Mary Joe Fernandez left a huge impact on the game of tennis, having reached three Grand Slam singles finals, winning two Grand Slams and two Olympic medals in doubles, and becoming a role model for young Hispanics -- male and female -- in the game.

Fernandez, born in the Dominican Republic to a father from Spain and a Cuban mother before her family moved to Miami, got into the sport by accident, following her older sister to the courts during her therapy sessions.

"It was by chance. I have an older sister who played and who was 10 years older than I was," said Fernandez, who is now a tennis analyst for ESPN and CBS Sports, to Latin Post. "My dad used to play socially growing up and [my sister] had a bad back, so the doctor recommended she should play tennis to strengthen the muscles on her back and I would tag along."

Tagging along with her father and her sister was the best thing that could have happened to Fernandez, as her tennis skills kept improving vastly as she kept on practicing, developing a knack for the sport.

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At 14 years old, Fernandez played in her first professional tournament and became the youngest person to win a match at the U.S. Open, defeating Sara Gomer in the first round. Prior to that Fernandez was the only player to have won in every age division (12-year-old, 14-year-old, 16-year-old and 18-year-old) of the Orange Bowl and Junior Orange Bowl tennis tournaments -- an event that has seen the likes of Roger Federer, Arthur Ashe, John McEnroe, Chris Evert, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles compete in the tournament.

"At six, my parents took me to this great former professional player, Gardnar Mulloy, and they asked him, 'Our daughter really likes to play, what do you think?'," said Fernandez. "He saw me and said, 'Put her in tournaments til she learns how to lose.' And being from Miami, there were tournaments every weekend. And I played every weekend. I lost every weekend, but I had fun. I went from playing local tournaments to state tournaments to national tournaments and I played in international tournaments, I went to Venezuela to Monte Carlo. All of a sudden you start traveling and I turned pro at 14."

Fernandez held her own against the best in the world when she made that leap into the pros, reaching three Grand Slam Finals in her career -- twice at the Australian Open and once at the French Open. Fernandez found greater success playing in doubles. She appeared in seven Grand Slams Finals, winning the Australian Open with Patty Fendick as her partner in 1991 and the French Open with Lindsay Davenport in 1996. She teamed up twice with Gigi Fernandez to take gold in the in 1992 Barcelona Olympics and 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

"I trained for singles, but ironically, I had better results in doubles," joked Fernandez. "I loved playing doubles. I love being on the court with a partner and communicating, helping each other out. Tennis is one of those rare sports that is one-on-one, very mental, only one person wins at the end of the tournament. You can start off with 128 people and 127 not having won, so playing doubles makes it fun. Gigi Fernandez is one of my favorite partners. We won at the Summer Olympics and it's nothing but good memories."

Much has changed since Fernandez's playing days, with less Hispanic players ranked in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Top 100 these days--especially Latino players from the U.S.--than in the past. USTA director of player development, Patrick McEnroe, is well-aware of the situation, trying his best to address how to get more Hispanic-Americans involved in the sport of tennis.

"We need to do a much better job of reaching out to Hispanic-Americans. Tennis is hugely popular in South America and Spain," said McEnroe to the Miami Herald. "Rafa [Rafael Nadal] is an international star, and yet, Spanish-speaking kids here are not choosing our sport. We should have huge numbers of Hispanic kids playing tennis in places like Miami, Southern California, New York and Chicago, and we don't. Those kids are playing soccer and other sports. My guess is it's an economic issue, and a cultural issue. We are doing much better with African-Americans and Asian-Americans. I see lots of those kids playing at our regional centers, but very few Hispanics."

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From her end, Fernandez understands the sports business landscape in the U.S., keeping in mind that children in this country have multiple options from which to choose from regarding sports participation.

"Obviously there is competition with other sports. Soccer is growing a ton in this country," said Martinez. "I played Gaby Sabatini and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario and Conchita Martinez. There haven't been as many since but I feel it's cyclical. We're struggling in America to find the next great player but there are a bunch out there, Argentine and Chileans, there are a ton. I think the USTA does a great job. They have a great grassroots programs to get people involved. Ten-and-under tennis, I thinks it's huge for kids to have fun playing tennis with smaller rackets, smaller courts, bigger balls. I think that's going to encourage and promote the game." 

Fernandez is doing what she can to continue help building up the U.S., working with the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and as captain of the U.S. Fed Cup team, becoming a mentor for young players. One Fed Cup team member, Christina McHale -- currently ranked 54th in the WTA rankings and one of only two US Hispanics ranked in the Top 100, is appreciative of Fernandez's efforts as an ambassador to the sports of tennis and treasures her advice.

"I know Mary Joe very well because she is captain of the U.S. Fed Cup Team," said McHale to Latin Post. McHale, like Fernandez is also half-Cuban. "I have been really privileged to be on her team the past few years. I have learned so much from spending time on the court with her and she always has great advice for me about how to improve my game. She's a really positive and encouraging person."

From her perspective, McHale feels that another way for more Hispanics to get more involved into the game of tennis and earn their way into the Top 100 is to hold more events south of the border to garner interest in the sport.

"I think if there were more WTA and ATP [Association of Tennis Professionals] tournaments in Hispanic countries, that would definitely help more Hispanic players move higher and higher in the rankings," said McHale. "This would give many of their local players a chance to play in bigger tournaments and build up their rankings to get into other similar tournaments around the world."

Monica Puig of Puerto Rico, currently 63rd in the WTA rankings, believes it is going to take good old American fashion hardwork for more Hispanic players to move up the rankings.

"I think if someone really wants it bad enough and they want it bad enough you're going to find a way to get it. You live with that fire inside your heart," said Puig to Latin Post. "It's not necessarily always going to be easy all the time. But even if things get hard for me, and things have been hard, I haven't given up on my dreams and what I want."

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