Steffi Graf

Graf won 22 Grand Slam titles during her great career and in 1988 she became only the third woman to ever win the Grand Slam in tennis when she defeated Chris Evert in the Australian Open final, Natalia Zvereva in the French Open, Martina Navratilova at the Wimbledon championships and Gabriela Sabatini at the U.S. Open. Graf also defeated Sabatini to win the gold medal at the 1988 Olympics Games in Seoul, South Korea and complete the "golden" slam.

Altogether she won 107 WTA tournaments (only Navratilova (167) and Evert (157) are in front in the overall ranking) and was the tour's number 1 ranked player for 377 weeks, longer than any other player. Graf became the highest-earning female athlete of all times and won many awards such as the Olympic Medal of Honor or Athlete of the Century (category ballsports).

Graf started playing tennis at the age of four and turned pro in 1982. Her coaches were Pavel Slozil (1986 to 1991) and Heinz Günthardt (form 1992 until the end of her career in 1999). She played right-handed and has been famous for her forehand (she was sometimes called "Fraulein Forehand" in recognition of this) and her excellent fitness.

Steffi Graf was born in Mannheim, Germany and lived in Brühl until she married the American tennis player Andre Agassi on October 22nd, 2001 and moved to Las Vegas, United States. On the 26th of October, 2001 their son Jaden Gil was born. In the early 90s, Graf was in the news for the scandals of her father Peter Graf (including an extra-marital affair and tax evasion), whereas she herself prefers a life outside media and press coverage. Steffi Graf is a WWF Ambassadress and in 1998 she founded her own foundation "Children for tomorrow", which helps mentally and emotionally traumatised children. She played a guest-role in the film "Otto, der Außerfriesische", loves animals and she is keen on fashion and has created her own labels.

Graf was also known for her sense of humour. During a tight Wimbledon semi-finals against Kimiko Date (Graf was serving at 6-2 2-4), one of the spectators yelled out "Steffi!" as she had just tossed the ball high up ready for a serve. Everyone, including Steffi burst out laughing. Having composed herself, she got ready to serve once again, when the fan shouted out again "Steffi! Will you marry me?". The whole stadium burst into peals of laughter and play was delayed for a couple of minutes. Steffi, tried to control her laughter and got ready to serve, tossed the ball, caught it and yelled back to the fan "How much money do you have?". Graf lost that set 2-6, but ended up winning that match 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 to face (and defeat) Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in the finals.

Grand Slam titles

1999 Paris Martina Hingis 4:6, 7:5, 6:2 1996 Paris Arantxa Sanchez Vicario 6:3, 6:7, 10:8 Wimbledon Arantxa Sanchez Vicario 6:3, 7:5 US Open Monica Seles 7:5, 6:4 1995 Paris Arantxa Sanchez Vicario 7:5, 4:6, 6:0 Wimbledon Arantxa Sanchez Vicario 4:6, 6:1, 7:5 US Open Monica Seles 7:6, 0:6, 6:3 1994 Melbourne Arantxa Sanchez Vicario 6:0, 6:2 1993 Paris Mary Joe Fernandez 4:6, 6:2, 6:4 Wimbledon Jana Novotna 7:6, 1:6, 6:4 US Open Helena Sukova 6:3, 6:3 1992 Wimbledon Monica Seles 6:2, 6:1 1991 Wimbledon Gabriela Sabatini 6:4, 3:6, 8:6 1990 Melbourne Mary Joe Fernandez 6:3, 6:4 1989 Melbourne Helena Sukova 6:4, 6:4 Wimbledon Martina Navratilova 6:2, 6:7, 6:1 US Open Martina Navratilova 3:6, 7:5, 6:1 1988 Melbourne Chris Evert 6:1, 7:6 Paris 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 Olympic Gold Medal in Seoul against Gabriela Sabatini 1987 Paris Martina Navratilova 6:4, 4:6, 8:6

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