![]() ![]() "I never would have been a coach if it weren't for Gigi," says Anthony. She really helped me with everything: my nutrition, my approach to tennis, my professionalism, my dedication." In an unintentional act of reciprocity, Fernandez turned Anthony into a coach. Fernandez later said that Anthony taught her the meaning of discipline. That same year, with her game unsteady and 20 extra pounds on her 5'7" frame, she turned herself over to Julie Anthony, who became her long-time coach, mentor, and confidante. Still, she won three doubles titles with Martina Navratilova in 1985, three titles with Lori McNeil in 1987, and her first major title, the U.S. 27 in singles and was named Tennis magazine's "player to watch."įernandez's career was uneven for years, probably due to what she later identified as a lack of discipline. At the conclusion of her first full season on the tour (1984), Fernandez was ranked No. In 1983, while still in her freshman year, she reached the finals of the NCAA championships and turned pro at year's end. After considering athletic scholarships from three American universities, she chose (sight unseen) Clemson University in South Carolina. Possessing a natural talent for the game, she won the Puerto Rico Open doubles at age 12, at which time she also engaged in her first shouting match with the umpire, whom she felt was favoring her American partner. She received tennis lessons as a gift from her parents on her seventh birthday. One of four children of Beatriz Fernandez and Tuto Fernandez, a gynecologist, Gigi was born in 1964 and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. ![]() Fernandez won two singles titles and 68 doubles titles, including two Olympic gold medals, before retiring from tennis in 1997 and taking up golf. Born Beatriz Fernandez in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Februone of four children, two girls and two boys, of Tuto Fernandez (a gynecologist) and Beatriz Fernandez attended Clemson University, in Clemson, South Carolina.Ī trailblazer in women's tennis doubles, Gigi Fernandez will be remembered as much for her on court antics as her substantial triumphs. ![]()
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