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3. Gigi Fernandez
"The most beautiful tennis star of her times"
Country: Puerto Rico / USA
Duration: 1980s, 1990s
Grand Slams: 17
Olympic medals: 2
The first Puerto Rican female athlete to turn professional, the first to win an Olympic gold medal and the first to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Gigi Fernandez was a role model for numerous girls of her country.
Fernandez won 17 Grand Slam doubles titles and two Olympic gold medals while representing the United States of America. Given her enormous success, the World No. 1 ranking in women’s doubles didn't remain out of reach either.
Highly regarded as one of the most beautiful tennis stars of her era, Fernandez has been an entrepreneur and tennis coach since her retirement in 1997.
Although Fernandez came out publicly as being a lesbian at a time when her career was at its peak, her globe-trotting career made it extremely difficult for her to sustain a long-term relationship. After her retirement she met Jane Geddes, four years older and an 11-time winner on the LPGA tour, and presently the couple are happy parents to two children.
