Puerto Rico-born tennis legend Gigi Fernandez is best known for being one of the greatest doubles players of the 1980s and 1990s, but now the 17-time doubles Grand Slam winner is making a different kind of an impact on the sport.

Fernandez, who is currently serving on the Hispanic Engagement Advisory Group under United States Tennis Association (USTA) President Katrina Adams, spoke to Latin Post about her efforts to spread diversity in the sport among Latinos. 

Fernandez has a career doubles record of 664-184, holds 69 titles including 17 Grand Slams, and was ranked first in doubles in March 1991.

In the Grand Slams, she achieved two Australian Open wins (1993, 1994), six French Open championships (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997), four victories at Wimbledon (1992, 1993, 1994, 1997), and five at the US Open (1988, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1996).

David Salazar: You are part of the Hispanic Engagement Advisory Group. Can you tell us a little bit about your role with the organization?

Gigi Fernández: I am in a committee put together by Katrina Adams, the president of the USTA, to try to improve Hispanic participation in tennis. Hispanic numbers in relation to other minorities are really bad. We initiated a campaign to get the word out that tennis is a great sport.

DS: Can you elaborate on the message? What makes tennis so great?

GF: There are so many different reasons why the sport is great. You can play it for your entire lifetime. It is safe; you won't get concussions. You can play tennis with your kids. You can't really say that about other sports.

DS: Do you think that tennis is more accessible than other sports?

GF: Of course! There is a lot of play opportunity for all people of all economic ranges. There are a lot of tennis courts and programs that cater to people that are not wealthy. I mean, a tennis racket costs $20. There are free courts all over the country.

DS: You just mentioned that the numbers among Hispanics were down. I recently spoke to Katrina Adams and she alluded to the same thing. To what do you attribute these statistics?

GF: There are a few reasons for this. First, there is still this stigma that tennis is a sport for rich people. Second, there is not a great role model in the Hispanic community. There are a lot of Spaniards, like Rafa Nadal, who is an amazing player, but I think people identify him as a European and not a US Hispanic.

Third, Hispanics tend to be team oriented. We have big families and do things together. Tennis is an individual sport. Latinos like soccer more, where you can interact and hang out with your team of 12 or 20. I think that hurts a little as well.

DS: What are the most valuable takeaways that a youth can learn from playing tennis?

GF: In an individual sport, no one is accountable but you, so they learn responsibility. They learn how to handle adversity and overcome obstacles and set goals. In a team sport you are not as accountable because you can afford to have an off day. You just sit it out. You can't do that in tennis. You are always accountable.

DS: Moving on to you and your playing days, how does a career of a top ranked player in your time differ from a top ranked player these days?

GF: There is so much money these days that players can have bigger teams. I traveled with a coach, and that was it. Now they have physical trainers, physios, masseuses, stringers, the coach and the sports coach and the psychologist. It wasn't like that when I was playing.

DS: What do you miss the most about your professional days as a player?

GF: I don't know if I miss it at this point in my life. It was really nice to be so driven toward a goal and try to achieve something that seemed so difficult. I never thought I would win a Grand Slam, and then I won it 17 times. You feel really good about that, but I don't miss it now. It's a different stage in my life. I sure don't miss the travel, I can tell you that.

DS: What would you have been if you had not been a tennis player?

GF: Tough question ... I would probably have been a mom. But seriously, probably something with computers. My major in college was computer science and I love computers. Probably an engineer.