Leylah Fernandez praises Floyd Mayweather, calls him her role-model

Leylah Fernandez has revealed that former world boxing champion Floyd Mayweather was her role model growing up.

After her second-round exit at the 2023 Miami Open, Fernandez traveled to South Carolina to begin her clay court season at the Charleston Open. She commenced her campaign there with an impressive straight-sets win over Evgeniya Rodina (6-3, 6-2).

Speaking to the Tennis Channel after the match, Fernandez divulged her interest in boxing, stating that Mayweather influenced her to follow the sport. She passionately weighed in on the American boxer's defensive abilities and fascinating strategies.

"We love watching boxing, like, Floyd Mayweather, he was one of my role models growing up. I loved how the way he was able to move, dodge and use offense and defense and how he was able to move so fast when punches were coming right at him so quickly," she said.

Fernandez also claimed that she is an ardent fan of Rocky Balboa (a fictional boxer from the Rocky franchise), adding that the movies from the franchise are "so inspirational."

"Ofcourse, I'm [a 'Rocky' fan]. I love Rocky. I've watched all the movies and so inspirational too, so it's great," added the Canadian.

Meanwhile, reflecting on her first match on clay in 2023, Fernandez expressed delight at having successfully made the transition from hard courts on such short notice.

"I think it really went well. I'm super happy the way I played, the way I was able to transition from hard court to clay court on such a short amount of time. I think I enjoyed myself on clay a lot and I was able to play my game overall so that was awesome," Fernandez observed.

Leylah Fernandez took boxing lessons during off-season

Leylah Fernandez's love for boxing is not just constrained to her admiration for Mayweather. The Canadian adores the sport so much that she even took boxing lessons during her off-season.

Reflecting on her boxing practices, Fernandez stated that she instantly fell in love with it.

"This off-season, we decided why not try boxing for fun and I instantly loved it," she stated.

Fernandez also shared her admiration for her boxing coach, who was patient with the Canadian while learning the basics.

"I loved that my coach was so nice to us. First time I met him, he was very intimidating but he was so nice. He was able to start from the beginning, show me the basics and he had the patience for that and I instantly loved that," she added.

Meanwhile, at the Charleston Open, Leylah Fernandez will next face Paula Badosa in the Round of 32 on Wednesday (April 5).