Beatriz "Gigi" Fernández (born February 22, 1964) is a Puerto Rican former professional

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player. Fernández won 17

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

doubles titles and two Olympic gold medals representing the United States, and reached the world No. 1 ranking in doubles. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 17 in 1991. Since retiring from the professional tour in 1997 at the age of 33, Fernández has been a tennis coach and entrepreneur. She now shares her knowledge of doubles with tennis enthusiasts throughout the US by conducting Master Doubles with Gigi Clinics and Doubles Boot Camps. Fernández is the first Puerto Rican to be inducted into the

International Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indo ...

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 Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

, 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 Natallia Marataŭna Zvierava ( be, Наталля Маратаўна Зверава; russian: Наталья Маратовна Зверева, Natalia Maratovna Zvereva; born 16 April 1971) is a former professional tennis player from Belarus ...

; their partnership is the second most successful doubles pair in the Open era after

Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova ( cs, Martina Navrátilová ; ; born October 18, 1956) is a Czech–American, former professional tennis player. Widely considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, Navratilova won 18 major singles titles, 31 maj ...

and

Pam Shriver Pamela Howard Shriver (born July 4, 1962) is an American former professional tennis player and current tennis broadcaster and pundit. During the 1980s and 1990s, Shriver won 133 titles, including 21 singles titles, 111 women's doubles titles, an ...

. In mixed doubles, Fernández was the runner-up in three of the four Grand Slam mixed doubles events in 1995 (

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...

, Wimbledon, and US Open) partnering

Cyril Suk Cyril Suk III (born 29 January 1967) is a former professional tennis player. A doubles specialist, Suk won five Grand Slam titles, one men's doubles and four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles and 32 ATP Tour doubles titles during his career. Ear ...

. 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 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

(

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

) and 1996 (

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

). She teamed with

Mary Joe Fernández Mary Joe Fernández Godsick (born María José Fernández; August 19, 1971) is an American former professional tennis player, who reached a career-high ranking of world No. 4 in both singles and doubles. In singles, Fernández was the runner-up ...

(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 "Conchita" Martínez Bernat (born 16 April 1972) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. She was the first Spaniard to win the women's singles title at The Championships, Wimbledon, Wimbledon, doing so in 1994 Wimbledon Championships � ...

and

Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Aránzazu Isabel María "Arantxa" Sánchez Vicario (; born 18 December 1971) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. She won 14 Grand Slam titles: four in singles, six in women's doubles, and four in mixed doubles. She also won four Ol ...

with the king and queen of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

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 Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

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 Federation Cup or Fed Cup is the former name of the premier world team competition in women's tennis. Federation Cup may also refer to: * Capital Football Federation Cup, an Australian territory-based association football tournament *Federation Cup ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

. In singles, Fernández reached as high as world No. 17. She also won two top-level titles and reached the semifinals at

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

with Zvereva.

Personal life

Her parents are Tuto Fernández, a well-known doctor in Puerto Rico, and Beatriz Fernández.according to WTA players guide Her cousin

José Ferrer José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic American actors during his lifetime, w ...

was a famous Puerto Rican actor and director. Fernández started playing tennis when she was seven. She studied at the prestigious Academia San José in Guaynabo. When she turned professional in 1983, she became Puerto Rico's first female professional athlete. Before turning professional, 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 The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

singles final. Since retiring from the tour, Fernández has worked as a tennis coach. She has coached players including the former world No. 1 doubles player

Rennae Stubbs Rennae Stubbs (born 26 March 1971) is an Australian tennis coach, television commentator, and former professional player. She is the host of The Power Hour on Amazon Prime Video Sports Talk. She worked at the Seven Network between 2011 and 201 ...

Lisa Raymond Lisa Raymond (born August 10, 1973) is an American retired professional tennis player who has achieved notable success in Doubles (tennis), doubles tennis. Raymond has eleven Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam titles to her name: six in women's do ...

, and

Samantha Stosur Samantha Jane Stosur ( ; born 30 March 1984) is an Australian professional tennis player. She is a former world No. 1 in doubles, a ranking which she first achieved on 6 February 2006 and held for 61 consecutive weeks. Also a former top ten s ...

. She coached Sam Stosur to her first Grand Slam title at the 2005 US Open with Lisa Raymond. She also coached for 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 Rollins College is a private college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several graduate programs. It is Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institution. History Rollins Colle ...

's Crummer School of Business where she earned a Master of Business Administration. She is the mother of twins, Karson Xavier and Madison Jane, and the partner of retired professional golfer and former LPGA and WWE executive

Jane Geddes Jane Geddes (born February 5, 1960) is a retired American professional golfer. She joined the LPGA Tour in 1983 and won two major championships and 11 LPGA Tour events overall. Geddes was the Vice President of Talent Relations of WWE. Career ...

. In 2010, Fernández started a company named Baby Goes Pro. She presently resides in Tampa, Florida and was the Director of Adult Tennis at Chelsea Piers Connecticut, as well as Summer Director at The Long Ridge Tennis Club. In a 2021 interview, Fernández states she receives a lot of negative comments from some Puerto Ricans via her social media and that it saddens her.

Major finals

Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 23 (17–6)

Mixed doubles: 3 (0–3)

Olympic finals

Doubles: 2 (2 gold medals)

WTA Tour titles

Singles (2)

Doubles (69)

* 1985: Washington (with

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

(w/Navratilova),

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

(w/Navratilova), Fort Lauderdale (with Robin White) * 1987: U.S. Indoor Championships (with

Lori McNeil Lori McNeil (born December 18, 1963) is an American tennis coach and former top 10 professional tennis player. McNeil was a singles semifinalist at the US Open in 1987 and Wimbledon in 1994, a women's doubles finalist at the Australian Open in ...

), Newport (w/McNeil), Mahwah (w/McNeil) * 1988: Tokyo Outdoor (w/White), US Open (w/White) * 1989: Newport (w/McNeil),

(w/White), Tokyo Doubles Championships (w/White), Filderstadt (w/White) * 1990: Tokyo/Pan Pacific (with Elizabeth Smylie), Hamburg (w/Navratilova),

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

(with

Jana Novotná Jana Novotná (; 2 October 1968 – 19 November 2017) was a Czech professional tennis player. She played a serve and volley game, an increasingly rare style of play among women during her career. Novotná won the women's singles title at Wimbled ...

), US Open (w/Navratilova), New England (with Helena Suková) * 1991: Brisbane (w/Novotná), Chicago (w/Novotna), Light n' Lively Doubles (w/Suková),

French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

(w/Novotna), Oakland (with Patty Fendick), Indianapolis (w/Fendick) * 1992: Houston (w/Fendick),

(with

(w/Zvereva),

Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

(with

), US Open (w/Zvereva), Oakland (w/Zvereva),

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

(w/Zvereva) * 1993:

(w/Zvereva), Delray Beach (w/Zvereva), Light n' Lively Doubles (w/Zvereva),

Hilton Head Hilton Head Island, sometimes referred to as simply Hilton Head, is a Lowcountry resort town and barrier island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is northeast of Savannah, Georgia, and southwest of Charleston. The island is ...

(w/Zvereva),

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

(w/Zvereva),

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

(w/Zvereva),

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

(w/Suková), Leipzig (w/Zvereva), Filderstadt (w/Zvereva),

Virginia Slims Championships Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

(w/Zvereva) * 1994:

(w/Zvereva),

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

(w/Zvereva),

(w/Zvereva), Italian Open (w/Zvereva),

(w/Zvereva),

(w/Zvereva), Filderstadt (w/Zvereva),

(w/Zvereva),

(w/Zvereva) * 1995: Tokyo/Pan Pacific (w/Zvereva),

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

(with

Martina Hingis Martina Hingis (, sk, Martina Hingisová; 30 September 1980) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. Hingis is the first Swiss player, male or female, to win a major title and attain a world No. 1 ranking. She spent a total of 209 weeks a ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

(w/Zvereva),

(w/Zvereva), US Open (w/Zvereva), Filderstadt (w/Zvereva) * 1996: Tokyo/Pan Pacific (w/Zvereva),

Atlanta Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

(w/Mary Joe Fernández),

(with

), US Open (w/Zvereva) * 1997:

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

(with

(w/Zvereva),

(w/Zvereva)

Doubles performance timeline

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez, Gigi 1964 births American female tennis players Australian Open (tennis) champions Clemson Tigers women's tennis players French Open champions Hispanic and Latino American sportspeople International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles Lesbian sportswomen LGBT sportspeople from Puerto Rico LGBT tennis players Living people Olympic gold medalists for the United States in tennis Olympic tennis players of Puerto Rico Sportspeople from San Juan, Puerto Rico Sportspeople from Stamford, Connecticut People from Seminole County, Florida Puerto Rican female tennis players Rollins College alumni South Florida Bulls women's tennis coaches Tennis people from Florida Tennis players at the 1979 Pan American Games Tennis players at the 1983 Pan American Games Tennis players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 1996 Summer Olympics US Open (tennis) champions Wimbledon champions Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Pan American Games bronze medalists for Puerto Rico Pan American Games silver medalists for Puerto Rico Pan American Games medalists in tennis Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in tennis Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Puerto Rico Central American and Caribbean Games silver medalists for Puerto Rico Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalists for Puerto Rico Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games American tennis coaches WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players

Career

Personal life

Major finals

Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 23 (17–6)

Mixed doubles: 3 (0–3)

Olympic finals

Doubles: 2 (2 gold medals)

WTA Tour titles

Singles (2)

Doubles (69)

Doubles performance timeline

See also

References

External links