Leylah Fernandez suffered the second Grand Slam final loss of her career in the French Open women's doubles, but her partner Taylor Townsend was there to comfort the Canadian afterward.
It has been nearly two years since Fernandez had a stunning breakthrough at the 2021 US Open. She defeated Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber, Elina Svitolina, and Aryna Sabalenka in an incredible run to the final as a teenager.
After beating all those previous opponents in three sets, Fernandez understandably ran out of steam in the final against Emma Raducanu, whose route to that stage had been much easier than the Canadian's.
Fernandez reached her second Grand Slam final alongside Townsend at Roland-Garros. Their path to that point included overcoming the No. 2 seeds and top singles players Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula in the semifinal.
The pair played Xinyu Wang and Hsieh Su-wei in the final. Fernandez and Townsend got off to a perfect start by swiftly winning the opening set 6-1, leaving both women just one set away from their first Grand Slam title.
Unfortunately for the duo, the match turned after the second set. Wang and Hsieh took it in a tie-break, and they ran away with the final set after that to triumph 1-6, 7-6, 6-1 and win the title.
Fernandez was in tears after the match, and her more experienced partner did not allow the 20-year-old to suffer in silence. As seen in the video below, Townsend talked animatedly to Fernandez afterward with two hands on her shoulders.
Townsend's pep talk seemed to have a positive effect. Fernandez nods in the video and appears to take in what the American is saying, although what she tells her cannot be heard.
Being a supportive partner is easy after a victory. A more significant test is doing it after a tough loss, and Townsend certainly passed it after the French Open final.