Gigi Fernández

At 60 years old, Gigi Fernández has this physical status:

Beatriz Fernández (born February 22, 1964) is a Puerto Rican professional tennis player.

She began competing in 1983 and became the first Puerto Rican to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. In the women's doubles, there is a No. 1 position.

In 1991, she reached a career-best singles record of 171.

Fernández, who quit the professional tour in 1997 at the age of 33, has been a tennis coach and entrepreneur.

By hosting Master Doubles with Gigi Clinics and Doubles Boot Camps, she now shares her experience with tennis enthusiasts around the United States.

Personal life

Tuto Fernández, a well-known doctor in Puerto Rico, and Beatriz Fernández are her parents. José Ferrer, her cousin, was a well-known Puerto Rican actor and producer. Fernández began playing tennis when she was seven years old. She attended Academia San José in Guaynabo. When she turned professional in 1983, she became Puerto Rico's first female professional athlete. She played tennis for one season at Clemson University in 1982–83, where she was singles and doubles all-American and reached the National Collegiate Athletics Association singles final before turning pro.

Fernández has worked as a tennis mentor since being banned from the tour. She has worked with players, including former world No. 301. Rennae Stubbs, Lisa Raymond, and Samantha Stosur are among the top singles players on the circuit. Sam Stosur was coached by Lisa Raymond to her first Grand Slam title at the 2005 US Open. She has also worked with the Puerto Rican national team and the University of South Florida.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of South Florida in 2003 and later graduated from Rollins College's Crummer School of Business where she obtained a Master of Business Administration. She is the mother of twins, Karson Xavier and Madison Jane, and Jane Geddes, a retired professional golfer and former LPGA and WWE executive.

Baby Goes Pro was established in 2010 by Fernández. She currently resides in Tampa, Florida, and she serves as the Director of Adult Tennis at Chelsea Piers Connecticut, as well as the Summer Director of The Long Ridge Tennis Club.

Fernández says she gets a lot of negative feedback from some Puerto Ricans on social media, and that it saddens her.

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Career

Fernández was recognized primarily as a doubles specialist during her professional career. She won a career doubles Grand Slam with 17 Grand Slam women's doubles title – six French Open, five US Open, four Wimbledon, and two Australian Open winning at least one Grand Slam title every year from 1988 to 1997, except 1989, and for three straight years winning three of the four Grand Slam doubles titles in the same year (1992–1994). She won 14 of her 17 Grand Slam titles partnering Natasha Zvereva; their partnership is the second most successful doubles pair in the Open era after Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver.

In mixed doubles, Fernández was the runner-up in three of the four Grand Slam mixed doubles events in 1995 (Australian Open, Wimbledon, and US Open) partnering Cyril Suk. Fernández captured 68 career titles in women's doubles and reached the world No. 1 doubles ranking in 1991 and attained the No. 1 ranking again in 1993, 1994 and 1995. She won a total of 69 doubles titles during her career.

Fernández represented the United States at the Olympic Games in 1992 (Barcelona) and 1996 (Atlanta). She teamed with Mary Joe Fernández (no relation) to win the women's doubles gold medal on both occasions. The first gold medal was won against the home team of Conchita Martínez and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario with the king and queen of Spain in the audience. The two medals are on Fernández's desk, and a license plate on her car states "DBL GLD".

Fernández represented Puerto Rico when San Juan played host to the Pan Am Games in 1979. Just 15, Fernández won a bronze medal. In 1982 at the Central American-Caribbean Games in Cuba, she teamed with Marilda Julia to win doubles gold and won a silver medal in the singles as well. She represented Puerto Rico at the 1984 Olympics.

Fernández was also on the United States team that won the Federation Cup in 1990.

In singles, Fernández reached as high as world No. 17. She also won two top-level titles and reached the semifinals at Wimbledon in 1994 (ranked 99 becoming the lowest-ranked Grand Slam singles semifinalist at Wimbledon) and the quarterfinals at the US Open in 1991 and 1994.

Fernández retired from the professional tour in 1997, and in 1999, she was named Puerto Rico's "Female Athlete of the Century".

On July 12, 2010, Fernández was inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame with Zvereva.

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