Tennis legend Gigi Fernandez has voiced her frustration at the way Grand Slam tournaments treat their former players, claiming that the sport has “forgotten” many of its past champions. Despite her extraordinary success on the doubles circuit, the 17-time Grand Slam champion believes that once players retire, they are often left without recognition or proper access at the very events that once defined their careers.
Gigi Fernandez opens up about feeling “forgotten”
Speaking on the Inside-In Podcast, Fernandez reflected on her post-retirement experiences, revealing her disappointment at the lack of respect and acknowledgment for former tennis icons. The Puerto Rico-born American, who reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 17 and spent 80 weeks as the world’s top-ranked doubles player, didn’t hold back in her assessment.
“You know, when you retire from tennis, like I think tennis…I mean this might be controversial, but I think that tennis does a terrible job of welcoming back its past champions,” Gigi Fernandez said. “Like once you leave the game, you’re kind of forgotten and off you go.”
She went on to recall her own disheartening experience when she first returned to the US Open as a spectator.
“The first time I went to the US Open and I was not a player, a player guest, and I had to go to the bathroom. I had to go stand in line and outside Court 7 bleachers and go. And this is four years after I retired, right, so I was still recognisable.”
A call for change in the way Grand Slams treat their legends
Fernandez, now 61, has made it her mission to change how tennis organizations engage with retired professionals. She emphasized the need for better access and recognition for Hall of Famers and former champions, noting that their contributions to the sport deserve lasting respect.
“It’s a problem though, it really is, because there’s only, you know, there’s only 80 living Hall of Famers, that’s it and probably 30 don’t travel. They’re too old or not, you know, sort of not in space where they can travel,” she said.
Gigi Fernandez also proposed a simple but impactful solution: the introduction of a Hall of Famer badge to grant retired legends proper access and privileges across all Grand Slam venues.
“I’ve had a beef where they run Slams for 15 years about having a Hall of Famer badge. There should be a Hall of Famer badge…because the problem also too, if you think of a Hall of Famer, it’s like if you win the singles at whatever event, you have carte blanche.”
Grand Slam Inequality: Fernandez highlights the disparity
The two-time Olympic gold medalist also highlighted inconsistencies across the Grand Slam tournaments, pointing out how access and treatment vary between them.
“You know, Michael C[hang] goes back to Wimbledon, he’s a Grand Slam champion, obviously won Wimbledon, carte blanche. He goes to the US Open, he has no access, French Open no access, Australian Open,” Fernandez stated.
However, Gigi Fernandez did acknowledge progress at the French Open, which recently improved its treatment of past players.
“French Open just gave us access. French Open just gave all past players access to the president’s suite. So now I feel like I can go back to the French Open and enjoy myself, you basically stop going to these tournaments.”
Fernandez’s remarks shed light on a broader issue within professional tennis—the lack of institutional respect for those who helped build the sport’s legacy.