[20] She began practicing on a court at the age of four and played in her first tournament at five. Her birth name is Stefanie Maria Graf and she is currently 49 years old. Graf then won the tournament in Berlin, losing only twelve games in five matches. 1 on the computer the ITF named Sanchez Vicario its World Champion for the year, while the WTA backed their official rankings and named Graf. [15] She married former world No. 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. In an interview to La Vanguardia, the eight-time Grand Slam winner Andre Agassi commented on his love story with Steffi Graf. It doesn't help ...read more, The Tennis Channel is airing their 'All-Star Fantasy Showdown' to virtually determine the best tennis players of all-time. And the year began as expected, with Graf extending her Grand Slam tournament winning streak to five events at the Australian Open, defeating Helena Suková in the final. 22 in 1984, and No. She was ranked world No. On 14-06-1969 Steffi Graf was born in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg. Tennis legend Graf turns 50, © 2020 Tennis Channel Network. The US Open was Monica Seles's first Grand Slam event since the 1993 attack, with much anticipation again around a potential Seles-Graf final. Graf then capped the year by beating countrywoman Anke Huber in a five-set final at the season-ending WTA Tour Championships in 2 hours and 46 minutes. [78][79] Shortly after winning in Tokyo, Graf injured her right thumb while cross-country skiing in Switzerland and subsequently withdrew from the Virginia Slims of Florida and the Lipton Championships. [98] In September 2004, Graf dispatched her former doubles partner Gabriela Sabatini in straight sets, in an exhibition match played in Berlin, Germany. [92] At the 1999 Wimbledon Championships, Graf formed a much-publicized partnership with John McEnroe, with whom she reached the semifinals before withdrawing due to concerns that her uncertain hamstring, coupled with a bout of bronchitis, would affect her in the singles final. Graf began 1993 with four losses in her first six tournaments of the year: two to Sánchez Vicario and one each to Seles and the 36-year-old Martina Navratilova. [57][58] 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. In October, Graf defeated Sabatini in an exhibition match in Mannheim, Germany, winning both of their sets. In July 2005, Graf competed in one tie of World Team Tennis (WTT) on the Houston Wranglers team. Working with her father and then-coach Pavel Složil, Graf typically practiced for up to four hours a day, often heading straight from airports to practice courts. Soon after losing in the finals at Wimbledon in 1999, Graf, who had been plagued by injuries, retired from the sport. I think in tennis, perhaps more than other sport when players leave the public arena, I think that in some ways affects their image a bit. Soon after, she split with her long-time coach, Pavel Složil. However, she finished her year with a highlight, winning her first Virginia Slims Championships since 1989 by beating Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in the final despite needing painkillers for a back injury. Graf later stated it was the best tennis she had ever played in a Grand Slam final. In the French Open final, Graf defeated Navratilova, who was the world No. A lot of celebrities do not know what to do with their money anymore in 2018. Serena Williams enters the US Open with a chance to break Steffi Graf’s Open era record of 22 major singles titles. Serena’s consistency is almost unbelievable. Graf then lost to Navratilova 7–5, 6–3 in the Wimbledon final, her first loss of the year. SI's Jon Wertheim shares what the virtual tournament is ultimately deciding and provides his picks for Tennis Channel's tournament. [75][76] In the French Open Graf was again beaten by Amanda Coetzer in straight sets, 6–1, 6–4. Her father, who was an aspiring tennis coach, taught toddler Graf how to swing a wooden racket. Whether this scandal affected Graf's form is open to debate. ", "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! This narrow focus meant that Graf, already shy and retiring by nature,[22] made few friends on the tour in her early years, but it led to a steady improvement in her play. “I wanted to win the gold medal. The tennis player (f) her starsign is Gemini and she is now 51 years of age. She's been lost in the shuffle of Chris Evert is on ESPN and it's very much out there and does a lot for the sport. [41] In the final, Navratilova led 6–3, 4–2 before Graf rallied to win 3–6, 7–5, 6–1 for her third Grand Slam singles title of the year. 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. Serena Williams has the Open-era record for Grand Slam titles within her grasp but it's getting tougher at the top as the American great seeks finally to eclipse Germany's Steffi Graf. She’s also played a number of exhibition matches. Graf then won her next three tournaments at Amelia Island, Charleston, and Berlin, culminating in a 6–2, 6–3 defeat of Navratilova in the final of the latter. But she is really divorced herself from tennis. "[85], From the beginning of her career until 1990, Graf regularly played doubles events in Grand Slams and other tournaments, winning a total of 11 titles. She's really kept a low profile. At Wimbledon, Graf defeated Jana Novotná to win her third consecutive, and fifth overall, ladies' title. [136][137][138] They have two children: son Jaden Gil (born 2001) and daughter Jaz Elle (born 2003). Now, Jaz more or less rides just for enjoyment. 3 at that time and said, "I have done everything I wanted to do in tennis. As of 2020, Steffi Graf is married to Andre Agassi. At the French Open, Graf successfully defended her title by defeating Natasha Zvereva 6–0, 6–0 in a 34-minute final. She then successfully defended her title at the US Open, defeating Monica Seles in the final. All Rights Reserved. As the defending champion Graf lost in straight sets to Mary Pierce in the French Open semifinal. At Wimbledon, however, Graf captured her third women's crown, this time at Sabatini's expense. Graf had a bone splinter in her right foot during this tournament (and for the next few months), finally resulting in surgery on 4 October.[51]. [147] 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. Shortly after the US Open, she underwent surgery to remove a bone spur in her right wrist. Stephanie “Steffi” Graf is a former number one player with a record 377 total weeks as number one. [121] In 2006, she signed an endorsement deal with Head. In the meantime, she lost surprisingly to Nicole Bradtke of Australia in a Fed Cup match on clay before winning the Acura Classic in San Diego and the Canadian Open in Toronto in preparation for the US Open. She repeated the feat in 1993, 1995, and 1996. 1 singles players, WTA rankings incepted on November 3, 1975, (year first held/year last held – number of weeks (w)), current No. 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, Günter Parche. Medvedev fires 22 aces to top ... Fognini the second ATP player to test positive ... Nadal brings down curtain on unique Roland Garros ... From a "bad time" to Slam No. She won her last Slam title, her 22nd, at the 1999 French Open around 10 days before her 30th birthday. Her father’s name is Peter Graf and her mother’ s name is Heidi Graf. 1 Ranking", "Graf wastes no time reaching another final", https://web.archive.org/web/20150325101912/http://www.rolandgarros.com/fr_FR/about/history/past_tournaments/1988.html, "The 1988 French Open: how Agassi arrived, Graf ruled and Wilander won", "TENNIS; Graf Shuts Out Zvereva to Gain French Open Title", "Wimbledon; An Era Ends as Graf Beats Navratilova", "Forget Calendar Slam, "Surface Slam" Almost as Rare", "THE SEOUL GAMES : Women's Tennis : Graf Turns Her Slam Into a Golden One", "SURPRISE! That was the last competitive match Graf and Sánchez Vicario would ever play against one another. Very well. Graf was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2004. [37] In the Boca Raton final, Graf lost the only set she conceded to Chris Evert in their final seven matches.[38]. [56] Graf still managed to win San Diego the following month but aggravated a long-time back injury in beating Sánchez Vicario in the final. She won there, comfortably beating Helena Suková in the final after needing three sets to eliminate Gabriela Sabatini and Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively. [34] The feat has only been achieved by Graf to date. The year of her retirement, Billie Jean King said, "Steffi is definitely the greatest women's tennis player of all time. Her overall record in 56 Grand Slam events was 282–32 (89 percent) (87–10 at the French Open, 75–7 at Wimbledon, 73–9 at the US Open, and 47–6 at the Australian Open). In an interview with Stern magazine in July 1990, Graf stated, "I could not fight as usual."[44]. And to me, it's interesting how that has sort of impacted history that I think get a little bit. 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. ), At the start of her first full professional year in 1983, Graf was 13 years old and ranked world No. [99] She was also in Berlin to host a charity gala, as well as inaugurating a tennis stadium renamed the "Steffi Graf Stadion". Her career prize-money earnings totalled US$21,895,277 (a record until Lindsay Davenport surpassed this amount in January 2008). The difficulty of answering questions about the matter came to a head at a Wimbledon press conference, where Graf broke down in tears. And she said she would when she left the sport 20 years ago. 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", "Tennis in Reunified Germany: Then and Now – The Tennis Island", "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.
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