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. Graf is the only person to have won the 'Golden Slam' (1988). On 13 August 1999, shortly after retiring with a strained hamstring from a second round match against Amy Frazier in San Diego, Graf announced her retirement from the women's tour at age 30. 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. [83], At the French Open, Graf reached her first Grand Slam final in three years and fought back from a set and twice from a break down in the second set to defeat the top ranked Hingis in three sets for a memorable victory. Retiring from the sport in 1999, Graf's career remains one of the most looked upon in tennis history. 1988 BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year, 1996 Most Exciting Player of the Year, by the WTA, 1998 Most Exciting Player of the Year, by the WTA, 1999 Most Exciting Player of the Year, by the WTA. Graf then went on to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open before losing to Monica Seles in two sets. 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. In 2008 Graf lost an exhibition match against Kimiko Date at Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo. Whether this scandal affected Graf's form is open to debate. Having also won bronze in the womens doubles with Claudia Kohde-Kilsch in Seoul, her Olympic record stands at four podium finishes, including two titles counting the one she won in Los Angeles aged 14 when tennis was a demonstration sport! However, seeing the current situation, Graff also feels frightened. It was decided to grant her a joint number-one ranking with Graf who took her first loss of the year in the first round to Amanda Coetzer. Steffi Graf - 22; The former German tennis star is third on the list with 22 grand slam titles victories. She also . She and Margaret Court are the only players, female or male, to win three majors in a calendar year five times (1988, 1989, 1993, 1995 and 1996). [63][64], A strained right calf muscle forced Graf to withdraw from the Australian Open. She won no titles during the next three years, but her ranking climbed steadily to world No. [28][29][30][31] The official time of the match given on the scoresheet was 34 minutes; however, just 32 minutes of that was spent on the court, as a rain break split the match into two periods of play, of nine and 23 minutes. [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. The weeks following Wimbledon [in 1999] weren't easy for me. She retired from tennis in 1999. She was anchored in the top spot in the Women's Tennis Association rankings for a record 377 weeks, including 186 consecutive from August 1987 to March 1991. At the year-ending Virginia Slims Championships, Graf was upset by Pam Shriver, only her third loss of the year. (not considered in winloss records). She then successfully defended her title at the US Open, defeating Monica Seles in the final. [137] She started dating Andre Agassi after the 1999 French Open and they married on 22 October 2001, with only their mothers as witnesses. In the Miami final, she lost her first set of the yearto Natasha Zverevaafter winning 54 consecutive sets. 1 was in peerless form on the clay courts of Roland Garros. Sela said: Is it possible to have another 1988 Golden Grand Slam Steffi Graf: yeah sure, anything's possible, like having all eight planets aligned in the solar system. Her 0.977 winning percentage is the second-highest in the open era behind Navratilova.[44]. Graf reached 13 consecutive major singles finals, from the 1987 French Open through to . Graf played a singles exhibition match against Kim Clijsters and a mixed doubles exhibition alongside husband Andre Agassi against Tim Henman and Clijsters as part of a test event and celebration for the newly installed roof over Wimbledon's Centre Court in 2009. In October, Graf defeated Sabatini in an exhibition match in Mannheim, Germany, winning both of their sets. Steffi Graf, a Tennis champ is married to husband Andre Agassi with two children. 2 (21-06-10) Titles. 2021 International Olympic Committee. (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. And stepping on the plane there was a big group of German athletes on it. [122][129] Other companies she has endorsed include Barilla, Apollinaris, Citibank, Danone and Teekanne. "Peter Graf" redirects here. [22] She began practising on a court at the age of four and played in her first tournament at five. Next up were the grass courts of Wimbledon, where Graf was never in any danger until the final, when she came up against six-time defending champion Navratilova, unbeaten since 1981. She was unstoppable. After winning two more indoor tournaments at Zurich and Brighton, she failed once again in the Virginia Slims Championships, losing her quarterfinal to Novotn. There really hasn't been anyone like her since. [59][60] She began to wear a back brace and was unsure about playing the US Open but elected to play while receiving treatment and stretching for two hours before each match. She lost a lengthy one-set singles match to Clijsters and also the mixed doubles.[106]. The experience of 88 in Seoul probably stands out, just coming from the US Open where I won the Grand Slam. I have complied some stats . "[89] The pair played their last major tournament together at the 1990 Wimbledon Championships, losing in the quarterfinals. [101] She was beaten in two out of three matches, with each match being one set. 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. Shortly after the US Open, she underwent surgery to remove a bone spur in her right wrist. Serena uses her hard and powerful groundstrokes to bully her opponents and uses her serve, like Federer, to set up the point before finishing it off . Graf had already won 5 Wimbledon titles by then and was hunting for her 6th trophy. Graf lost her singles match to Elena Likhovtseva 54. We would just say the basic things, but nothing else. Steffi Graf and Serena Williams played just twice. Next came Wimbledon, where Martina Navratilova had won six straight titles. She then successfully defended the three Grand Slam titles she won the year before. [66] In August Monica Seles made her much anticipated return to tennis at the Canadian Open. [105] It was the first time in 14 years Graf had played Navratilova. Defending champion Steffi Graf was seeded first again at the French Open and swiftly went about beating her opponents, dropping only 11 games until the semi-finals.. Up against fourth-seeded Argentine Gabriela Sabatini in the last four, Steffi Graf faced her first real test, but overcame it with ease, winning 6-3, 7-6 to go through to the final. Opponent Score Loss: 1986: Year-end championships: Carpet (i) Martina Navratilova: 6-7 (8-10), 3-6, 2-6 Win: 1987: Year-end championships: . Official match time was 34 minutes, which charitably included two minutes of rain delay. . [10] Graf's athletic ability and aggressive game played from the baseline have been credited with developing the modern style of play that has come to dominate today's game. Proceeds from her match against Sabatini went to Graf's foundation, "Children for Tomorrow".[102]. She was successful, however, in the mixed doubles match. Pause, rewind, play: Steffi Graf - only player to win all four Majors and the Olympic gold in a year. [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. She was named the 1988 BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year. According to her coaches Pavel Sloil and Heinz Gnthardt, Graf's superior sense of timing was the key behind the success of her forehand. Graf again lost to Monica Seles in the final of the French Open 67, 46. In the final, Evert was completely overwhelmed in the first set, losing 6-1. I've always looked up to her and the way she approached the game" : Pete Sampras Steffi Graf is seen as one of tennis' best ever players, winning 22 Grand Slams but 1988 was the year that will never be beaten. International Olympic Committee. [138][139][140] They have two children, a son born in 2001 and a daughter born in 2003. . Fury's brother suggests alternative opponent if Usyk fight does not happen. It was 1986, and Graf was 17. In the womens tournament, Williams could repeat the achievement if she competes in what will be her fifth Olympic Games. Graf retired in August 1999 while ranked world No. On this day in 1999, Steffi Graf bid adieu to the sport just weeks after winning the French Open and reaching the Wimbledon final. She has emerged as one of the strongest tennis players of all time. 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. Less than three weeks after beating her in New York, Graf inflicted yet another defeat on the Argentinean, giving her no chance with an imposing 6-3, 6-3 victory. 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. Graf secured the World 124th position in her first year. She is better than them all. . used to be curious about one player who will make the women's singles Grand Slam finals as the other name was always Steffi Graf. In 1985 and early 1986, Graf emerged as the top challenger to the dominance of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. She then won her eighth German Open, but there were signs that her form was worsening as she almost lost to Julie Halard in a quarterfinal. Graf later stated it was the best tennis she had ever played in a Grand Slam final. [100] In September 2004, Graf dispatched her former doubles partner Gabriela Sabatini, in straight sets, in an exhibition match played in Berlin, Germany. 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. Voted Most admirable German woman by Amica magazine, 2005. She would either destroy opponents, clinically and . But from 1990 onward, Graf hit fewer & fewer of those beautiful backhand drive/topspins for some reason. . Serena did that only for a few tournaments in her career while Steffi did . In 1996, Steffi Graf was famously proposed to by a fan as she was getting ready to serve. Graf won seven singles titles at Wimbledon, six singles titles at the French Open, five singles titles at the US Open, and four singles titles at the Australian Open. [92][93], Graf also occasionally played mixed doubles, although she never won a title. A bout of rubella forced Graf to miss the first major event of 1992, the Australian Open. Selected for European Heroes in 2004 and 2005 by TIME Magazine. Graf had complained of an issue with her left knee but showed little trouble outplaying her opponent. 3, Jana Novotn, before losing in the semifinal to first-seeded Davenport. At the French Open, Graf successfully defended her title by defeating Natasha Zvereva 60, 60 in a 34-minute final. [117] Early in her career, Graf used the Dunlop Maxpower Pro and Maxpower Kevlar racquets and then played with the Max 200G racquet from 1984 to 1993[118][119][120][121] before switching to Wilson from 1994 to 1999. 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. thesportslegends. " ( . Four Grand Slam wins and an Olympic title in the same year a feat that no male or female player had achieved before or has done since. Graf is the only female athlete in the list of Forbes Top-30 Most recognizable and marketable athletes in 1995.