Mary Joe Fernández

Former professional tennis player Mary Joe Fernández serves as an analyst for ESPN’s tennis coverage. Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Miami, Florida, Fernández enjoyed a successful career on the WTA Tour, with seven career singles titles, 17 in doubles, and being ranked as high as #4 in the world. Fernandez first rose to the tennis world’s attention as an outstanding junior player, winning four straight Orange Bowl junior titles. In 1985, at age 14 years and 8 days, Fernández became the youngest player to win a main draw match at the US Open when she defeated Sara Gomer in the first round 6-1, 6-4. Before she retired in 2000, she compiled a 437-203 record. In doubles, she was 344-141.

Fernández appeared in a Grand Slam final three times – Australian Open (1990 and 1992) and French Open (1993). She also enjoyed success in doubles, winning two Grand Slam events (1996 French Open with Lindsay Davenport and the 1991 Australian Open with Patty Fendick) and 19 WTA doubles titles. In addition, she won the gold medal in doubles at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics. She won the bronze in singles in 1992 and was a member of the winning United States’ 1996 Fed Cup squad. In December 2007, she was named Coach of the U.S. Fed Cup team, and was elevated to Captain in 2009.

Fernández is a breast cancer survivor who was honored in 2022 at the Dubin Breast Center Annual Benefit.