The intense dynamic between tennis players and their parent-coaches is back under the microscope. During the WTA 500 Strasbourg quarterfinals, Leylah Fernandez had a straight-sets loss (6-4, 6-4) to fellow Canadian Victoria Mboko. But it was the brutal on-court dressing-down Leylah received from her father and coach, Jorge Fernandez, which was caught on a microphone and is going viral among concerned fans.
Jorge Fernandez’s Harsh Criticism Sparks Concern Over Leylah’s Coaching Future
During a break in the match, a visibly frustrated Jorge delivered an unfiltered lecture to his 23-year-old daughter. Instead of a tactical encouragement, it was more of a criticism, and a pointed comparison of her current struggles to the rising success of her opponent, Mboko, across the net.
“She (Mboko) developed that style of play, her dad told me so, from watching us. And you refuse to admit it,” Jorge vented. He didn’t stop there. He laid into her execution and mental focus: “How many times do I have to shove it right in your face before you finally adjust your game? You have so many open opportunities for parallel shots, and you just blow them all, you blow every single one. You just don’t want to listen.” Jorge also asked Leylah something no athlete would like to hear: “Do you actually want to play tennis, or not? It’s not any more complicated than that.”
I’m just a fly on the wall here, but does anyone else feel like the father-daughter dynamic between Leylah and Jorge Fernandez may be starting to turn a bit stale?
This was their exchange after Leylah dropped the first set to Victoria Mboko earlier today in Strasbourg:
“Do you… pic.twitter.com/5jlf9hBTu0
— Jacob Pacheco (@JacobPacheco6) May 22, 2026
The most biting part of this coaching timeout may be a criticism of Leylah’s Grand Slam drought. Since her breakout run to the 2021 US Open final and a quarterfinal appearance at the 2022 French Open, Leylah has struggled to make deep runs in major tournaments.
Jorge weaponized that fact to motivate her, pointing to Mboko’s recent form: “This girl is a Top 10 player; solid, solid, solid. She’s making Grand Slam quarterfinals; something you haven’t done in the last four years. So, if you want to get back to that level, you have to keep hitting those damn slices.”
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Jorge has been her coach for virtually her entire life so far. While Leylah started playing tennis around age five and competing by age ten, Jorge, a former semi-professional soccer player with no formal tennis background, actually taught himself the sport so he could coach Leylah and her younger sister, Bianca Jolie. However, Leylah has won five WTA 250/500-level titles under his guidance.
While Mboko, who beat Naomi Osaka to win the Canadian Open last year, advances to the last four in Strasbourg, Leylah will shift focus to the French Open, as her first match in this year’s tournament against Alycia Parks is scheduled on May 25.
