PARIS | After the defeat in the women’s doubles final on Sunday, Leylah Annie Fernandez collapsed in her chair, in tears.
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Her colleague Taylor Townsend came to talk to her, to console and comfort her.
“I said to him, ‘look, we’ve only been together since March and it’s only June, we’re going to play together again and again, I’m sure of that. It’s okay to lose. We’re making progress, both on and off the court,’” Townsend told a handful of reporters.
The 27-year-old American didn’t do it for show or for the cameras. She remained herself and authentic, while the 20-year-old Quebecer listened to her attentively.
“I looked Leylah in the eye and said, ‘what the hell does it matter we lost? This is our first Grand Slam together! We will have other opportunities.” It was emotional, she has already been in the singles final in a Grand Slam. Me, it was my second doubles final in a major. We must turn the page and learn from this experience. We’re not going home, so we’ll see each other again next week,” added Townsend.
The Canadian-American pair escaped the title at Roland-Garros, admitting defeat to Chinese Xinyu Wang and Taiwanese Su-Wei Hsieh, 1-6, 7-6 (5) and 6-1.