On Monday, 1 September 2014, the United States Tennis Association awarded Dominican-born 43-year old Mary Joe Fernandez its 2014 USTA President’s Award at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City. The USTA President’s Award is given to people who contribute exemplary service to the public interest of the sport of tennis.
“Mary Joe Fernandez is truly one of the game’s greats and has been a major contributor in our efforts to grow the game,” said David Haggerty, USTA chairman of the board and president, in a statement.
Mary Joe Fernandez is the Dominican born player who has reached the highest ranking in tennis. She is also the only Dominican to have won gold and bronze medals in an Olympic Games, albeit competing for the United States. The daughter of a Spanish father and a Cuban mother, she grew up in Miami, Florida.
She began playing at the professional level at the age of 14, and was the youngest player to win a main draw match in 1985.
As a player, Fernandez was ranked as high as No. 4 in the world in both singles and doubles, and won seven WTA singles titles n including the 1996 French Open and the 1991 Australian Open. She also won three Olympic medals: two golds in women’s doubles (Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996), and one bronze in singles (1992). She also served as the US women’s team captain in the 2012 London Olympics.
She lives with her husband, Tony Godsick, and their two children, Isabella and Nicholas, in Cleveland, Ohio.