Leylah Fernandez roasts her own season: "It's been pretty sh*t, to be honest"

Leylah Fernandez isn’t one to pull punches—even when the topic is herself.

During a pre-tournament press conference at the National Bank Open in Montreal, the 22-year-old Canadian didn’t shy away from questions about her rollercoaster season leading up to her title run in Washington, D.C.

“You can be honest. You can say the rest of the year hasn't been great,” Fernandez said with a laugh. “It's been pretty shit, to be honest!”

Read More: Leylah Fernandez routs Anna Kalinskaya in Washington, D.C. for biggest title of career

Before last week, Fernandez had posted just one quarterfinal appearance in 2025—in Abu Dhabi back in February. Since then, she struggled to find form and had only won back-to-back matches twice all year—until she stormed to a WTA 500 title in D.C. on Sunday.

So when a journalist attempted to soften the blow with a diplomatic question Fernandez didn’t miss the opportunity to roast herself:

Q. What clicked for you in this tournament? I know the rest of the year hasn't gone as well, so...

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: You can be honest. You can say the rest of the year hasn't been great (laughing).

It's been pretty shit, to be honest! (laughing)

I guess in Washington it's been just a good week overall. I've been working very hard for a long time. It started with just good environment, good vibes with the team members, having dinner with the other Canadian girls that were at the tournament.

So it was always good environment from the beginning, and then on court I was just enjoying myself a lot more, and I was able to play well in front of a big crowd.

I guess everything just clicked in that week, and hopefully continues on for Montreal.

Those “good vibes” helped the 2021 US Open runner-up take down top seed Jessica Pegula, former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and then rout Anna Kalinskaya in the final to win her first WTA title since 2023.

Her secret weapon? Shake Shack.

Fernandez revealed that after tough wins over Rybakina and Taylor Townsend, she recovered with a full spread: “Burgers, hot dog, cheese fries—everything that an athlete should not eat,” she joked.

Read More: Expert Picks, Montreal and Toronto: Will Amanda Anisimova bounce back from the Wimbledon final?

Now in Montreal, Fernandez says she’s not changing too much—except maybe the menu.

“We're going to have to find a different type of routine, but we're just going to take it one day at a time,” she said. “We're going to have some good food. There's definitely a list of restaurants that we want to go to this week that they don't have in the U.S., only here in Canada.

“That's definitely on our to-do list.”

Fernandez will kick off her Montreal campaign against Maya Joint on Tuesday—the second time they’ll meet in as many weeks. Fernandez defeated the 19-year-old Aussie 6-3, 6-3 in the first round of D.C. just days ago.