NEW YORK — Leylah Fernandez stood on the court as every person sitting in Arthur Ashe Stadium looked on, enraptured by her every word.
The 19-year-old had just won her quarterfinal match at the US Open against No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5), and advanced to her first major semifinal. After such a seemingly-improbable run, ESPN’s Rennae Stubbs asked the question that many had been thinking and tweeting throughout the tournament.
“What is it that they’re feeding you up North in Canada that’s producing such incredible, inspiring tennis this week?”
Without missing a beat, Fernandez answered:
“I would say it’s the maple syrup.”
The audience roared in appreciation, and the moment went immediately viral. While Fernandez was obviously joking, it has become abundantly clear that something special is happening with Canadian tennis.
Just hours after Fernandez’s triumph, countryman Felix Auger-Aliassime, 21, followed suit with a win via retirement over Carlos Alcaraz. It marks the first time Canada has two players, male or female, in the semifinal round at the US Open during the Open era and is just the second time at any major. It’s the latest in a string of history-making results for the federation, two years after Bianca Andreescu became the first Canadian to win a Grand Slam singles title (at the 2019 US Open).
“A decade ago, there were only about 50,000 kids in Canada playing tennis regularly,” said Michael Downey, CEO of Tennis Canada. “But now our most recent research says there are about 250,000. And we know that’s all credit to our players who have paved the way. The first inspiration was Milos [Raonic] in 2011 at the Aussie Open and afterward, and then Eugenie Bouchard at Wimbledon in 2014. This motivated the next generation.
“And then you had what Bianca achieved in 2019, and the men reaching the Davis Cup final that year. These are all the waves that inspired kids to pick up a racket. And now we’re in a situation where the country’s getting great results and Leylah and Felix, and Bianca and [world No. 10] Denis Shapovalov, are just feeding off each other and making each other better.”
Canada hasn’t always produced Grand Slam-contending talent. When Downey took over the CEO role at the federation in 2004, there wasn’t a single player, male or female, ranked in the top 100. And that wasn’t a fluke — Downey said it had been seven years since a Canadian player had made it into double digits.
In a country known for its cold weather, it’s an uphill battle to produce top-quality tennis players. Indoor courts are often hard to find, and many players still don’t have consistent access. In the past it was hard to attract promising young athletic talent, especially when competing with the uber-popular hockey.
But things began to change with Raonic’s success. After his run in the Australian Open in 2011, where he went through qualifying and into the round of 16, and his first ATP title at the Pacific Coast Championships soon after, he became the highest-ranking Canadian male player in history at No. 37.
By 2013, he had reached the top 10.
Bouchard captivated the world with her 2014 season, when she reached the semifinals at the Australian Open and the French Open, and then the final at Wimbledon. As she and Raonic both made the final four at the All England Club, it was the first time two Canadians had done so.
Bouchard lost in the Wimbledon final, but she became the first Canadian to crack the top five in the rankings — and her global popularity skyrocketed.
After Fernandez’s win over defending champion Naomi Osaka in the third round, she credited Bouchard as an early inspiration. She was an 11-year-old training in Montreal, also Bouchard’s hometown, during Bouchard’s breakthrough and the achievement had a lasting impact.
“It’s not just Leylah, all of these kids — Felix, Bianca and Denis — were all inspired by Genie and Milos,” Downey said. “They both trained at the National Training Centre in Montreal, and then Leylah and Felix were at that same facility, and then they’re saying, ‘Wait a minute, they were right here a few years ago, if they can win, I can too.’ I think that created this belief in themselves and their ability to win.
“The bar used to be, ‘How can I make it to the top 100?’ but now that’s just an amber street sign — they’re driving right through it now. In the past decade, I think it’s gone from, ‘I don’t belong’ to ‘I belong and should go deep in tournaments’ to ‘I know I can win.’ It’s a fundamental culture change that you’re seeing.”
There were six Canadians competing in the main draw at the US Open — Auger-Aliassime, Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil on the men’s side and Fernandez, Andreescu and Rebecca Marino on the women’s. Raonic and Bouchard are both currently sidelined with injuries. Gaby Dabrowski, 29, is still alive in the doubles competition and will be playing in the semifinals with her partner, Luisa Stefani (of Brazil), looking to clinch her first major doubles title. She has twice won in mixed doubles.
Two matches now stand between Fernandez and Auger-Aliassime and their respective titles, but they both will have their hands full in the semifinals. Fernandez takes on world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday, and Auger-Aliassime plays two-time major finalist Daniil Medvedev on Friday.
Downey hopes no matter what happens, what they’ve accomplished will enthuse the next generation of Canadian players and spark someone else to pick up a racket for the first time. Both with multicultural backgrounds and both the children of immigrants — Fernandez’s father is from Ecuador and Auger-Aliassime’s father is from Togo — he believes Fernandez and Auger-Aliassime represent the “essence of Canada” and subsequently have the power to reach even more of the population.
Instead of being in New York cheering them on, he remains in Toronto and is trying to capitalize on their momentum, advocating for more indoor courts across the country and convincing local municipalities to put temporary bubbles on outdoor courts as the winter months near. Growing the game remains his top priority, he said, but will cross the border for the weekend if one or both advance to the final.
Fernandez and Auger-Aliassime have undoubtedly furthered raised the rapidly growing profile for Tennis Canada during their impressive runs, as well as proven to be part of an exciting group of young players from all over the world expected to dominate the game for years to come. Auger-Aliassime is proud of what he and Fernandez have already achieved but believes it could be even better.
“It’s great for Canada,” Auger-Aliassime said on Tuesday. “It’s great for Quebec. We’re both born in Montreal. I mean, I never thought a day like this would come. Both a little girl and a little boy from Montreal, both at the same time in the semifinals of the US Open. It’s special. It’s special for us. I hope the people back home appreciate the moment also. We do a lot.
“It’s great. But it would be amazing if we were both in a final, right?”
TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.
The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.
Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.
“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”
Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.
Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.
Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.
Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.
Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.
Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby plans to remain a Pittsburgh Penguin for at least three more years.
The Penguins announced on Monday that they re-signed the 37-year-old from Cole Harbour, N.S., to a two-year contract extension that has an average annual value of US$8.7 million. The deal runs through the 2026-27 season.
Crosby was eligible to sign an extension on July 1 with him entering the final season of a 12-year, $104.4-million deal that carries an $8.7-million salary cap hit.
At the NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas last Monday, he said things were positive and he was optimistic about a deal getting done.
The three-time Stanley Cup champion is coming off a 42-goal, 94-point campaign that saw him finish tied for 12th in the league scoring race.
Crosby has spent all 19 of his NHL seasons in Pittsburgh, amassing 592 goals and 1,004 assists in 1,272 career games.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Tadej Pogacar was so dominant on Sunday, Canada’s Michael Woods called it a race for second.
Pogacar, a three-time Tour de France champion from Slovenia, pedalled to a resounding victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal.
The UAE Team Emirates leader crossed the finish line 24 seconds ahead of Spain’s Pello Bilbao of Bahrain — Victorious to win the demanding 209.1-kilometre race on a sunny, 28 C day in Montreal. France’s Julian Alaphilippe of Soudal Quick-Step was third.
“He’s the greatest rider of all time, he’s a formidable opponent,” said Woods, who finished 45 seconds behind the leader in eighth. “If you’re not at your very, very best, then you can forget racing with him, and today was kind of representative of that.
“He’s at such a different level that if you follow him, it can be lights out.”
Pogacar slowed down before the last turn to celebrate with the crowd, high-five fans on Avenue du Parc and cruise past the finish line with his arms in the air after more than five hours on the bike.
The 25-year-old joined Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet as the only multi-time winners in Montreal after claiming the race in 2022. He also redeemed a seventh-place finish at the Quebec City Grand Prix on Friday.
“I was disappointed, because I had such good legs that I didn’t do better than seventh,” Pogacar said. “To bounce back after seventh to victory here, it’s just an incredible feeling.”
It’s Pogacar’s latest win in a dominant year that includes victories at the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia.
Ottawa’s Woods (Israel Premier-Tech) tied a career-best in front of the home crowd in Montreal, but hoped for more after claiming a stage at the Spanish Vuelta two weeks ago.
“I wanted a better result,” the 37-year-old rider said. “My goal was a podium, but at the same time I’m happy with the performance. In bike racing, you can’t always get the result you want and I felt like I raced really well, I animated the race, I felt like I was up there.”
Pogacar completed the 17 climbs up and down Mount Royal near downtown in five hours 28 minutes 15 seconds.
He made his move with 23.3 kilometres to go, leaving the peloton in his dust as he pedalled into the lead — one he never relinquished.
Bilbao, Alaphilippe, Alex Aranburu (Movistar Team) and Bart Lemmen (Visma–Lease) chased in a group behind him, with Bilbao ultimately separating himself from the pack. But he never came close to catching Pogacar, who built a 35-second lead with one lap left to go.
“It was still a really hard race today, but the team was on point,” Pogacar said. “We did really how we planned, and the race situation was good for us. We make it hard in the last final laps, and they set me up for a (takeover) two laps to go, and it was all perfect.”
Ottawa’s Derek Gee, who placed ninth in this year’s Tour de France, finished 48th in Montreal, and called it a “hard day” in the heat.
“I think everyone knows when you see Tadej on the start line that it’s just going to be full gas,” Gee said.
Israel Premier-Tech teammate Hugo Houle of Sainte-Perpétue, Que., was 51st.
Houle said he heard Pogacar inform his teammates on the radio that he was ready to attack with two laps left in the race.
“I said then, well, clearly it’s over for me,” Houle said. “You see, cycling isn’t that complicated.”
Australia’s Michael Matthews won the Quebec City GP for a record third time on Friday, but did not finish in Montreal. The two races are the only North American events on the UCI World Tour.
Michael Leonard of Oakville, Ont., and Gil Gelders and Dries De Bondt of Belgium broke away from the peloton during the second lap. Leonard led the majority of the race before losing pace with 45 kilometres to go.
Only 89 of 169 riders from 24 teams — including the Canadian national team — completed the gruelling race that features 4,573 metres in total altitude.
Next up, the riders will head to the world championships in Zurich, Switzerland from Sept. 21 to 29.
Pogacar will try to join Eddy Merckx (1974) and Stephen Roche (1987) as the only men to win three major titles in a season — known as the Triple Crown.
“Today gave me a lot of confidence, motivation,” Pogacar said. “I think we are ready for world championships.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.
