In 2010, Graf participated in the WTT Smash Hits exhibition in Washington, D.C. to support the Elton John AIDS Foundation. After surviving a scare in a three-setter against Amanda Coetzer in the first round, Graf reached the final with relative ease, while Seles went through her side of the draw in even more convincing fashion. "[89] Her endurance and superior footwork allowed her to excel on clay courts, where, in addition to six French Open titles, she won 26 regular tour events, including a record eight titles at the German Open. The day Steffi Graf announced her retirement - Tennis Majors Steffi Graf vs Serena Williams vs Martina Navratilova - Who is the Greatest Female tennis player of all time? Graf's Grand Slam tournament breakthrough came in 1987. In the 1980s and '90s Graf was ranked the top woman player by the Women's Tennis Association . [123] In 2006, she signed an endorsement deal with Head. Graf reached 13 consecutive singles major finals from the 1987 French Open to the 1990 French Open, winning nine of them. Steffi Graf Loves Just Being Normal - MSN Graf has a 20863 (76.8%) record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.[1]. [63][64], A strained right calf muscle forced Graf to withdraw from the Australian Open. [67][68], In personal terms, 1995 was a difficult year for Graf, as she was accused by German authorities of tax evasion in the early years of her career. Her career prize-money earnings totalled US$21,895,277 (a record until Lindsay Davenport surpassed this amount in January 2008). Graf had complained of an issue with her left knee but showed little trouble outplaying her opponent. She was absolutely right the term Golden Slam was born at that exact moment. She then beat Snchez Vicario in the finals of both the French Open and Wimbledon. Graf and Kohde-Kilsch lost in the semifinals to Jana Novotn and Helena Sukov 75, 63. The difficulty of answering questions about the matter came to a head at a Wimbledon press conference, where Graf broke down in tears. She won no titles during the next three years, but her ranking climbed steadily to world No. Who is the GOAT: Serena Williams or Steffi Graf? #3. (W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (WL) winloss record. n 1973 Steffi avea 3 ani cnd a luat prima oar n Brhl (Baden) o rachet de tenis n mn. It actually had several major flaws, especially based on today's understanding of stroke. [138][139][140] They have two children, a son born in 2001 and a daughter born in 2003. She first used the Wilson Pro Staff 7.0 lite, then switched to the Pro Staff 7.5 in 1996 and to the Pro Staff 7.1 in 1998. After several months injury lay off, Graf returned to play in the German Open in Berlin in front of a home crowd and had the worst defeat of her career in the quarterfinal, when Amanda Coetzer beat her in just 56 minutes 60, 61. 3, having racked up a total of 107 tournament victories. Venus Williams. Graf then won three consecutive indoor titles at Tokyo, Zurich, and Brighton, before once again contending with Navratilova at the season-ending Virginia Slims Championships in New York. It was Graf's second consecutive loss to Novotna, and dating back to their 1991 Australian Open quarterfinal match, Jana had won three of their last five meetings. Highly emotional and sensitive, with a temperament more suited to a poet than to a professional athlete, Steffi had a poignant sadness about . Where Are They Now: Steffi Graf - Sports Illustrated Zvereva endured a magical run at Roland Garros that year, but things unraveled in the final when she came up against a Steffi Graf that was in destructive mode. [141] Agassi has said that he and Graf are not pushing their children toward becoming tennis players. ", "Graf edges Hingis, captures sixth and 'last' French title", "Do Not Disturb: If Steffi Graf could shut out the world the way she shuts down opponents on the court then, for her, life would be perfect", "Tennis | Martinez wins controversial clash", "Results Archive - Steffi Graf - Australian Open Tennis Championships", "Tennis: Wimbledon 99 - Magic mixture of McEnroe and Graf", "TENNIS; Without Dad Around To Disturb Her, Lucic Upsets Fourth-Seeded Seles at Wimbledon", "Graf overcomes layoff to beat Coetzer in farewell exhibition", "* NZine * Tennis - The Biggest Participant Sport In New Zealand - Tennis, Steffi Graf, Indoor Tennis Centre, Davis Cup, Anthony Wilding, Wilding Park, Maurice Agar, Scenic Circles Indoor Tennis Centre, New Zealand Tennis", "Steffi Graf delights crowd at Westside Tennis Club - Houston Chronicle", "Steffi Graf: The Queen Returns to Centre Court", "Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova and Elton John headline an evening of tennis for charity in Washington", "ASAP Sports Transcripts - Tennis - 1995 - WTA TOUR CHAMPIONSHIPS - November 18 - Steffi Graf", "Today in Performance Sneaker History: Steffi Graf Becomes First Female with 500 Wins in Signature adidas Model", "Take a look at this Dunlop Steffi Graf ad from 1989! Graf then went on to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open before losing to Monica Seles in two sets. Steffi Graf Net Worth 2023: Age, Height, Weight, Husband, Kids, Bio Steffi Graf - Wikipedia [24] In 1985, for instance, she played only ten 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. However, Graf admitted in 1995 that she would have preferred having a two-handed backhand in retrospect. [107] Graf played in the celebrity doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles before straining her left calf muscle and being replaced by Anna Kournikova. Highly emotional and sensitive, with a . [131][132] In 2015, she was appointed as the brand ambassador of Kerala tourism, for promoting Ayurveda in North America and Europe. She was in hard-court action in the capital of the Republic of Korea on 20 September and breezed through the rounds conceding just one set, against the Soviet Unions Larissa Savchenko in the quarter-final before coming up against Sabatini once again in the gold-medal match on 1 October 1988. 49 . The match was played over two days with Navratilova finally winning after saving three match points 61, 67, 76. Steffi Graf and Serena Williams played just twice. Stefanie Maria Steffi" Graf 1969614 GOAT LEAVE A . Last edited on 20 February 2023, at 18:23, BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year, Learn how and when to remove this template message, 3 different Grand Slam titles won without losing a set, 2 titles won without losing a set in the same calendar year, Tennis records of the Open Era - women's singles, "Duden | Steffi | Rechtschreibung, Bedeutung, Definition", "The 10 most influential players in the history of tennis", "ON TENNIS; Graf Is Best, Right? In reaching and winning all four Grand Slam finals, Graf became the first player in history to contest and win 28 Grand Slam singles matches in a single year; albeit including the unplayed walkover against Evert in the US Open. After losing a fifth straight time to Sabatini in Amelia Island, Florida, Graf again defeated Seles in the Hamburg final. In 1988, Graf became the first tennis player to achieve the Golden Slam by winning all four major singles titles and the Olympic gold medal in the same calendar year. Voted The best female role model in sports in a survey by Barclays, sponsors of the Premier League, 2010. Tennis star Monica Seles stabbed - HISTORY And each time the opponent threw a problem her way, she . She repeated the feat in 1993, 1995, and 1996. 1 ranking. Graf lost twice to Sabatini during the spring, once on hardcourts in Boca Raton, Florida, and once on clay at Amelia Island, Florida. 1 ranking while she was sidelined. Having suffered from leg cramps since the middle of the third set, Graf ran off the court seconds after match point to seek medical treatment. Just Don't Ask Her", "The Shadow of Steffi Graf: Before Serena, Women's Tennis Had Another Unconquerable Force ", "Remembering What Made Steffi Graf a Tennis Legend", "73 Questions with Serena Williams | Vogue", "Tennis in Reunified Germany: Then and Now The Tennis Island", "Serving Her Country A Grand Slam May Have Brought West Germany's Steffi Graf Fame And Fortune, But To The Delight Of Her Countrymen Who've Watched Her Climb To The Top, She Remains 'one Of Them', "Steffi's father Peter Graf dies after cancer battle", "Both on and Off Court, Graf Has Come a Long Way in Past Year", "Tennis Roundup: Mysterious Illness Forces Graf to Withdraw From Wimbledon", "Graf Defeats Evert, Gains No. At the 1999 French Open, Graf and Agassi . [154] Her unprecedented Golden Slam saw her receive the 1988 BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year. "Steffi Graf is the best all-around player," said Evert, whose name is also mentioned as one of the all-time greats. Seles won the match on her fifth match point; Graf came within two points of winning the match a few games earlier. The Trials of Steffi Graf. In the subsequent Amelia Island final on clay, Graf lost her first match of the year to Sabatini but returned to European clay with easy victories at Hamburg and Berlin. [82] Upon her return Graf defeated world No. He claimed that he committed the attack to help Graf reclaim the world No. Graf is the only female athlete in the list of Forbes Top-30 Most recognizable and marketable athletes in 1995. Fury's brother suggests alternative opponent if Usyk fight does not happen. First professional tournament: 1982 Porsche Grand Prix at Filderstadt, Germany Plays: right handed, one handed backhand Raquet: Dunlop / Wilson Former Clubs: HTC Heidelberg, LTTC Rot-Weiss Berlin, BASF Ludwigshafen Favorite Tournament: Wimbledon Favorite Surface: Grass court Former Coaches: Pavel Slozil (1986-1991), Heinz Guenthardt . [44] Graf briefly regained the top ranking after winning at Wimbledon but lost it again after her loss to Navratilova at the US Open. Martina Navratilova then defeated Graf 76, 67, 64 in a US Open semifinal, the first time she had beaten Graf in four years. 1 player. 33 years ago, Steffi Graf made this unique record which remains She teamed with Ansley Cargill in women's doubles against Anna Kournikova and Likhovtseva but lost 52. My father taught me that if you really do want to reach your goals, you can't spend any time worrying about whether you're going to win or lose. Victories at Hamburg and Berlin (beating Snchez Vicario in the finals of both) prepared her for the French Open, where she defeated Snchez Vicario in the semifinals after losing the first set 60. [133], In 1997, she left the Catholic Church, citing personal reasons. 29 Jan Tennis Norge . . [92][93], Graf also occasionally played mixed doubles, although she never won a title. Finally Graf was given a match but prevailed 6-3, 7-6 where she would meet a surprise opponent in the final. That doesn't mean it will happen. And Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, arguably the most accomplished sports couple there ever was, had good reason to be on campus that day. In 1987, Grafs career truly took off: she won her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, beating world no. Stefanie Graf was awarded with the Golden Sports Pyramid, the highest distinction of the German Sports Fund in Herzogenaurach by the Adidas chairman Herbert Hainer on 24 June 2008. ", "An Evolutionary History of Tennis Racquets", "Marketing to the female target audience", "OFFBEAT: Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf team up for new tennis racquet", "Viewing Gallery: Happy Birthday! Illness caused her to miss Wimbledon,[26] and an accident where she broke a toe several weeks later also curtailed her play. She is the only singles player (male or female) to have achieved a Grand Slam across three surfaces (grass, clay, and hard courts). At age 13 she became the second youngest player ever to earn an international ranking. This narrow focus meant that Graf, already shy and retiring by nature,[24] made few friends on the tour in her early years, but it led to a steady improvement in her play. [14][13], An exceptionally versatile competitor, Graf remains the only player, male or female, to have won the calendar-year Grand Slam on three surfaces or to have won each Grand Slam at least four times. Shortly after the US Open, she underwent surgery to remove a bone spur in her right wrist. Stefanie Graf was born on 14 June 1969, in Mannheim, Baden-Wrttemberg, West Germany, to Heidi Schalk and car-and-insurance salesman Peter Graf (18 June 1938 30 November 2013).When she was nine years old, her family moved to the neighboring town of Brhl.She has a younger brother, Michael. "She should know better than to say these things" - When Steffi Graf Steffi Graf, a Tennis champ is married to husband Andre Agassi with two children. In October, Graf defeated Sabatini in an exhibition match in Mannheim, Germany, winning both of their sets. Although she now lives in Las Vegas, Stefanie Maria Graf was born in Mannheim, West Germany on June 14, 1969. . Argentinas Gabriela Sabatini reached her first ever final, but Graf secured a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 victory. The shock was who she did it against. 1 Lindsay Davenport en route to the Philadelphia title. 1 men's tennis player Andre Agassi in October 2001. And stepping on the plane there was a big group of German athletes on it. And the year began as expected, with Graf extending her Grand Slam tournament winning streak to five events at the Australian Open, defeating Helena Sukov in the final. She basically became a backhand slice guru ,,, This became only single taint in Graf's tennis career. There really hasn't been anyone like her since. And so many times she was able to absorb her opponent's biggest blows and . This is a list of the main career statistics of professional tennis player Steffi Graf. Steffi Graf: Top five biggest wins of the tennis legend's career - Khel Now 1, 64, 46, 86 after beating Sabatini in a three-set semifinal. The pair was moderately successful, winning the 1988 Wimbledon Championships together and reaching the finals of the French Open in 1986, 1987 and 1989. Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi met for the first time during a tournament.Andre Agassi had been secretly pining for her since 1990, but she showed no interest in him.. At that time, Steffi Graf was dating Michael Bartels, a racing driver. [142] The Graf-Agassi family resides in Summerlin, a community in the Las Vegas Valley. City of Love: Graf and Agassi first linked by 1999 French Open Voted Germany's Sportswoman of the Century in 1999 by the German press. Graf was the first tennis player to achieve the feat: wheelchair tennis players Diede de Groot and Dylan Alcott achieved the Golden Slam in 2021. The Trials of Steffi Graf With Her Father in Jail and Her Own Innocence She also won her fifth and final WTA Tour Championships title with a five set win over Martina Hingis, with Hingis cramping up in the fifth set. Graf's technique on the forehand was unique and instantly recognizable: generating considerable racquet head speed with her swing, she reached the point of contact late and typically out of the air. Steffi Graf's Golden Slam - Last Word On Tennis [115], Early in her career, Graf wore Dunlop apparel, before signing an endorsement contract with Adidas in 1985. Having won the first three Majors of the year, Djokovic is three-fifths of the way to a . [16], In March 2012, Tennis Channel picked Graf as the greatest female tennis player ever in their list of 100 greatest tennis players of all time. Her father was arrested in August and was sentenced to 45 months in jail. Graf then won all five of her Fed Cup matches, helping Germany defeat Spain in the final by defeating Arantxa Snchez Vicario, 64, 62. 2 Hingis and world No. [153] She was elected as the German Sportsperson of the Year in 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1999. Graf was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2004. In 1984, she first gained international attention when she almost upset the tenth seed, Jo Durie of the United Kingdom, in a fourth round Centre Court match at Wimbledon. . She was unstoppable. At the beginning of 1999 Graf played the warm up event to the Australian Open in Sydney; she defeated Serena Williams in the second round and Venus in the quarterfinals before losing to Lindsay Davenport in the semifinal. The treatment was for a fracture of the cartilage as well as a shortening and partial rupture of the patellar tendon of her left knee. This was not a first-round sacrifice, an opponent drawn at random. While the Berlin tournament was being played, the largest-circulation German tabloid, Bild, ran a story about an alleged scandal involving Graf's father. How Steffi Graf became tennis' Golden Slam winner in 1988 - Olympics.com Her year continued indifferently with losses in three of her first four tournaments, including a semifinal loss to Jana Novotn in Chicago. It was important for me to win here, she said afterwards. She did not win a tournament but consistently reached tournament finals, semifinals and quarterfinals, with the highlight being her semifinal loss to Navratilova at the US Open. From 1991 until the end of her career, Graf would only play doubles sporadically, forming short-term partnerships with a variety of players, including Lori McNeil, Anke Huber and her best friends on the tour, Rennae Stubbs, Patricia Tarabini and Ines Gorrochategui. At the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Graf lost to Jennifer Capriati in the final and claimed the silver medal. Answer (1 of 4): It isn't hard to replicate Steffi Graf's forehand, it's just not optimal. [61] She took the following nine weeks off, returning only for the Virginia Slims Championships where she lost in straight sets to Pierce in the quarterfinal. [105] It was the first time in 14 years Graf had played Navratilova. She and Agassi, her husband, were on Team Elton John, which competed against Team Billie Jean King. In 2008 Graf lost an exhibition match against Kimiko Date at Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo. They have two children. Only results in WTA Tour (incl. Graf warmed up for the US Open with easy tournament victories in San Diego and Mahwah. She married fellow Olympic champion Agassi in 2001, and the pair have two children together. . [155], In 2004, the Berliner Tennis-Arena was renamed Steffi-Graf-Stadion in honor of Graf. In July, a left knee injury forced Graf to withdraw from the Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Pause, rewind, play: The great Steffi Graf forehand - Scroll.in Though she lost the game to opponent Tracy Austin by 6-4, 6-0, this did very little to dishearten the young blood. AP Photo/Bruno Mosconi. [citation needed] In the year of Graf's retirement, Billie Jean King said, "Steffi [Graf] is definitely the greatest women's tennis player of all time. Ideea de a ncerca jocul de tenis aparine tatlui ei, Peter Graf, care era agent la o asociaie de asigurri i vnztor de automobile pn la vrsta de 27 de ani cnd descoper posibilitile sale n domeniul sportului de tenis. The German, born on 14 June 1969 in Mannheim, was already showing the qualities that would lead to her being world no. Five months later, the world no. After breaking Novotn's serve, Graf won the next four games to take the match 76, 16, 64. [149], Tennis writer Steve Flink, in his book The Greatest Tennis Matches of the Twentieth Century, named Graf as the best female player of the 20th century. Graf is the only person to have won the 'Golden Slam' (1988). Serena Williams, who will face Kerber in the final, beat Steffi Graf for the title at Indian Wells, Calif., in 1999. As true as that forehand was, the mask was no less a lie. She lost a lengthy one-set singles match to Clijsters and also the mixed doubles.[106]. [73] Graf came back to the tour in March, winning back to back titles in Indian Wells and Miami, followed by a record ninth title at the German Open in May and a quarterfinal defeat in Rome against Martina Hingis. But from 1990 onward, Graf hit fewer & fewer of those beautiful backhand drive/topspins for some reason. Early life. [134] During her career, Graf divided her time between her hometown of Brhl; Boca Raton, Florida; and New York City where she owned a penthouse in the former Police Headquarters Building in SoHo. Graf then capped the year by beating countrywoman Anke Huber in a five-set final at the season-ending WTA Championships in 2 hours and 46 minutes. [75] Graf then had a straight-sets win against Snchez Vicario in the Wimbledon final. She lost the world No. Notable features of Graf's game were her versatility across all playing surfaces, footwork and powerful forehand drive. Graf started 1988 by winning the Australian Open, defeating Chris Evert in the final 61, 76. Graf was ranked world No. Graf then defeated Sabatini 63, 63 in the gold medal match at the Olympic Games in Seoul and achieved what the media had dubbed the "Golden Slam". As the defending champion Graf lost in straight sets to Mary Pierce in the French Open semifinal. During a quarterfinal match between Seles and Magdalena Maleeva in Hamburg, Seles was stabbed between the shoulder blades by a mentally ill German fan of Graf, Gnter Parche. [16] When asked in an interview to name the greatest players of all time, Serena Williams stated Graf and Roger Federer. My motivation wasn't what it was in the past. Graf then won her next three tournaments at Amelia Island, Charleston, and Berlin, culminating in a 62, 63 defeat of Navratilova in the final of the latter. 3, Jana Novotn, before losing in the semifinal to first-seeded Davenport. Graf again missed the Australian Open after undergoing surgery in December 1995 to remove bone splinters from her left foot. Ranking. In August as a 15-year-old (and youngest entrant) representing West Germany, she won the tennis demonstration event at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Her accuracy with the slice, both cross-court and down the line and her ability to skid the ball and keep it low, enabled her to use it as an offensive weapon to set the ball up for her forehand put-aways. [65] She came back in February, winning four consecutive tournaments in Paris, Delray Beach, Miami and Houston. Along with Boris Becker, Graf was considered instrumental in popularizing tennis in Germany, where it remains one of the foremost national sports.[18][19][20]. Soon after, she split with her long-time coach, Pavel Sloil. 98 in 1983, No. Starting in the early 1990s, she used the slice almost exclusively in baseline rallies and mostly limited the topspin backhand to passing shots. Once again, she reached the final without conceding a single set. Stefanie Graf - International Tennis Hall of Fame Is it possible to have any other year Steffi Graf: yep, it would be like Monica's or Serena's type of dominance. [122][129] Other companies she has endorsed include Barilla, Apollinaris, Citibank, Danone and Teekanne. Only three other players have won the four majors plus the Olympic Games title, and never in the same calendar year. Began playing Tennis: 1973 Turned Professional: 18.10.1982. Last edited on 28 February 2023, at 20:01, Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Steffi_Graf_career_statistics&oldid=1142150918, Virginia Slims Championships, New York City, WTA Tour Championships, New York, United States. Head To Head | Steffi Graf vs Serena Williams H2H Before Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi became the power tennis couple off court, the two were connected by a remarkable weekend 20 years ago at Roland Garros. She returned to win a small tournament at Mahwah just before the US Open where, in one of the most anticipated matches of the year, she encountered Navratilova in a semifinal. [34] She then won tournaments in Hamburg and Mahwah (where she lost only eight games all tournament). The last few years of Graf's career were beset by injuries, particularly to her knees and back. 'The Ten' went one way; you went another", "The greatest female tennis player of the last 50 years: the fans' verdict", "Exclusive Interview with Steve Flink about the career of Chris Evert", "A celebration of Martina Navratilova's multifaceted legacy", "Special events and records at the 1988 Australian Open Tennis Tournament", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Steffi_Graf&oldid=1140574067, Golden Slam (4 majors + Olympic gold in same calendar year), Non-Calendar Year Grand Slam in addition to already winning a Grand Slam, 100% match winning percentage in 1 season, 100% match winning percentage in 3 separate seasons, 89.67% (278-32) match winning percentage overall, 5 calendar years winning 3+ Grand Slam titles, Defeated the top 3 seeded players in the same tournament, Reached the final of all four Grand Slams tournaments in a calendar year, Reached the final of all four Grand Slams tournaments in a calendar year three times, 5 years as wire-to-wire (all 52 weeks) No.