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40 Important Women's Moments: 1985, The Youngest To Win

14-year-old Mary Joe Fernandez set a US Open record with her 1985 first round singles win against Sara Gomer. (Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images)
By Nicholas J. Walz
Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Celebrating both the 40th anniversary of equal prize money for men's and women's players at the US Open and the formation of the Women's Tennis Association, founded in 1973, USOpen.org is proud to present "40 Important Women's Moments in US Open History."

This look at some of the greatest achievements and accomplishments by women players from the last 40 years will run all the way to the 2013 US Open women's singles final, scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 8. To review our entire countdown of the 40 Important Women's Moments in US Open History, click here.

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THE BUZZ: Mary Joe Fernandez, at the age of 14 years and eight days, becomes the youngest player to win a match at the US Open when she defeats Sara Gomer in the first round, 6-1, 6-4.

THE IMPACT: Five-foot-9, thin and full of promise, Fernandez would win 11 matches against professionals in 1985, her eighth grade year in school. Beating the 21-year-old Gomer was another milestone for Fernandez, as the Miami product also was once the youngest player to win a match against a professional; she defeated fellow American and one-time US Open quarterfinalist Pam Teeguarden in 1983 at the age of 13.

The daughter of immigrants (her father, Jose, from Spain, and her mother, Silvia, from Cuba) who valued education above all else, Fernandez sometimes felt more pressure to earn high academic marks than tennis trophies in her youth.

“If Mary Joe doesn't want to study, we make her study,” said Jose Fernandez, in a 1986 interview with Sports Illustrated. “If she doesn't want to play tennis, we don't make Mary Joe play.”

“We have to go slow,” added Mary Joe. “After all, I'm only 14.”

Still, because she was so good even at such a young age, Fernandez would turn pro the following year, in 1986. She would reach the first of her three career Grand Slam singles finals at the 1990 Australian Open (losing to Steffi Graf). Fernandez would also play her way into two semifinals at the US Open, in 1990 and 1992, losing to eventual champions Gabriela Sabatini and Monica Seles, respectively.

Gomer, a native of Great Britain, would go on to represent her country at two Summer Olympic Games (1988, ’92) and reach her high-water mark of No. 46 in the world rankings in the fall of 1988. She would play in six more US Open main draws, reaching the third round in 1991.

THE QUESTION: Do you think a 13-year-old player could win a US Open main draw match today?

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