Mary Joe Fernández

Mary Joe Fernández first came to the tennis world's attention as an outstanding junior player who won four straight Orange Bowl junior titles. In 1985, aged 14 years and eight days, she became the youngest player to win a main draw match at the U.S. Open when she defeated Sara Gomer in the first round. She turned professional in 1986. She won her first tour doubles title in 1989 at Dallas, partnering Betsy Nagelsen. Her first top-level singles title came in 1990 at the Tokyo Indoor championships. She reached her first Grand Slam singles final in 1990 at the Australian Open, where she was defeated by Steffi Graf. She finished 1990 ranked a career-high World No. 4 in singles.

In 1991, Fernández teamed with Patty Fendick to win the women's doubles title at the Australian Open. She was back in the Australian Open singles final in 1992, this time losing to Monica Seles. Fernández was selected to represent the United States at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, winning a gold medal in women's doubles (with Gigi Fernández) and a bronze medal in singles.

In the quarterfinals of the 1993 French Open, Mary Joe Fernández staged a dramatic comeback against Sabatini after Sabatini took a 6–1, 5–1 lead. But Mary Joe raised the level of her game and saved five match points in the 2nd set before winning a tiebreak. In the 3rd set, Mary Joe finally got rid of Sabatini by hitting a down the line winner, ending the three-hour, 36-minute marathon by a final score of 1–6, 7–6^(7–4), 10–8. She then faced second seeded Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in the semifinals. Mary Joe defeated Arantxa 6–2, 6–2, ending a three match losing streak against the Spaniard. After the heroics against Sabatini in the quarterfinals, followed by her easy win over Arantxa in the semis, Mary Joe's opponent in the final would be top seeded Steffi Graf of Germany. In their nine previous meetings, Mary Joe had lost each time against Steffi. Mary Joe took the opening set 6–4, but Steffi rallied to win by a final score of 4–6, 6–2, 6–4.

Fernández won her second Grand Slam doubles title in 1996 at the French Open, partnering with Lindsay Davenport. The pair went on to capture the year-end WTA Tour Championships doubles title later that year.

Fernández was a late replacement for Chanda Rubin on the United States team for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. She won a second straight women's doubles gold medal, again in partnership with Gigi Fernández. She was also entered in the singles competition (owing to a withdrawal), and reached the semifinals, where she was defeated for the bronze medal by Jana Novotná. Later that year, Fernández was a member of the U.S. team that won the Fed Cup. Fernández won her final tour singles title in 1997 at the German Open in Berlin. Her final doubles title also came that year in Madrid. She retired from the tour in 2000, having won 7 singles titles, 17 WTA doubles titles, and 2 ITF women's doubles titles.

In 2003, Dr. Wade Exum, the United States Olympic Committee's director of drug control administration from 1991 to 2000, gave copies of documents to Sports Illustrated which revealed that some 100 American athletes who failed drug tests and should have been prevented from competing in the Olympics were nevertheless cleared to compete. Among those athletes was Fernández.

Since retiring from the tour, Mary Joe Fernández has served as a tennis commentator for ESPN and joined CBS Sports as an analyst for the 2005 U.S. Open. She also coaches the U.S. Fed Cup team and served as the woman's coach for the 2012 U.S. Olympic tennis team in London.

Fernández was born in the Dominican Republic; her parents were immigrants to the country. Her father José is from Spain and her mother Silvia Pino is from Cuba.

She completed her high school education at the Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart, in Miami, Florida.

On April 8, 2000 in Miami, Fernández married Anthony Lewisohn (Tony) Godsick, a sports agent with International Management Group. They have two children. She has homes in Cleveland, Ohio, and Key Biscayne, Florida.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 3 (0 titles, 3 runners-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1990	Australian Open	Hard	Steffi Graf	3–6, 4–6
Runner-up	1992	Australian Open	Hard	Monica Seles	2–6, 3–6
Runner-up	1993	French Open	Clay	Steffi Graf	6–4, 2–6, 4–6

Women's doubles: 7 (2 titles, 5 runners-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1989	US Open	Hard	Pam Shriver	Hana Mandlíková Martina Navratilova	7–5, 4–6, 4–6
Runner-up	1990	Australian Open	Hard	Patty Fendick	Jana Novotná Helena Suková	6–7(5–7), 6–7(6–8)
Winner	1991	Australian Open	Hard	Patty Fendick	Gigi Fernández Jana Novotná	7–6(7–4), 6–1
Runner-up	1992	Australian Open	Hard	Zina Garrison	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Helena Suková	4–6, 6–7(4–7)
Runner-up	1996	Australian Open	Hard	Lindsay Davenport	Chanda Rubin Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	5–7, 6–2, 4–6
Winner	1996	French Open	Clay	Lindsay Davenport	Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva	6–2, 6–1
Runner-up	1997	French Open	Clay	Lisa Raymond	Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva	2–6, 3–6

Olympics

Singles: 1 medal (1 bronze medal)

Mary Joe Fernández lost in the semi-finals to Steffi Graf 6–4, 6–2. In 1992, there was no bronze medal play off match, both beaten semi-final players received bronze medals.

Doubles: 2 medals (2 gold medals)

Outcome	Year	Location	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Gold	1992	Barcelona	Clay	Gigi Fernández	Conchita Martínez Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	7–5, 2–6, 6–2
Gold	1996	Atlanta	Hard	Gigi Fernández	Jana Novotná Helena Suková	7–6(9–7), 6–4

Year-End Championships finals

Doubles: 1 (1 title, 0 runners-up)

Outcome	Year	Location	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Winner	1996	New York City	Carpet (I)	Lindsay Davenport	Jana Novotná Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	6–3, 6–2

Singles: 16 (7–9)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1.	October 9, 1989	Filderstadt	Carpet (I)	Gabriela Sabatini	6–7(5–7), 4–6
Runner-up	2.	January 15, 1990	Australian Open	Hard	Steffi Graf	3–6, 4–6
Winner	1.	September 24, 1990	Tokyo	Carpet (I)	Amy Frazier	3–6, 6–2, 6–3
Winner	2.	October 15, 1990	Filderstadt	Carpet (I)	Barbara Paulus	6–1, 6–3
Runner-up	3.	April 15, 1991	Houston	Clay	Monica Seles	4–6, 3–6
Runner-up	4.	September 16, 1991	Tokyo	Hard	Monica Seles	1–6, 1–6
Runner-up	5.	January 13, 1992	Australian Open	Hard	Monica Seles	2–6, 3–6
Runner-up	6.	February 3, 1992	Essen	Carpet (I)	Monica Seles	0–6, 3–6
Winner	3.	February 22, 1993	Indian Wells	Hard	Amanda Coetzer	3–6, 6–1, 7–6(8–6)
Runner-up	7.	May 24, 1993	French Open	Clay	Steffi Graf	6–4, 2–6, 4–6
Runner-up	8.	June 10, 1994	Sydney	Hard	Kimiko Date	4–6, 2–6
Winner	4.	May 16, 1994	Strasbourg	Clay	Gabriela Sabatini	2–6, 6–4, 6–0
Winner	5.	February 27, 1995	Indian Wells	Hard	Natasha Zvereva	6–4, 6–3
Winner	6.	October 16, 1995	Brighton	Carpet (I)	Amanda Coetzer	6–4, 7–5
Runner-up	9.	June 17, 1996	Eastbourne	Grass	Monica Seles	0–6, 2–6
Winner	7.	May 12, 1997	Berlin	Clay	Mary Pierce	6–4, 6–2

Doubles: 43 (19–24)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1.	January 30, 1989	Tokyo	Carpet (I)	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch	Katrina Adams Zina Garrison	3–6, 6–3, 6–7(5–7)
Runner-up	2.	March 13, 1989	Boca Raton	Hard	Jo Durie	Jana Novotná Helena Suková	4–6, 2–6
Runner-up	3.	August 7, 1989	Los Angeles	Hard	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch	Martina Navratilova Wendy Turnbull	2–5 ret.
Runner-up	4.	August 28, 1989	US Open	Hard	Pam Shriver	Hana Mandlíková Martina Navratilova	7–5, 4–6, 4–6
Winner	1.	September 18, 1989	Dallas	Carpet (I)	Betsy Nagelsen	Elise Burgin Rosalyn Fairbank	7–6(7–5), 6–3
Runner-up	5.	January 15, 1990	Australian Open	Hard	Patty Fendick	Jana Novotná Helena Suková	6–7(5–7), 6–7(3–7)
Winner	2.	September 24, 1990	Tokyo	Carpet (I)	Robin White	Gigi Fernández Martina Navratilova	4–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–4)
Winner	3.	October 15, 1990	Filderstadt	Carpet (I)	Zina Garrison	Mercedes Paz Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	7–5, 6–3
Runner-up	6.	November 5, 1990	Worcester	Carpet (I)	Jana Novotná	Gigi Fernández Helena Suková	6–3, 3–6, 3–6
Winner	4.	January 14, 1991	Australian Open	Hard	Patty Fendick	Gigi Fernández Jana Novotná	7–6(7–4), 6–1
Runner-up	7.	January 28, 1991	Tokyo	Carpet (I)	Robin White	Kathy Jordan Elizabeth Smylie	6–4, 0–6, 3–6
Winner	5.	March 15, 1991	Key Biscayne	Hard	Zina Garrison	Gigi Fernández Jana Novotná	7–5, 6–2
Runner-up	8.	April 15, 1991	Houston	Clay	Patty Fendick	Jill Hetherington Kathy Rinaldi	1–6, 6–2, 1–6
Winner	6.	September 16, 1991	Tokyo	Hard	Pam Shriver	Carrie Cunningham Laura Gildemeister	6–3, 6–3
Runner-up	9.	November 11, 1991	Philadelphia	Carpet (I)	Zina Garrison	Larisa Neiland Jana Novotná	2–6, 4–6
Runner-up	10.	January 6, 1992	Sydney	Hard	Zina Garrison	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Helena Suková	6–7(4–7), 7–6(4–7), 2–6
Runner-up	11.	January 13, 1992	Australian Open	Hard	Zina Garrison	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Helena Suková	4–6, 6–7(3–7)
Runner-up	12.	June 15, 1992	Eastbourne	Grass	Zina Garrison	Larisa Neiland Jana Novotná	0–6, 3–6
Winner	7.	July 28, 1992	Olympics	Clay	Gigi Fernández	Conchita Martínez Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	7–5, 2–6, 6–2
Winner	8.	September 21, 1992	Tokyo	Hard	Robin White	Yayuk Basuki Nana Miyagi	6–4, 6–4
Runner-up	13.	Mary 3, 1993	Rome	Clay	Zina Garrison	Jana Novotná Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	4–6, 2–6
Winner	9.	May 17, 1993	Lucerne	Clay	Helena Suková	Lindsay Davenport Marianne Werdel	6–2, 6–4
Runner-up	14.	October 17, 1994	Brighton	Carpet (I)	Jana Novotná	Manon Bollegraf Larisa Neiland	6–4, 2–6, 3–6
Runner-up	15.	January 9, 1995	Sydney	Hard	Patty Fendick	Lindsay Davenport Jana Novotná	5–7, 6–2, 4–6
Winner	10.	March 6, 1995	Delray Beach	Hard	Jana Novotná	Lori McNeil Larisa Neiland	6–2, 6–4
Winner	11.	May 22, 1995	Strasbourg	Clay	Lindsay Davenport	Sabine Appelmans Miriam Oremans	6–2, 6–3
Winner	12.	September 18, 1995	Tokyo	Hard	Lindsay Davenport	Amanda Coetzer Linda Wild	6–3, 6–2
Winner	13.	January 8, 1996	Sydney	Hard	Lindsay Davenport	Lori McNeil Helena Suková	6–3, 6–3
Runner-up	16.	January 15, 1995	Australian Open	Hard	Lindsay Davenport	Chanda Rubin Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	5–7, 6–2, 4–6
Runner-up	17.	April 1, 1996	Hilton Head Island	Clay	Gigi Fernández	Jana Novotná Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	2–6, 3–6
Winner	14.	May 27, 1996	French Open	Clay	Lindsay Davenport	Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva	6–2, 6–1
Winner	15.	July 22, 1996	Olympics	Hard	Gigi Fernández	Jana Novotná Helena Suková	7–6(8–6), 6–4
Runner-up	18.	August 5, 1996	Montreal	Hard	Helena Suková	Larisa Neiland Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	6–7(1–7), 1–6
Winner	16.	November 4, 1996	Oakland	Carpet (I)	Lindsay Davenport	Irina Spîrlea Nathalie Tauziat	6–1, 6–3
Winner	17.	November 18, 1996	Chase Championships	Carpet (I)	Lindsay Davenport	Jana Novotná Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	6–3, 6–2
Winner	18.	March 31, 1997	Hilton Head Island	Clay	Martina Hingis	Lindsay Davenport Jana Novotná	7–5, 4–6, 6–1
Winner	19.	May 19, 1997	Madrid	Clay	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	Inés Gorrochategui Irina Spîrlea	6–3, 6–2
Runner-up	19.	May 26, 1997	French Open	Clay	Lisa Raymond	Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva	2–6, 3–6
Runner-up	20.	August 10, 1998	Boston	Hard	Mariaan de Swardt	Lisa Raymond Rennae Stubbs	4–6, 4–6
Runner-up	21.	September 21, 1998	Tokyo	Hard	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	Anna Kournikova Monica Seles	4–6, 4–6
Runner-up	22.	January 11, 1999	Sydney	Hard	Anke Huber	Elena Likhovtseva Ai Sugiyama	3–6, 6–2, 0–6
Runner-up	23.	March 3, 1999	Indian Wells	Hard	Jana Novotná	Martina Hingis Anna Kournikova	2–6, 2–6
Runner-up	24.	March 18, 1999	Key Biscayne	Hard	Monica Seles	Martina Hingis Jana Novotná	6–0, 4–6, 6–7(1–7)

Singles

Doubles

• NH = tournament not held.
• A = did not participate in the tournament.
• SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.