A sixth tennis player has won the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award. On Wednesday, United States Open finalist Leylah Annie Fernandez of Montreal, Quebec received the honour.
Fernandez, who is only 19 years of age, reached her first grand slam final in September at Flushing Meadows, New York, but lost to Emma Raducanu of Great Britain 6-4, 6-3. But it was Fernandez’s road to the final that deserved the highest of praise. She defeated the third seed, and four-time major champion, Naomi Osaka of Japan in the third round, 5-7, 7-6, 6-4; the 16th seed, and three-time major champion, Angelique Kerber of Germany in the fourth round, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2; the fifth seed, and two-time grand slam semifinalist Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in the quarterfinals, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6; and the second seed, and 2021 Wimbledon semifinalist Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the semifinals, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4.
In addition to reaching the U.S. Open final in women’s singles, Fernandez won her first WTA Tournament. She defeated Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland 6-1, 6-4 in the final of the Monterrey Open in Mexico. Fernandez finished the year ranked 24th in the world and with a 2021 record of 25 wins and 17 losses. The other five tennis players to win the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award were Carling Bassett of Toronto, Ontario (1983 and 1985), Helen Kelesi of Victoria, British Columbia (1989 and 1990), Aleksandra Wozniak of Montreal, Quebec (2009), Eugenie Bouchard of Montreal, Quebec (2013 and 2014), and Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ontario (2019).
