The USTA Newsletter for Tennis Coaches
2010
The USTA Newsletter for Tennis Coaches
HIGH-PERFORMANCE
AN INTERVIEW WITH...
MARY JOE FERNANDEZ
Interview by Mark Preston, USTA Editorial Director
Mary Joe Fernandez has been on a tennis court most
of her life. At the age of 3, she would tag along with her
father and older sister when they would play, and was
so fascinated by the sport that her father shaved down a
racquet so that she'd be able to pick it up. After that, she
rarely put it down.
Fernandez eventually blossomed into one of this country's
top tennis talents. In 1985, she became the youngest
player ever--at 14 years, 8 days--to win a main draw
match at the US Open (a record she still holds). Fernandez
turned pro in 1986 and established a brilliant professional
career that included 7 career singles and 17 doubles
crowns, including the 1991 Australian Open and 1996
French Open doubles titles. In addition, she won a gold
medal in doubles and a bronze in singles at the 1992
Barcelona Olympic Games, then repeated her gold medal
doubles performance at the 1996 Games in Atlanta. She
is a three-time Grand Slam tournament finalist and was
a member of the U.S. Fed Cup team that won the title in
1996.
Today, Fernandez remains very much involved with the
sport that has been such a big part of her life. Her keen
insights and thoughtful observations have made her one
of tennis' top TV analysts, working for ESPN and CBS.
What's more, she is in her second year as U.S. Fed Cup
captain, guiding her team to the final of that prestigious
international event for the second year in a row. While
preparing for that event, which will be played in San Diego
on November 6-7, Fernandez took time out to talk about
her team, her thoughts on some of this country's coming
talents, and offer some insight and advice to coaches who
are looking to get the most out of their players.
Q: What's the best thing about being Fed Cup captain?
Fed Cup was always one of my personal highlights and
looking back, some of my greatest memories came
from being part of those teams. It's just such a unique
experience; there's really nothing else like it in tennis.
You've got a lot of great players coming together and
working hard for a common goal. It was always such
a wonderful time for me and it's almost been an even
better experience now as captain because I'm able to
see all these up-and-coming players and get a chance to
work with them during those [Fed Cup] weeks and keep
track of them during the year.
Q: Your team has reached two finals in two years.
That's a pretty fair record.
I've been very lucky. I've had great teams and
we've been pretty consistent with Melanie [Oudin]
and Bethanie [Mattek-Sands] and Liezel Huber.
And along the way we've also had players like Julia
Boserup, Christina McHale, Sloane Stephens, Coco
Vanderweghe, Shenay Perry, Alexa Glatch and others
who are on the verge of trying to make that big
breakthrough. So it's been a good mix of really good
players who are all committed to winning.
Coaching
Melanie Oudin celebrates during the first round of the 2010 Fed Cup.
Mary Joe Fernandez at the 2010 Tennis Teachers Conference
named as the 2009 United States Olympic Committee (USOC)
National Coach of the Year.
Vol. 11, No. 2