Katrina Adams, Tracy Austin and Gigi Fernandez (left to proper) instructing on the Worldwide Tennis Corridor of Fame’s Be Legendary program within the Bronx on Sunday.
By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, December 9, 2025Photo credit: Worldwide Tennis Corridor of Fame
The service line was a firing line when Gigi Fernandez started taking part in tennis.
Doctor Tuto Fernandez, Gigi’s father, designed a singular drill to show his daughter the sport. Positioning an eight-year-old Gigi on one service line, the elder Fernandez stood on the other service line drilling a barrage of balls immediately on the little one.
Gigi Fernandez credit that drill for serving to her develop the quick fingers and surgical really feel she displayed successful 17 Grand Slam doubles championships and two Olympic gold medals.
A tennis trailblazer, Gigi Fernandez made historical past as the primary feminine athlete from Puerto Rico to play an expert sport. Profitable 14 Grand Slam doubles titles over a five-year interval with associate Natasha Zvereva within the famed “Hearth and Ice” partnership, Gigi Fernandez was the primary Puerto Rican ever inducted into the Worldwide Tennis Corridor of Fame in 2010.
As of late, Fernandez is giving again to the sport and its gamers by means of teaching within the Corridor of Fame’s Be Legendary program.
Final Sunday, Corridor of Famers Fernandez and Tracy Austin joined Worldwide Tennis Corridor of Fame President Patrick McEnroe working with junior tennis gamers from three New York Metropolis boroughs on the Be Legendary clinic at the NYJTL Cary Leeds Middle for Tennis & Studying—a few miles from famed Fordham College the place McEnroe’s father graduated with a regulation diploma..
Be Legendary is the Worldwide Tennis Corridor of Fame’s international youth initiative designed to “encourage and empower gamers ages 10–18 by connecting them with tennis historical past, core values, and legendary gamers.”
The Be Legendary program is greater than bringing tennis historical past to life. It aspires to show youngsters worthwhile life classes tennis has to supply by means of the lens of Corridor of Fame gamers, assist them foster a deeper connection to the game, and encourage them to search out their private greatness, each on and off the courtroom.
In 2025, Be Legendary has taught youth world wide by means of clinics performed in Melbourne with former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, Dallas, Indian Wells, Miami, London (with the Bryan brothers and Maria Sharapova) and Newport, Rhode Island. Every occasion provides youth gamers the possibility to be taught from Corridor of Famers.
Gigi Fernandez’s efforts to help tennis gamers isn’t confined to the courtroom. She launched Tennis For Hope to supply sources and provide help to members of the tennis neighborhood struggling the impression of pure disasters. This yr, Tennis For Hope has delivered $210,000 to members of the tennis neighborhood impacted by the Florida hurricanes, Texas floods, LA fires and Asheville floods.
We caught up with Gigi Fernandez for this interview through which she discusses essentially the most very important high quality for a tennis champion, how she and Natasha Zverev would fare towards as we speak’s prime doubles groups, the best instinctual champion she’s ever seen and the state of tennis teaching.
Tennis Now: Gigi, I might assume you’re an ideal particular person to educate within the Be Legendary program. What are a number of the life classes and tennis classes you’ve tried to share with the children?
Gigi Fernandez: I believe the principle factor we attempt to educate the children is which you could obtain something that you just set your thoughts to attain. I imply, in the event you can dream it, you might be it, proper?
In case you undergo the steps and begin to imagine it. I believe lots of what Be Legendary is about is inspiring the children to imagine in themselves and they are often legendary and develop as much as win Grand Slams and Olympic gold medals and so they’re not so totally different than we have been beginning out.
It’s tremendous enjoyable and it’s a extremely nice initiative from the Corridor of Fame and actually have fun our champions. I believe you possibly can by no means do sufficient of that.
Tennis Now: I re-watched your Corridor of Fame acceptance speech to organize to interview you as we speak and it was actually nice the way you detailed how every of your dad and mom taught you life classes and impressed you. Whenever you have been rising up, was there any tennis participant, any tennis legend, who actually impressed you in your stand up the rankings to turn into a Grand Slam champion?
Gigi Fernandez: Rising up, Charlie Pasarell got here earlier than me [from Puerto Rico], however there was a little bit of an age hole and he was not dwelling in Puerto Rico anymore. SoI knew of Charlie Pasarell, however I didn’t know him rising up.
I did have a participant from Puerto Rico I regarded as much as. She was Chrissie Gonzalez. She was 4 years older than me, she performed school tennis and he or she type of mentored me. She is who I gained a bronze medal with on the Pan Am Video games after I was 15 and he or she actually impressed me and simply to play. Then, my aim was to simply play school tennis. I by no means actually aspired to play professional tennis. I simply couldn’t think about that was an possibility.
So her after which as soon as I turned professional, Martina Navratilova was my inspiration. Martina was No. 1 on the planet after I got here up and clearly you all the time wish to look to who’s No. 1 and be taught from them. After which when Martina picked me to play doubles together with her when Pam Shriver was damage it clearly modified my life. Simply to know that the most effective participant on the planet thought that I used to be ok to play doubles together with her was actually life altering.
Tennis Now: What was the hardest problem for you in achieving and sustaining the world No. 1 rating? What’s the greatest false impression folks have about being No. 1 on the planet?
Gigi Fernandez: I imply I believe all of it’s difficult. There are such a lot of steps and so many hurdles alongside the best way that you must overcome. I don’t assume there’s one factor, per say, that I might say: This was preserving me from being No. 1. It’s similar to a gradual development to get there. And I all the time like to make use of the analogy that it’s a marathon and never a dash. You may’t get to No. 1 on the planet in a yr or two years. I imply it’s very uncommon to do this.
It’s only a development and setting targets of reaching High 50 and High 25 and High 10 and High 5 and not likely simply setting the aim to be No. 1 as a result of then you definitely’re setting your self up for failure. So I set intermediate targets to succeed in alongside the best way. After which I used to be simply of the mentality that you just by no means give up it doesn’t matter what’s occurring. You understand, you simply by no means, ever give up and if you find yourself going by means of the obstacles, you simply have to hold in there.
All by means of my life every time I’ve been at my lowest moments, some good thing has come after. Like I keep in mind in 1994 I misplaced 9 first-round matches in a row. I began the yr and I didn’t win a match till July. I acquired to Wimbledon and I used to be gonna give up singles. As a result of my rating had dropped to No. 99, I wasn’t qualifying for Grand Slam foremost attracts anymore after which I reached the semifinals of the Wimbledon singles. Like out of nowhere, proper?
So only recently a private expertise, the worst factor that occurred in my life was my home flooding within the hurricanes. However now I began a basis that helps folks within the tennis neighborhood whose lives have been impacted by pure disasters. It’s referred to as Tennis for Hope . And that has been essentially the most gratifying work that I’ve ever achieved in my life. I can’t think about saying that the most effective factor that ever occurred in my life was my home flooding. And I can say that and not using a shadow of a doubt as a result of it impressed me to begin Tennis for Hope. So I really feel like if you’re going by means of the bottom occasions in your life, all the time hold in there, as a result of one thing higher is coming.
Tennis Now: It exhibits your resilience as a human being to rise from these low life moments. Natasha Zvereva, your long-time doubles associate, mentioned you two have been “Hearth and Ice” collectively. What makes good chemistry between companions and do you must be buddies to make a doubles pairing work?
Gigi Fernandez: Let me say one thing about resilience. As a result of in tennis, it’s simply you. And I believe that’s why it’s so necessary for folks, little women and little boys, to play sports activities. As a result of that’s what it teaches you: resilience. You understand if you lose and you must rise up and take a look at once more, in the event you’re not in sports activities, I don’t understand how you get that. I don’t understand how you get that have of failing at one thing, getting up and doing it over in the event you’re not in sports activities. So I’m clearly an enormous proponent of taking part in sports activities for that purpose.
As for the second half of your query about Natasha and I being Hearth and Ice. Completely. She was cool as a cucumber and lots of occasions she was impassive and didn’t get affected by the ups and downs of a match. Natasha was a gradual Eddie and I used to be the one who was type of up and down and up and down and in every single place.
You 100% must have chemistry to achieve success. There’s no query you must have chemistry. I imply, I name a doubles associate your second marriage. You’re actually married to that particular person. You’ve gotten undergo issues collectively, you must work in your stuff, you must speak issues out. As a result of so many divorces occur within the tennis world, proper? Partnerships don’t final so you must work on issues. Additionally there’s the grass is all the time greener syndrome: That the subsequent associate goes to be higher.
For Natasha and I, we really had a therapist that we labored with. Julie Anthony, my coach, was a psychologist. And we’d speak about our stuff. We solely performed collectively for 5 years however with out that, it most likely wouldn’t have lasted as lengthy as a result of there’s lots of strain if you’re the No. 1 doubles staff on the planet. We have been so dominant. Fourteen Slams in 5 years, I believe that’s a report for the variety of [doubles] Grand Slams in a brief time period. So the strain was fairly giant to proceed to win that variety of Grand Slams yearly. If we solely gained one Grand Slam we stopped taking part in as a result of it was a failure. In order that was lots of strain.
Tennis Now: After I consider you as a participant, you had all-court abilities, you appeared to have all of the pictures and your fingers and your instincts have been superb. Have been you higher taking part in on intuition or mind? And with regards to taking part in on intuition, who have been the best instinctual gamers you ever noticed? Like for me, Federer and Hingis have been simply unimaginable instinctual gamers. Even when the ball was on them shortly, they might make magic.
Gigi Fernandez: I had this uncanny capability to know the geometry of the courtroom and the construction of doubles factors since I used to be little. Like I used to be the Puerto Rican nationwide champion within the grownup division after I was 12. So for some purpose, I understood doubles. It was a God-given expertise. After which I actually understood tendencies. I studied gamers and realized their tendencies. So lots of anticipation is preparation. You’re understanding your opponent and what you assume they’re going to do in a selected state of affairs.
I’d say the individual that I used to be most impressed with in that regard was Martina Hingis. Hingis knew precisely the place to be always. It was like by no means even a query together with her: She was all the time in the suitable spot on the proper time.
Tennis Now: Whenever you take a look at this period of tennis now, how do you assume a first-rate Gigi Fernandez and a first-rate Natasha Zvereva would do towards as we speak’s prime doubles groups? Whenever you take a look at this period of tennis now, what do you miss and what do you actually love?
Gigi Fernandez: Properly, we’d kick their ass for positive [laughs].
I ponder that as a result of the sport is so totally different. I all the time really feel like basic doubles, good conventional get to the web doubles nonetheless wins. I believe the issue these days is the folks don’t volley properly. Individuals don’t have good volleys. I imply they simply don’t have good method on their volleys. It breaks down.
I imply you see some gamers who’ve good volleys, like clearly Taylor Townsend has good volleys. However there’s not very lots of them.
Alternatively, after I was taking part in there was loads of energy. Now, there’s energy and spin. With the expertise, you can also make the ball dip from anyplace, proper? So that you might be three toes from the web, and also you’re nonetheless going to hit a volley out of your shoe tops and that’s actually onerous. Like low volleys for me, have been waist stage or knee stage, proper? It was by no means at my toes. As soon as I’m contained in the field, as soon as I’m in place on the heart of the field at internet, I might hardly ever hit volleys from my toes as a result of folks didn’t hit with that sort of excessive topspin that they do now. So the most important change is the expertise has made it simpler for anybody to hit the ball down at your toes to drive you to continuously must hit up.
I positively miss good doubles factors and folks coming to the web and taking part in the angles and setting one another up. I really feel like after I watch doubles now, I’m watching singles on the doubles courtroom. I imply the highest gamers, sure, clearly there’s some nice, High 3, High 4, gamers on the WTA Tour taking part in nice doubles. But in the event you watch quarterfinals or spherical of 16 or random first spherical matches from tournaments, I nonetheless really feel such as you’re watching singles on a doubles courtroom. They’re simply hitting the ball as onerous as they’ll. No understanding of assemble a doubles level, no understanding of taking part in to your associate. Whenever you’re taking part in doubles, you’re taking part in to your associate. And whacking groundstrokes from the baseline isn’t taking part in to your associate. It’s very totally different, however that’s a part of the evolution of the game. I’m positive we mentioned the identical factor once we have been taking part in in regards to the earlier technology like Oh my God it’s like gradual movement. Now it’s the subsequent technology. It’s onerous to match. It’s onerous to say we’re higher than them or they’re higher than us as a result of the expertise has modified issues a lot.
Tennis Now: What did you be taught from teaching that you just want you’d often called a participant?
Gigi Fernandez: I want I knew, as a participant, how a lot endurance it requires to be a coach. I want I had been extra affected person with my coaches. I didn’t coach [pros] that lengthy. I coached Lisa Raymond, Sam Stosur gained the US Open after I was teaching them. I coached Rennae Stubbs. Richard, you’ve sort of caught me with a query I can’t reply.
Tennis Now: We’re seeing extra specialization in teaching as of late. Like Coco Gauff employed Gavin MacMillan to return in and work particularly on sharpening her function he helped repair Sabalenka’s serve. Do you like teaching specialization like having a serve coach, a volley coach, and so on. Or do you like having one coach overseeing the technical, tactical, psychological points of the sport?
Gigi Fernandez: I believe it’s a bit of little bit of overkill and generally you panic. There’s no shortcuts. Once more, it’s a marathon, not a dash.
When Coco employed somebody the week of the Open to assist her, that’s only a panic transfer, for my part. Nobody’s going to repair your serve two days earlier than the US Open irrespective of who they’re. So it’s like admitting you have got an issue and now you must cope with it whereas the entire world is watching. I really feel like possibly a coach and a hitting associate is all you want or a coach and a mentor. I don’t assume you want a forehand and a backhand coach.
Having mentioned that, after I was taking part in, I might work on totally different strokes with totally different folks. Like they wouldn’t journey with me however I’d work on my volleys with a volley coach. I keep in mind doing that. In truth, I labored with him and I didn’t like what he was instructing so I didn’t apply any of it. There’s one thing to be mentioned for an excessive amount of info. It will get an excessive amount of when you have got six totally different opinions coming at you as a participant. How do you sift by means of that? How do you determine who you take heed to and who you don’t take heed to? So when you have the serve coach saying one factor and the principle coach saying one thing in the event you’re the participant who do you take heed to?
Tennis Now: Final query, something I didn’t ask you about what you’re doing as of late that our readers ought to know?
Gigi Fernandez: I nonetheless have my experiential journey firm so I nonetheless deliver folks to Grand Slams and particular occasions. However I’m actually focusing quite a bit on my basis Tennis For Hope. We now have over 60 members which have pledged $750,000. We wish to unite the tennis neighborhood in response to pure disasters. So we assist folks within the tennis neighborhood who’ve suffered from pure disasters.
This yr, we donated $210,000 to LA fires, central Texas river floods, Florida hurricanes and Asheville floods. So it’s going rather well. Clearly, it’s lots of work as a result of it’s like beginning a brand new firm. We now have a devoted board. We’ve simply acquired Mary Carillo on the board. Pam Shriver’s on the board, Kathy Rinaldi’s on the board.
The WTA Basis was very useful once we began as a result of we didn’t have our 501 standing and so they helped us elevate cash for the LA fires. And we’re simply prepared for the subsequent pure catastrophe to hit. And when it does, we’ll be there serving to folks.
