Steffi Graf
Stefanie Maria Graf (born
June 14,
1969 in
Mannheim,
Germany) is a former
World No. 1 woman
tennis player from Germany. She is generally considered to be one of the greatest woman tennis players of all time. Graf won 22
Grand Slam singles titles. In
1988, she became the only player to achieve the "Golden Slam" â€" capturing all four Grand Slam singles titles and the
Olympic gold medal in the same year. She was ranked the
Women's Tennis Association's No. 1 player for a record 377 weeks (the longest of any player, male or female, since rankings began) and is the only player, male or female, to have won all four Grand Slam singles tournaments (
Wimbledon, the
US Open, the
French Open and the
Australian Open) at least four times each.
A notable feature of Graf's game was her versatility across all playing surfaces, exemplified by her winning 6 French Open singles titles (second to
Chris Evert) and 7 Wimbledon singles titles (third behind
Martina Navratilova and
Helen Wills).
Graf is married to the former World No. 1 men's tennis player
Andre Agassi.
The main weapon in Graf's game was her powerful forehand, which earned her the nickname "Fräulein Vorhand." Over time, Graf also developed the best slice backhand in the game, as well as a consistent volley. She built her powerful and accurate serve up to 110 mph. She was also extremely fast and athletic, chasing down balls that seemed unplayable. Her footwork was unique and instantly recognizable.
Early career
Steffi was introduced to tennis by her father
Peter Graf, a car and insurance salesman and aspiring tennis coach, who taught his three-year-old daughter how to swing a wooden racket in the family's living room. She began practicing on a court at the age of four and played in her first tournament at five. She soon began winning junior tournaments with regularity, and in
1982 she won the European Championships 12s and 18s.
Graf played in her first professional tournament in October
1982 at Filderstadt, Germany. She lost 6-4, 6-0 to
Tracy Austin, a two-time US Open champion and former World No. 1 player. After the match, Austin seemingly dismissed Graf's abilities, saying there were "hundreds" of kids like her in the
United States. (In their only other career match, Graf defeated Austin 6-0, 6-0 at Indian Wells in 1994.)
At the start of her first full professional season in 1983, the 13-year-old Graf was ranked No. 124. She won no titles in the next three years, but her game improved consistently and her ranking steadily climbed: to No. 98 in 1983, No. 22 in
1984, and No. 6 in
1985. In 1984, she represented
West Germany in the tennis demonstration event at the Olympic Games in
Los Angeles and won the gold medal. Her schedule was closely controlled by her father, who limited her play so that she would not burn out as many young tennis stars had. In 1985, for instance, she played only 10 events leading up to the US Open, whereas another up-and-coming star,
Gabriela Sabatini of
Argentina, who was a year younger than Graf, played 21. Peter Graf also kept a tight rein on Steffi's personal life. Social invitations on the tour were often declined as Steffi's focus was kept very much on practicing and match play. Working with her father and then-coach Pavel Slozil, Graf typically practiced for up to four hours a day, often heading straight from airports to practice courts. This narrow focus meant that Graf, already shy and retiring by nature, made few friends on the tour in her early years, but it led to a steady improvement in her play.
Graf finally won her first tour title in April
1986 at
Hilton Head,
South Carolina, defeating
Chris Evert in the final. She followed this up with seven further tournament victories in 1986 and finished the year ranked No. 3.
Breakthrough year
Graf's Grand Slam breakthrough came in
1987. She started the year strongly, with six tournament victories heading into the French Open. In the final, she defeated the World No. 1
Martina Navratilova in an epic battle, 6-4, 4-6, 8-6. Graf lost to Navratilova in the finals at Wimbledon and the US Open later that year. But she won four more tournaments after the French Open, including the season-ending Virginia Slims Championships at Madison Square Garden, and did enough to claim the World No. 1 ranking from Navratilova in August 1987, finishing the year with a 75-2 match record. She also helped West Germany win the
Fed Cup that year.
"Golden Slam"
1988 is widely considered to be the pinnacle of Graf's career. She started out the year by winning the Australian Open, beating Evert in straight sets (6-1 7-6) in the final. Then at the French Open, she successfully defended her title by routing
Natalia Zvereva 6-0, 6-0 in a 32-minute championship match. Next came Wimbledon, where Navratilova had won six straight titles. After a tight start to the final, Graf took control in the second set and beat Navratilova 5-7, 6-2, 6-1, taking 12 of the last 13 games. She then beat Sabatini in three sets in the US Open final to duplicate the feat of winning all four Grand Slam singles titles in one year, previously achieved by only two women –
Maureen Connolly (in
1953) and
Margaret Court (in
1970). But with tennis becoming a full medal sport at the 1988 Olympic Games in
Seoul, there was one more feat which Graf could add. And she duly defeated Sabatini 6-3, 6-3 in the Olympic final to win the gold medal and achieve what the media had dubbed the "Golden Slam." Graf also won her only Grand Slam doubles title that year – at Wimbledon partnering Sabatini – and picked up a women's doubles Olympic bronze medal. She was named the 1988
BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year.
New challengers
Graf extended her Grand Slam winning streak to five events at the Australian Open in
1989, where she comfortably beat
Helena Sukova in the final. The winning streak was ended at the 1989 French Open, where a 17-year-old Spanish contender,
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, beat her in three sets to become the French Open's youngest-ever winner. However the winning touch was quickly rediscovered as Graf beat Navratilova in three-set finals at both Wimbledon and the US Open, and again in four sets in the final of the season-ending Virginia Slims Championships.
Few doubted that Graf would continue to dominate the women's game for years to come when she beat
Mary Joe Fernández in the final of the 1990 Australian Open. But a new threat to her dominance broke through at the 1990 French Open, where 16-year-old
Monica Seles beat Graf in straight sets. At Wimbledon, Graf was unexpectedly beaten in the semifinals by
Zina Garrison. She then reached the US Open final, but lost in straight sets to Sabatini. Personal problems contributed to her difficulties. In the middle of the year, her father Peter was the subject of a paternity suit brought by a former
Playboy model. The difficulty of answering questions about the matter came to a head at a press conference early in the tournament at Wimbledon, where Steffi broke down in tears. Wimbledon authorities then threatened to immediately shut down any subsequent press conferences where questions about the issue were asked. (Tests eventually proved Peter was not the baby's father.) Though Graf remained the world No. 1 player at the end of 1990, her aura of invincibility had been broken.
A mixture of injury problems, personal difficulties, and loss of form made
1991 a tough year for Graf. Seles established herself as the new dominant player on the women's tour, winning the Australian Open, French Open and US Open, and ending Graf's reign as World No. 1 in March. Seles did not play at Wimbledon, where Graf won her only Grand Slam final of the year.
1992 was another comparatively poor year for Graf. Seles again won the Australian, French, and US Opens. Seles and Graf met in the French Open final, which Seles won in a very close battle, taking the third set 10-8. They then met again in the Wimbledon final, where Graf comprehensively proved that she was still the tour's strongest
grass court player, winning 6-2, 6-1. Some argue that her victory was easier than it would have been because Seles didn't dare to underline her strokes with her usual grunts (she received a warning for that in an earlier round). At the Olympic Games in
Barcelona, Graf lost to
Jennifer Capriati in the final and claimed the silver medal. However she did win her second Fed Cup with Germany.
Seles beat Graf in three sets in the final of the Australian Open (a match plagued by a controversial line call against Graf when she was leading one set to love). However, a stunning turn of events changed everything on April 30. During a quarterfinal match between Seles and
Magdalena Maleeva at
Hamburg, Seles was stabbed between the shoulder blades by a member of the crowd during a change-over. As Seles was rushed to hospital, her attacker was taken into custody. It turned out that the assailant was
GĂĽnter Parche, a 38-year-old mentally unstable fan of Graf from eastern Germany, who claimed that he committed the attack in order to help Graf reclaim the No. 1 ranking, which Seles had held for the past two years. Graf visited Seles in hospital and cried publicly at a press conference the following day. She reached the final in Hamburg that year. (Parche went on trial twice for his attack on Seles and received a suspended prison term of 2 years.)
Even today there is still a debate among tennis commentators and fans whether Seles would have continued to win many slams or whether the improved Graf of the mid-90ies would have won most slams anyway. Still, most agree that Steffi's Grand Slam total would be much lower had Seles never been stabbed.
Second period of dominance
Seles stayed away from the tour for the next 28 months citing psychological effects. Graf won the remaining three Grand Slam titles in 1993 and regained the top ranking.
The beginning of
1994 saw Graf beat Sánchez Vicario in the final of the Australian Open and, for the second time in her career, become the holder of all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously. However, she lost to Mary Pierce in the semifinals at the French Open and then was shockingly eliminated in the first round at Wimbledon by the American Lori McNeil. She reached the final of the US Open, where she lost to Sánchez Vicario in three sets. (During the match Graf felt the first effects of a
bone spur in her back, a condition that plagued her for the remainder of her career.)
Injury kept Graf out of the Australian Open in
1995. She came back strongly to beat Sánchez Vicario in the finals of both the French Open and Wimbledon. The Wimbledon final, touted as one of the greatest women's finals at Wimbledon, featured an exciting game in the penultimate set that lasted 20 minutes. The US Open was Seles' first Grand Slam after returning from her long period away from the tour. Seles and Graf met in the final, and Graf won a dramatic battle 7-6, 0-6, 6-3. She then capped the year by beating countrywoman, Anke Huber, in five sets in the final of the season-ending WTA Championships at Madison Square Garden.
In personal terms, 1995 was a very difficult year for Steffi as she was accused by the German authorities of tax evasion in the early years of her career. In her defense, all she could say was that her father Peter had been her financial manager, and all financial matters relating to her earnings at the time had been under his control. As a result, Peter Graf was sentenced to 45 months in jail. He was eventually released after serving 25 months. Prosecutors dropped their case against Steffi in
1997, when she agreed to pay a fine of 1.3 million
Deutsche Marks to the government and an unspecified charity.
In
1996 Steffi, again missed the Australian Open due to injury and then successfully defended the three Grand Slam titles she won the year before. In a classic French Open final, Graf again overcame Sánchez Vicario, taking the third-set 10-8. She then had straight-sets wins against Sánchez Vicario in the Wimbledon final and Seles in the US Open final. 1996 also saw Graf win her fifth and final WTA Championships title with a five set win over Martina Hingis in the final.
While known for her businesslike approach to the game, at times Graf displayed a sense of humor. During a tight 1996 semifinal match at Wimbledon against
Kimiko Date, Graf was getting ready to serve when a spectator yelled out "Steffi, will you marry me?" The spectators at Centre Court burst into laughter. Steffi caught the ball she was bouncing, turned toward the fan, and yelled "How much money do you have?" Graf lost the set but won the match 6-2, 2-6, 6-3. [
1]
Final years on the tour
The last few years of Graf's career were beset by injuries; particularly to her knees and back. But this did not prevent her from enjoying some final Grand Slam success as her career came to a close. Injury problems caused Graf to miss much of the season in
1997. She lost the world No. 1 ranking to
Martina Hingis and failed to win a Grand Slam title for the first time in ten years. After missing almost half the season in
1998, she finished that year ranked No. 9, her lowest ranking since 1984.
But Graf still had a few more dramatic moments up her sleeve in
1999. At the
French Open, she reached her first Grand Slam final for three years and fought back from a set and a break down in the second set to defeat the tennis world's new young star, #1 ranked Martina Hingis, in three sets, in what she called her most satisfying Grand Slam victory. She also became the first player in the Open era to beat the #1, #2, and #3 world ranked players in the same Grand Slam tournament by defeating then #2 ranked Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals and #3 ranked Monica Seles in the semifinals. She then reached her ninth Wimbledon final, where she lost to
Lindsay Davenport.
With a series of injuries refusing to go away, Graf announced her retirement from the tour in August 1999. She was ranked the World No. 3 at the time of her retirement.
During her career, Graf won 107 singles titles and 11 doubles titles. Her 22 Grand Slam singles titles are second only to
Margaret Court, who won 24. Graf won 7 singles titles at Wimbledon, 6 singles titles at the French Open, 5 singles titles at the US Open, and 4 singles titles at the Australian Open. She is the only person to have won at least 4 singles titles at each Grand Slam event. Her overall record in 56 Grand Slam events was 282-34 (89 percent) (87-10 at the French Open, 75-8 at Wimbledon, 73-10 at the US Open, and 47-6 at the Australian Open). Her career prize-money earnings totalled US$21,895,277. Her singles win-loss record was 902-115 (89 percent). She was ranked No. 1 for a massive 377 weeks (non-consecutive), including a record 186 consecutive weeks (from August 1987-March 1991) – longer than any other man or woman player.
Steffi Graf was dedicated player and sacrificed much to become the great player she was. She had to practice a lot and went to bed at 9pm. But she always loved the game and was never forced to practice.With her father reining in her personal life, Graf often declined social invitations and made few friends on tour. She had a good friend, German race car driver Michael Bartels during her career.Soon after retiring she made headlines off the court for dating Andre Agassi. They married in October 2001 and she gave birth to son Jaden four days later. They had a girl, Jaz, in October 2003.
Wins (22)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
|---|
| 1987 | French Open | Martina Navratilova | 6-4, 4-6, 8-6 |
| 1988 | Australian Open | Chris Evert | 6-1, 7-6 |
| French Open | Natalia Zvereva | 6-0, 6-0 |
| Wimbledon | Martina Navratilova | 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 |
| US Open | Gabriela Sabatini | 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 |
| 1989 | Australian Open | Helena Suková | 6-4, 6-4 |
| Wimbledon | Martina Navratilova | 6-2, 6-7, 6-1 |
| US Open | Martina Navratilova | 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 |
| 1990 | Australian Open | Mary Joe Fernández | 6-3, 6-4 |
| 1991 | Wimbledon | Gabriela Sabatini | 6-4, 3-6, 8-6 |
| 1992 | Wimbledon | Monica Seles | 6-2, 6-1 |
| 1993 | French Open | Mary Joe Fernández | 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 |
| Wimbledon | Jana Novotná | 7-6, 1-6, 6-4 |
| US Open | Helena Suková | 6-3, 6-3 |
| 1994 | Australian Open | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | 6-0, 6-2 |
| 1995 | French Open | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | 7-5, 4-6, 6-0 |
| Wimbledon | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 |
| US Open | Monica Seles | 7-6, 0-6, 6-3 |
| 1996 | French Open | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | 6-3, 6-7, 10-8 |
| Wimbledon | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | 6-3, 7-5 |
| US Open | Monica Seles | 7-5, 6-4 |
| 1999 | French Open | Martina Hingis | 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 |
Runner-ups (9)
'''Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
1987 Wimbledon Martina Navratilova 7-5, 6-3
1987 US Open Martina Navratilova 7-6, 6-1
1989 French Open Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 7-6, 3-6, 7-5
1990 French Open Monica Seles 7-6, 6-4
1990 US Open Gabriela Sabatini 6-2, 7-6
1992 French Open Monica Seles 6-2, 3-6, 10-8
1993 Australian Open Monica Seles 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
1994 US Open Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 1-6, 7-6, 6-4
1999 Wimbledon Lindsay Davenport 6-4, 7-5
Performance timeline
1986 "Most Improved Player" WTA TOUR
1987-90 "Player of the Year" WTA TOUR
1993-96 "Player of the Year" WTA TOUR
1996, 98-99 "Most Exciting Player of the Year" WTA TOUR
1987-90 "World Champion" ITF award.
1993, 95-96 "World Champion" ITF award
1988 "BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year"
1989 "Associated press female athlete of the year"
1999 "Prince of Asturias Award" one of the most important awards of Spain named after the apparent heir of Spain, Prince Felipe
1999 "German Television Award"
1999 "Athlete of the Century" for the category "female athlete in ballsports"
1999 "Female Athlete of the Year" by German TV broadcaster ARD
1999 "Female Sports Award of the last Decade" by ESPY, Las Vegas
1999 "Olympic Medal of Honor" granted by Dr. Antonio Samaranch, President of the IOC,Lausanne
2002 "Medal of Honor" decorated by the Prime Minister of Graf's home state
Baden-WĂĽrttemberg, Mr. Erwin Teufel
Steffi Graf was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2004.
Steffi is the only female to be selected for Forbes Top-30 "Most recognizable and marketable athletes" list in 1995.
Selected for "European Heroes" in 2004 by TIME Magazine.
Voted "Germans greatest rolemodel" by TV14 magazine.
Voted "Most admirable German woman" by Amica magazine.
Voted "Germany's Sportswoman of the Century" in 1999 by the German press.
Steffi is the only person to have won the 'Golden Slam' (1988)In the first season episode "The Crackpots and these Women" of The West Wing, President Bartlet brings in a ringer for a basketball game with the senior staff. Toby Zieglar mentions that it was like the time he and C.J. were playing doubles with him once and he brought in someone he claimed worked at the American Consulate who (despite his denial) was in fact Steffi Graf.
From the script:
TOBY:
Up on Florida, playing mixed doubles with me and C.J. You tried to tell us that your partner worked at the American Consulate in Vienna.
BARTLET:
And she did!
TOBY:
It was Steffi Graf, sir.
BARTLET:
Well, I will admit that the woman bore a striking resemblance...
TOBY:
It was Steffi Graf, you crazy lunatic! You think I'm not gonna recognize Steffi Graf when she's serving a tennis ball at me?*Official Website
*International Tennis Hall of Fame profile
*Official Wimbledon profile
*BBC profile
*ESPN biography
*Fed Cup record
*Steffi Graf international supporters club
*steffi forever
*Steffi Graf Google group
