Fern 'Peachy' Kellmeyer was born February 19, 1944 in West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

, USA. As a tennis player she captured numerous titles, and as an administrator she helped change the face of women's tennis. Kellmeyer is an alumnus of Florida Atlantic University

Florida Atlantic University

Florida Atlantic University, also referred to as FAU or Florida Atlantic, is a public, coeducational, research university located in , United States. The university has six satellite campuses located in the Florida cities of Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, Port St. Lucie, and in Fort...

.

A junior champion in the 1950s, Kellmeyer went on to play No.1 on the University of Miami women's tennis team and became the first woman to compete on a Division 1 men's squad. Hired as physical education director and coach at Florida's Marymount College in 1966, Kellmeyer sued successfully to overturn an AIAW rule barring women's athletic scholarships - blazing a trail for Title IX

Title IX

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a United States law, enacted on June 23, 1972, that amended Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In 2002 it was renamed the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, in honor of its principal author Congresswoman Mink, but is most...

 legislation.

In 1973, Kellmeyer was tapped by founder Gladys Heldman as the first tour director of the fledgling Virginia Slims circuit. She pushed continuously to secure additional venues and increased prize money for her players. In 1977 she brought the first woman's tennis tournament to Madison Square Garden.

She is senior vice president of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.