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US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez has revealed she was told to give up on tennis by a school teacher because she would never make it to the top of the game.
The Canadian, who turned 19 on Monday, stunned world number two Aryna Sabalenka in a dramatic three-set semi-final at Flushing Meadows on Thursday night.
Fernandez will now face Britain's Emma Raducanu in the first US Open final to feature two teenagers since 17-year-old Serena Williams beat 18-year-old Martina Hingis in 1999 – before this year's finalists were born.
US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez says she was told to give up on tennis by her school teacher
The Canadian, who turned 19 on Monday, stunned world number two Aryna Sabalenka in a dramatic three-set semi-final
Dropped from Tennis Quebec's development programme when she was seven, Fernandez will now have the last laugh as she battles Raducanu for a winner's purse of £1.8million.
And she revealed after her victory over Sabalenka on Arthur Ashe Stadium that she was urged to abandon her tennis dreams as a youngster
