PARIS | After losing the women’s doubles final on Sunday, Leylah Annie Fernandez collapsed in tears in her chair.
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Her colleague Taylor Townsend came to speak to her, to comfort and comfort her.
“I said to him, ‘Look, we’ve only been together since March and it’s only June, we’ll play together again and again, I’m sure.’ It’s okay to lose. “We’re making progress, both on and off the pitch,” Townsend told a handful of reporters.
The 27-year-old American didn’t do it for the show or for the cameras. She remained herself and authentic while the 20-year-old Quebecois listened intently.
“I looked Leylah in the eye and said, ‘What does it matter that we lost?’ This is our first Grand Slam together! We will have other options.” It was emotional, she was already in the singles final of a Grand Slam. For me it was my second doubles final in a major. We must turn the page and learn from this experience. “We don’t give anything back at home, so see you next week,” Townsend added.
The Canadian-American couple escaped the title in Roland-Garros and were beaten by Chinese Xinyu Wang and Taiwanese Su-Wei Hsieh 1:6, 7:6 (5) and 6:1.