"I'm very sad to say that I will not be in Atlanta, want to wish Coco good luck" - Leylah Fernandez withdraws from Atlanta Open exhibition match due to foot injury

Ever since losing the 2021 US Open final against Britain's Emma Raducanu, it has been a roller-coaster journey for Leylah Fernandez. The Canadian has struggled to achieve her top form, facing various early exits and unexpected losses against opponents she should have had no problem with. On top of that, a foot injury she picked up at the French Open made things worse for her.

During her third-round match at Roland Garros against Belinda Bencic, the World No. 14 felt discomfort in her right foot. However, she continued to play on, ignoring what she thought would only be a temporary issue. The injury kept getting worse, but she battled through regardless to win her fourth-round match against Amanda Anisimova.

She realized the seriousness of the problem during her quarterfinal against Martina Trevisan, where she lost in three sets. Much of the blame went to the 19-year-old herself as she didn't stop early, and the injury diagnosis later on revealed a grade three stress fracture. As a result, she found herself out of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships.

The Canadian was all set to return to the court later in July for an exhibition match against Coco Gauff at the Atlanta Open. Unfortunately, she has now had to withdraw from the event, as her doctors have requested her to rest her foot for another week. Fernandez took to social media to announce that she was pulling out of the exhibition match and wished Gauff good luck.

While the teenager admitted that the withdrawal was "heartbreaking" for her, she hoped the fans and players involved would have a good time at the tournament.

"Hey, guys. So I just wanted to give you a quick update. While my foot is recovering, I am following my doctor's orders, which are that I will not be able to compete for the next coming week. So, I'm very, very sad to say that I will not be in Atlanta. And even though it's heartbreaking for me, I hope that everyone — the fans and the players — will enjoy their time at the tournament and I want to wish Coco good luck. Bye. See you next time," Leylah Fernandez said.

Gauff will now face Leylah Fernandez's replacement Taylor Townsend of America on July 24. The Canadian is likely to return to action at the Citi Open in Washington, which will be held from August 1-7.

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"I was heartbroken because I knew I was close to a semifinal of a Grand Slam" - Leylah Fernandez

Leylah Fernandez during the 2022 French Open.

In a recent interview with TSN, 19-year-old Leylah Fernandez expressed her disappointment with the injury that denied her a chance to go deep at the French Open. The World No. 14 revealed that she continued playing despite the injury only because she thought it was just a sprain or some other kind of minor injury.

“It was hard. The first few days, I was very heartbroken. I was hoping it would just be a sprain or that a nerve that got pinched or a muscle in my foot had something wrong, and it would just be a few weeks, but a stress fracture set us back even more," Leylah Fernandez said. "I was heartbroken because I knew I was close to a semifinal of a Grand Slam and potentially playing against Coco Gauff. That would’ve been a great match."

She further stated that she wished to return to competitive tennis as soon as possible and more importantly, in good shape. At the moment, the Canadian did not want to think about the results, but instead wanted to focus only on recovering enough to get back to enjoying her time on the tennis court.

“I just want to be there with my body feeling great, my mind feeling fine and enjoying my time on the court and in competition. We don’t want to think of any results. Of course, I want to win. Every athlete wants to win a match, wants to win the tournament, but for me the big thing is my body feeling great by the end of the year," Leylah Fernandez said.