"She was fire, and I was ice"

Congratulations to Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva, who were inducted, as a pair, into the International Tennis Hall of Fame today. Fernandez and Zvereva won fourteen major titles, and numerous other titles and honors--almost too many to count. They also hold the second-longest major tournament doubles title streak in Open Era history.

Fernandez and Zvereva to be inducted into Hall of Fame

Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva, who comprised one of the tour's greatest doubles teams, will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in July.

Fernandez and Zvereva won 38 titles together, including 14 majors. Fernandez won a total of 68 doubles titles, including 17 majors, three of which she won with Robin White, Martina Navratilova and Jana Novotna. Zvereva won 84 doubles titles, including 18 majors, four of which she won with Larisa Savchenko (2), Pam Shriver and Martina Hingis. Zvereva also won the Australian Open mixed doubles championship twice.

Fernandez and Zvereva on ITHF nomination ballot

Of the twelve people who were recently announced as possible 2010 International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees, two are very successful tour doubles players--Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva, who appear on the list as a team.

Fernandez won 17 majors, including five consecutive French Open titles. She won a total of 68 career titles, and was ranked number 1 on four different occasions.

Zvereva won 18 majors in women's doubles, and won the Australian Open mixed doubles title twice. Zvereva was also ranked as high as 5 in the world in singles.

Fernandez and Zvereva won more major titles than any team in the open era except for Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver.