MELBOURNE, Australia | While his daughter Leylah hit one of the Melbourne Park training pitches, dressed in long clothes to make up for the unusual 20 degrees that reigned over South Australia on Sunday, Jorge Fernandez accompanied The newspaper to the player center.
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“It was 36 degrees on Saturday, and [dimanche], it’s the opposite, he says while walking. The weather here will be a real challenge for the athletes. »
If Mr. Fernandez can afford to get away from the pitch while his daughter practices there on the eve of the first major tournament of the season (and chat a bit regarding the weather at the same time), it’s because the family added a new trainer to his clan in the last two months.
The quest was long. It took a year and a half. Jorge Fernandez never hides it: he is demanding.
“I wanted someone who was going to give 100%. I won’t name names, it’s not my style. But in the past, we sometimes worked with people who gave 70%, for whom tennis was a job. Whereas for Leylah, tennis is her dream,” he explains.
The Fernandez had crossed paths with Julian Alonso in tournaments for a few years. The discussions never went in depth. Alonso, himself a former world No. 30, was linked with fellow left-hander Arantxa Rus.
“We greeted each other,” says Leylah’s father. I’m not the type to snatch a coach from another player. »
AFP photo
Leylah Fernandez trained earlier this week under the watchful eye of her trainer Julian Alonso.
Dating in Miami
At the end of 2022, Jorge Fernandez met the Spaniard once more, this time in Miami, where the family now lives.
Alonso had settled there too, which made his collaboration with Rus more complicated, according to Mr. Fernandez.
« [Cet ajout à notre équipe], it was not planned, underlines the dad. Over the course of discussions, we decided to give it a shot. »
“I really like Julian’s philosophy,” he continues. He asks a little more from his player, he asks for more quality, more volume. It’s the Spanish style! But he also has the intelligence of the game, of the construction of points. »
In theory, Alonso is in Australia for a trial with the Quebecer, who has mainly been coached by her father since the start of her career. But already, Fernandez and Alonso are concocting plans for the rest of the year.
“He’s a bit direct, a bit like me,” adds Jorge Fernandez, with a smirk. Leylah spent some time with him and she says we’re like twins! »
Leylah also made the trip to Auckland at the start of the year with Alonso as the only trainer in his box.
The 20-year-old reached the quarters in singles at this tournament, where she was beaten by Belgium’s Ysaline Bonaventure, ranked 90th, and then the final in doubles.
Set up a team
This new association, if it lasts, will ensure that Jorge Fernandez will travel less with his daughter. He will focus on the most important tournaments.
He also wants to take some time to surround the young athlete well. “I’m going to start putting together a team that will take care of the physical side, nutrition, physiotherapy in order to have all the specialists we need to be successful in the next 12 to 15 years. »
“Leylah is ready to make the transition from ‘coach dad’ to having a team around her,” said Fernandez.
These additions were made possible by the financial gains the young athlete has made over the past two years, both on the field and through her many sponsors.
According to a list compiled by the media Sporty in October, Leylah earned approximately $8.6 million between May 2021 and May 2022.
To continue to reap gains, however, you must reap victories. Of course, dad Jorge has a certain bias. But he says he is convinced that his daughter can have “an extraordinary season”.
“She is in incredible physical shape,” he says. The people on the circuit tell us that. »
In search of constancy
Undermined by the stress fracture in the foot that Leylah suffered at Roland-Garros and which forced her to stay away from the field for two months, the last campaign did not live up to the expectations of the clan.
The Quebecer fell in the standings following being eliminated in the second round at the US Open, where she had reached the final in 2021. She was on the edge of the top 10 last August; here she is now 40th.
“I’ve never paid much attention to the standings,” says Jorge Fernandez. What I would like to see, at this stage of his career, is more consistency in tournaments, rather than having some excellent ones and some very difficult ones. »
This quest for consistency will resume Monday at 7 p.m. Eastern time, when the Lavalloise will face the French Alizé Cornet, 34th in the world, in the first round in Melbourne.
