When Leylah Fernandez steps onto the court for her third-round match at the 2026 US Open, she will have a slightly different voice in her corner. The Canadian has been navigating a new coaching setup in recent weeks, one that adds veteran coach Eric Hechtman to the team that has long been led by her father, Jorge Fernandez.
After a difficult spring that saw her father face public scrutiny over a hot-mic incident, the team made a change before the North American hard-court swing. In late July 2026, Eric Hechtman joined the fold, bringing a fresh perspective to an established father-daughter dynamic. Fernandez, who is preparing to face World No. 3 Jessica Pegula, opened up about how the arrangement works, pointing to both similarities and differences between Hechtman and her father.
Bringing an outside coach into such a personal setup can sometimes lead to clashes, but Fernandez insists it has been easy. Hechtman isn’t trying to overturn Jorge’s methods; instead, he adds another layer to the same ideas. “I think it’s just a different voice,” Fernandez explained in a Tennis Channel interview. “Sometimes with my dad, he would tell me something, and it’s the exact same thing that Eric is telling me. It’s the same message, same everything, but a different way of seeing it. And what I like is that they’re both working well, and we’re all working well together.”
Hechtman brings years of experience at the highest level, having worked with many pros, including Serena Williams and Venus Williams. Jorge, meanwhile, has a background in soccer and basketball coaching at the high school and college levels, with his tennis expertise honed largely through coaching Leylah. But despite their different paths, Fernandez says they often land on the same advice, just delivered in distinct ways.
“I think the end message is the same. Sometimes it is how you say it,” Fernandez said with a smile. “But then also, when we’re having these conversations, Eric would say one thing, and I was like, it’s the exact same thing as my dad is telling me, and I laugh, and then he’s (Jorge) like, ‘You see, I told you.'”
The spring incident that reshaped the coaching setup came in May, when Jorge was caught on a hot mic delivering a heated mid-match lecture during Leylah’s straight-sets loss to Victoria Mboko in Strasbourg. He questioned her effort and passion, asking whether she wanted to play tennis at all. The moment did not sit well with her fans.
Now, Fernandez says both coaches share a similar mindset and want the same thing, which helps the trio gel. “We’re not going to take things personally, but we just want to get better together.” The change already appears to be paying off, with Fernandez winning her first two matches in straight sets against Zhang Shuai and Mananchaya Sawangkaew. Her next challenge at Flushing Meadows looms large in the form of Jessica Pegula, the 2024 US Open finalist.
