Fernandez, Gigi (1964–)

views updated

Fernandez, Gigi (1964–)

Puerto Rican tennis player. Born Beatriz Fernandez in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Feb 24, 1964; attended Clemson University.

At 12, won Puerto Rico Open doubles; won 3 doubles titles with Martina Navratilova (1985), 3 titles with Lori McNeil (1987), and her 1st major title, the US Open doubles, with Robin White (1988); won US Open doubles title with Navratilova (1990) and French Open with Jana Novotna (1991); joined forces with Natasha Zvereva (1992) to dominate women's doubles (1993–97), winning 20 grand slams and ranking as Doubles Team of the Year (1993–95, 1997); won a gold medal at Barcelona Olympics (1992), competing for US and partnered with Mary Joe Fernandez (no relation); won a gold medal at Atlanta Olympics (1996), paired again with Mary Joe Fernandez; retired (1997); came out of retirement, competing for semifinals for doubles at Roland Garros (2004) and making it to 2nd round for singles at Wimbledon (2004).

See also Women in World History.

About this article

Fernandez, Gigi (1964–)

Updated About encyclopedia.com content Print Article

NEARBY TERMS

Fernandez, Gigi (1964–)