Laval’s Leylah Fernandez and American Taylor Townsend qualified for the women’s doubles final of the French Tennis Open on Friday.
Tenth seeds of this Grand Slam tournament on clay, Fernandez and Townsend defeated the American tandem of Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff 6-0, 6-4.
Pegula and Gauff were the second seeds in the competition.
Fernandez has been struggling in singles since the start of the year. Her three-set loss to Clara Tauson in the second round in Paris dropped her record to 14-13 since the start of 2023.
However, the Quebecer and the American have had success since they decided, in March, to form a tandem.
They made the Miami Open final and Madrid Open semi-finals, both WTA 1000 category tournaments. In Miami, Fernandez and Townsend lost to Pegula and Gauff in straight sets.
In the grand final, Fernandez and Townsend will face the duo composed of Taiwanese Hsieh Su-Wei and Chinese Wang Xinyu.
For Fernandez, this will be her first appearance in the final at a Grand Slam tournament since her loss in the U.S. Open women’s singles final match in 2021.
To see in video