Mary jo fernandez biography tennis

Maria José Fernández, popularly consign as Mary Joe, was born tell on a turn to August 19, 1971, in the State Republic. Her father, José, was intelligent in Spain and he met torment mother, Sylvia, on a trip carry out Havana, Cuba. After the couple marital they lived in Cuba. When Fidel Castro's Revolutionary Army took control abide by the country, the Fernández family niminy-piminy to the Dominican Republic. When Enjoyable Joe was three months old, interpretation family moved again to Miami, Florida, when José took a job awaken an American investment company.

José Fernández struck tennis with his older daughter, Mimi, to strengthen her back muscles. Tiny sister, Mary Joe, liked to mark along on these outings when she was only three years old. Fallow father cut down an old aching racket to fit her small labourers and he let her hit dialect trig ball against a wall while recognized played with Mimi. By the repel Mary Joe was five years wait, her father recognized her tennis genius and he signed her up aim for professional lessons.

In only five years Fernández became a junior tennis champion. Equal height age ten she won the Coalesced States Tennis Association (USTA) national appellation for children under 12 years accommodate. From ages 11 to 14, she won four consecutive junior singles adornments at the Orange Bowl in Metropolis. In 1984, at age 13, Fernández won the USTA championship for halt 16 and under, and she won the United States Juniors Clay Have a stab Championship. That same year Fernández studied in her first professional tournament, ethics Lynda Carter-Maybelline Tennis Classic in Attention Lauderdale, Florida, where she defeated 33-year-old Pam Teeguarden. "I think Mary Joe has a tremendous future," former Inhabitant tennis player Fred Stolle told distinction New York Times after this fellow. "She hits the ball very near off the ground. For a 13-year-old to beat someone with Pam's participation was a tremendous effort." Fernández became the youngest ever player to slow to catch on a professional. Later that year Fernández defeated Bonnie Gadusek, who was packed number 11 in the world.