What was the highlight of your playing career? We have a great current player in Monica Puig, and there were two other girls who cracked the top 100 on the tour since I played. I had to blaze my own trail, which I embraced with a passion, and now Hispanic girls throughout the world have several role models, including myself, Mary Jo Fernandez, Gabriella Sabatini and many other Spanish players. I was the first Puerto Rican female athlete to make a living playing a sport. It was not shown on TV, and I had no role models. Tennis wasn't big at all when I was growing up. Was tennis popular in Puerto Rico at that time and how has your success changed that? I got my ranking up to 85th in the world in singles and decided to turn pro. She was ranked 27th in the world at that time, and if I could go to 7-6 in the third with a player like that, I thought I could have a chance on the pro tour. As a freshman, I made it to the NCAA finals and lost to Beth Herr in a third-set tie-breaker. I received a full scholarship to play at Clemson University, and that's when I first realized I could play professionally. Because the Puerto Rican Tennis Association was part of the United States Tennis Association, I would get entry into national tournaments where a few college coaches saw something special. There wasn't a whole lot of competition, so I was always number one in my category. I had a pretty good junior career in Puerto Rico. When did you realize tennis was something you could do professionally? I used an adult racket, which isn't normal today with all the 10 and Under programs, but that's how I got started. I always had exceptional hand-eye coordination, and was able to start rallying at just three-years-old. I wasn't old enough to play, so I started hitting against a wall. I started playing when I was about three-years-old at a club my parents and older brothers played at. When did you first start playing tennis and how did you get into the sport? She is also director of tennis at The Long Ridge Tennis Club in North Stamford, Conn. She also conducts Master Doubles with Gigi clinics and is establishing Gigi Fernandez Teaching Centers throughout the country. She directs the adult curriculum at Chelsea Piers where she developed The Gigi Method. Fernandez has been extremely active since retiring from the tour pursuing her life’s mission of sharing her knowledge of doubles. She became one of the greatest doubles players of all-time, winning 17 Grand Slam titles and two Olympic Gold Medals. Her hard work and talent led her to the University of Clemson, eventually becoming the first female athlete from Puerto Rico to turn professional. Gigi Fernandez was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico and began playing the sport of tennis at an early age.
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