Tennis star Leylah Fernandez broke down in tears after her Pan Pacific Open final defeat to Diana Shnaider, revealing that her family had received bad news on the day of the match. The 24-year-old Canadian fought back from 6-4, 4-0 down to win the second set, but Shnaider claimed the decisive set 6-2 to secure victory in two hours and 18 minutes in Tokyo.
Emotional Tribute to Family
Despite her composure in congratulating Shnaider, Fernandez opened up about a difficult period for her family. "First of all I would like to congratulate Diana. An amazing week, a great match. Congratulations to you and your team. Hopefully we can have many more battles like this one," she said.
"Second, I would like to thank my coach Eric, who is here. Thank you so much for being here this week and last. We just got to keep going. I want to thank my team who are back home watching. Without your guys' support this wouldn't be possible so thank you for always believing in me."
"And lastly I just want to thank my family who are back home," Fernandez added. "We had some bad news today but thank you so much for all the support, all the messages, it really means a lot. And Lolo, I know you are looking down on us so thank you for always being strong and supporting us. I know you are going to take care of us from above, so thank you."
Second Asian Final Loss in a Week
The defeat marks the second time in the space of a week that Fernandez has come up short in an Asian final. She was beaten 6-2, 6-2 by Elina Rybakina in the Ningbo Open in China last weekend.
Fans took to social media to show support for the former US Open finalist. "Leylah Fernandez not taking the Championship loss in Tokyo very well at all. This breaks my heart to see," one fan wrote. Another said: "Leylah, stop crying please," accompanied by broken heart emojis, while a third added: "Oh no, Leylah Annie Fernandez found out about a death in the family earlier today before the final."
Shnaider's Tribute and Past Struggles
In the wake of her victory, Shnaider said, "Firstly, I would like to congratulate Leylah on an amazing week, last week, some great achievements through this Asia Swing. Congrats to you, your coach, and your family back home. Keep going and for sure hope to see you more in the finals like this in the future."
Last year, Fernandez admitted that she had suffered after her family went through a scare. "Mental state's been a little up and down," she said in August 2025. "My family and I, we went through a bit of a scare earlier this year, and same with my team," Fernandez revealed ahead of the Cincinnati Masters. "I feel like this year we've been challenged a lot off the court. Now that we've found the balance, things are a lot better. We're enjoying our time."
