honesty, loyalty, and also the perseverance that it takes to survive.” So for Fernandez, her heritage isn’t just something that exists in the background. Instead, “being Latina is extremely important. We’re extremely proud of our heritage. We’re extremely proud of where my grandparents came from, where my dad came from. I want to be able to show the world that I’m not afraid to show that this is who I am. This is a part of me. This is a part of my heart.”

“That’s also what motivates me to compete, to play games, because I know that without their teachings, without their values, I wouldn’t be where I am today. So I’m just proud to be a Latina.”

And having Latina idols is incredibly important to someone like Fernandez, who recalls Monica Puig’s gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil as a defining moment. “I remember Monica Puig winning the gold medal in Brazil, which was super inspiring to me because she was probably one of the first Latinas of our generation to achieve something really big. And I remember seeing it so clearly on TV, and when she won, I was just super happy because not only is she Latina, but she’s not as powerful as some players, not as big. And she was able to fight for what she believed in.”

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Leylah Fernandez hopes that one day she can do that for someone else. “We play not only for ourselves, but for our communities, to make them believe that it is possible to achieve our dreams. And I’ve always said that I want to inspire the next generation to achieve their dreams. It doesn’t matter if it’s tennis or football or if they want to be an astronaut or a scientist. I truly believe that if we put our mind, soul and heart into it, we can achieve great things. And hopefully I can do that with my tennis.”

Next stop: the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.