"Knew there was something fishy about Leylah Fernandez's dad" – Fans react to 'scathing' allegations from former WTA pro about Canadian's father

Barbara Schett’s recent comments about Leylah Fernandez’s father and coach, Jorge Fernandez, have sparked a big discussion among tennis fans. Schett called his treatment of Leylah "insane" and questioned how this behavior is still tolerated in the sport today.

In a recent interview with Kicker magazine, former WTA star Schett opened up about Elena Rybakina's ex-coach Stefano Vukov's ban. Disturbing details about the Kazakh and her former coach have surfaced in the past few months, eventually leading to the Croatian coach's ban.

Schett backed the ban and made a surprising claim about World No. 28 Leylah's father Jorge.

"We know that she (Rybakina) has major ups and downs mentally, probably because of him. He definitely abused her mentally and that's why I think it's right that he was banned from the WTA," Schett said.

"I am also curious to see what happens to Leylah Fernandez's father because the way he treats his daughter is insane... It is terrible that something like this still exists today and is sometimes accepted," she added.

Schett's comments were posted on X, and fans expressed shock and concern; however, several of them claimed they weren’t surprised.

"I knew there was always something fishy with leylah's dad, she has not really done well since that 2021 us open and I always wonder why she didn't get a new coach and let go of her dad. With this statement, it's obvious she probably can't even even tell him to leave," one fan wrote.

"Leylah's greatest success was at US Open when her father was absent. Interesting," another fan wrote.

"Leylah’s father’s behaviour is an open secret at this point," claimed a third fan.

Here are some more fan reactions to Schett's shocking claim about Leylah Fernandez's father.

"Wait.. leylah’s father is another a**hole?" one fan wrote.

"I hope the WTA has opened an investigation against Leylah's dad. When Zheng Qinwen called him out during that match, that should have sounded the alarm," another fan wrote.

"Barbara Schett comment from interview here at the end on 🇨🇦 Leylah Annie Fernandez's father is scathing #WTA" yet another fan wrote.

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Leylah Fernandez's father Jorge was involved in a controversy at the Wuhan Open last year

Leylah Fernandez at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open - Source: Getty

In the third round of the 2024 Wuhan Open, Zheng Qinwen faced Leylah Fernandez. The Canadian bagged the first set but at 1-1 in the second, a tense moment arose.

Zheng seemed to have started a conversation with Fernandez's box, which included her father and coach, Jorge. Soon after, Leylah asked the Chinese player what she said, and the exchange was then led by the chair umpire.

They need to stop playing with Qinwen byu/truecolors01 intennis

During her post-match interview, Zheng claimed:

"Actually, I was distracted in the first set by what [Fernandez's father] was saying because Leylah was on the other side. He was always talking, 'C'mon, c'mon,' before I started to return. That's why I think I lost the game when I was 30-Love because I was a little bit distracted," Zheng Qinwen said (translated from Chinese).

However, after this heated moment in the match, Fernandez could win only two games and lost 5-7, 6-3, 6-0.