Beyond the Baseline Podcast: Gigi Fernandez
On this week's episode of the SI Tennis Beyond the Baseline Podcast, Sports Illustrated executive editor and host Jon Wertheim talks with Gigi Fernandez.
Former pro player and Puerto Rico native Fernandez joins the podcast to discuss Monica Puig's historic gold medal victory in Rio at the Olympics and broader issues about Puerto Rico as a country, its status in the Olympic Games and more. Fernandez, a 17-time Grand Slam doubles winner who also won Olympic gold in doubles in 1992 and '96 while representing the U.S., shares her thoughts on Puig's career and performance at the Olympics, her experiences with cultural identity issues as a Puerto Rican and more. Now a married mom to two seven-year-old twins, Fernandez also talks about her transition to retirement, what her life is like now, her current work coaching doubles to recreational players, the "Gigi method" and more.
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Fernandez also gives her picks for top doubles players to watch at the U.S. Open and shares some of her tactics for playing doubles, regardless of your skill level.
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Also on the podcast, Fernandez talks about the Tennis para Todos organization she is involved in, as well as her work as a doubles coach.
Listen below and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or on Stitcher.
Check back on SI.com next week for another episode of Beyond the Baseline.
