Felix Auger-Aliassime and Leylah Fernandez have endured challenges in 2023, but the Canadian duo are turning a corner and reminding the tennis world the talent they possess.

Auger-Aliassime, a former world No.6, joins forces with Fernandez, a Grand Slam finalist, to play for Canada in the country’s debut at the United Cup in 2024.

Aged 23 and 21 respectively, they represent the future of tennis in their country and are two of the professional game’s most exciting talents.

TICKETS: Catch Team Canada in action in Sydney

We got a glimpse of that excitement during Fernandez’ thrilling fortnight at the 2021 US Open.

She turned 19 during that tournament, electrifying the New York crowds as she tore through a succession of incredible opponents – Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber, Elina Svitolina and Aryna Sabalenka.

Emma Raducanu stopped her run in the final, but Fernandez leveraged that form, becoming a Roland Garros quarterfinalist the following year then peaking at world No.13.

In terrible luck, she suffered a foot stress fracture in that quarterfinal loss in Paris. It was an injury which completely derailed her momentum and sidelined her for more than two months.

After falling as low as world No.96 in the middle of 2023, the left-hander hit a purple patch post-US Open and vaulted back inside the top 40.

A quarterfinalist at the Guadalajara WTA 1000 tournament, she then won Hong Kong – her first WTA title in 19 months – and reached the semifinals in Nanchang, building an eight-match winning streak.

"We had a very, very hard past couple of years," Fernandez told the WTA.

"My family, my parents, my coach, and my performance coach stayed by my side. They motivated me to keep going and the hard work is paying off.

“Hopefully, we can keep going this way."

It’s a sentiment that will ring true with Auger-Aliassime, who persisted through a bleak period to emerge on the other side with a title.

After a strong start to the season, knee troubles throughout March and April affected his performance, and ultimately drained his confidence. From late May to early October, he lost nine of the 10 matches he played. He did not win consecutive matches for more than seven months.

Yet upon arriving in Basel in late October, where he was defending champion, something clicked. He won back-to-back titles at the prestigious Swiss Indoors tournament, capping his week with wins over Holger Rune and Hurbert Hurkacz.

He has now won eight of his past 10 matches – there was a quarterfinal finish in Tokyo as well, prior to Basel – and feels invigorated.

“I’m definitely back,” Auger-Aliassime said.

“I let my racquet talk. That's always been the motto of my career. I've had the conviction that I can be a top player since I'm a kid, but there were many doubts this year about my performances and why.

“I’m happy that I was able to prove to everybody that I still belong among the best players in the world, that I can play this level. I never doubted it, but it's good to confirm it on the court.”

Auger-Aliassime’s best Grand Slam result came when he was a semifinalist at the US Open – the same year Fernandez reached the final.

“We're both born in Montreal. I never thought a day like this would come. Both a little girl and a little boy from Montreal, both at the same time in the semifinals of the US Open,” Auger-Aliassime reflected at the time.

“It's special.”

Fernandez explained their association pre-dated that memorable fortnight at Flushing Meadows.

“I have known Felix for a few years that I have practiced … beside him when I was younger. I've seen him with his dad and how hard he works,” she said in 2019.

“So it gave me more motivation to really follow him and how he's doing.”

It’s a connection they’ll carry into Group B of the United Cup, one of the strongest groups in Sydney which also features Greece.

READ MORE: United Cup 2024 groups announced

Singles battles between Auger-Aliassime and Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Fernandez and Maria Sakkari, are among the more highly-anticipated blockbusters set for Ken Rosewall Arena.