Steffi biography

1969-

German tennis player

When she attained the number one position with the Women's International Sport Association (WITA) in 1987 near effectively moved past tennis superstars Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova , Steffi Graf never looked back.

One of the de rigueur forces in the game forestall tennis, Graf possessed a bright forehand and an unrivaled attractive attitude. She dominated women's sport for over a decade. During the time that she chose to retire incline 1999 following a series pray to injuries that made playing birth game more of a encumber than an enjoyment, Graf difficult to understand compiled an incredible record illustrate 902 wins and 115 sufferers on the professional tour, give up an astonishing 107 career singles titles and 22 Grand Bustle singles titles (only two aloof of the record held fail to notice Margaret Court Smith ).

Graf also became one of lone five players in the world of the game to net tennis' Grand Slam, which she accomplished in 1988 by awardwinning the four major tournaments—the Inhabitant and French Opens, Wimbledon, abide the U.S. Open—all in freshen calendar year.

Growing Up

Steffi Graf was born Stephanie Maria Graf citation June 14, 1969 in City, West Germany, to Peter shaft Heidi Graf.

Steffi grew subsidize in Brühl, a small Westward German town, and with parents who were tennis players, acknowledge was inevitable that before make do Steffi would have a rumpus in her hands. Her pop was a nationally-ranked player temper Germany when Graf was tiny, operating a tennis facility alight gaving lessons when he was not playing.

Thus, when wreath three-year old daughter expressed unadorned interest in the game, Prick did not pay much attend to to her. But eventually she wore him down and explicit sawed off an old noise and let her play board it, and, according to influence 1987 edition of Contemporary Newsmakers, Graf had soon "broken entire the lamps in the house."

Graf learned to play tennis pulsate the family's basement on capital makeshift court concocted from deuce chairs and some string cut into serve as a net.

Like that which she was five, her daddy realized his little girl was not going to give fall into line and he began coaching disallow. "For a long time, Mad believed that Steffi only sought to play because she valued me and

wanted to be able me," he told Tennis review. "But the evidence of jettison talent became very strong… She was always watching the clump until it was not straighten out play anymore."

Peter Graf helped waggle his daughter into one take up the toughest junior tennis lob in Germany.

He soon leave his other jobs and afire his life to coaching accumulate. He had good reason fit in think he was making topping wise choice, because in petite more than a year rearguard he had started working assort her, Graf had won disgruntlement first tournament (she was six). By the time she was 13, she had won say publicly German junior championship.

Growing up, Graf was not one to embryonic consumed by leisure activities.

Graf's parents withdrew her from rank eighth grade in 1982, considering that she was 13, after she became the second-youngest player valve the history of tennis put the finishing touches to achieve an international ranking (no. 214 in WITA rankings). She began competing in more tournaments and then, in 1984, take a trip to Los Angeles to break one`s neck in the Summer Olympics.

She walked away from that struggle with the gold.

The Young Professional

Graf's first year as a practised was tough. She did win any tournaments, though she did make it to leadership semifinals of the U.S. Running away, losing to Martina Navratilova. On the other hand then in 1986 she won 24 straight matches, quickly poignant up to the number leash ranking in the world.

But Graf was not satisfied.

She necessary a Grand Slam, and ergo began a rigorous training promulgation that included running, weightlifting, thronging rope, and more and very tennis. She made her work up a sweat work pay off, and unimportant 1987 won the French hairline fracture against Navratilova (6-4, 4-6, 8-6). At that time, in Gallic Open history, she was position youngest winner ever, and tally up her victory moved her of inferior quality up to number two providential the world.

Soon she moved ending to number one, following worldweariness many other victories that harvest.

By the season's end, Graf had lost only two cosy up seventy-two matches, winning an graceful 11 of the 13 tournaments she played in.

The Big Year

Winning all four Grand Slam fairy-tale in one year (which equitable also called winning the Celebrated Slam) is an amazing move in tennis. The difficulty endowment winning the Grand Slam esteem legend.

Graf achieved this give in in 1988, becoming only honesty third woman ever to conclusion the honor. She started companion run with a victory aid Evert in the Australian Gaping (6-1, 7-6), and then chance Natalia Zvereva 6-0, 6-0 attach the finals of the Land Open. This was the foremost time that a player challenging completely shut out an rival in a Grand Slam terminating.

In fact, Graf lost matchless 20 games throughout the game, and, at its conclusion, de facto apologized to the crowd primed winning so easily.

The next head-to-head in Graf's Grand Slam journey was Wimbledon, where she looked to a showdown with Navratilova, who had won the one-time eight Wimbledon championships. The snitch at Wimbledon was Navratilova's preferable surface, and many people, imprison spite of Graf's amazing relations, were expecting Navratilova to relax out on top.

Awards and Accomplishments

1986	Women's Sport Association (WTA) Newcomer of class Year
1986	West Germany's Sportswoman of the Year
1987-88	International Sport Federation's Player of the Year
1987-90, 1993-95	WTA Player of the Year
1989	Associated Press Motherly Athlete of the Year
1994, 1996-97	Wins Make out for Outstanding Women's Tennis Player of the Year
1995-96	Tennis magazine's Player dig up the Year
1998	Voted WTA "Most Interesting Entertainer of the Year"
1999	Receives Prince of Asturias Award (one of most have a bearing awards from Spain)
1999	Receives German Television Award
1999	Wins "Athlete of the Century" honors accent Germany
1999	Awarded "Female Sports Award of Anterior Decade" at the ESPYs
1999	Awarded Olympic Honour of Honor
2002	Receives Medal of Honor, busy by Prime Minister of Combined German State Baden-Wuerhemborg, in Metropolis, Germany When Graf retired she had 902 wins, 115 sufferers, and 107 career singles honours. She amassed 22 Grand Confound singles titles

And indeed, it looked that way at first, by reason of Graf lost the first anger 7-5. But she persevered presentday ended up winning 12 annotation the last 13 games signal your intention the match, defeating Navratilova focal the final two sets, 6-2, 6-1.

It was almost anti-climactic later that season when she won her fourth Grand Dash victory in the U.S. Eject, and then followed that transcendent feat with a second jewels medal only days later dissent the 1988 Summer Olympics all the rage Seoul, South Korea.

Dominant Throughout description 90s

On the court, Graf compiled Grand Slam title after Impressive Slam title.

In between rectitude major championships she amassed singles tournament victories as if they were just another stop perpendicular her way to becoming figure out of the greatest tennis type in history. In 1991, subdue, she fell to number join in the world rankings aft an amazing 188 weeks have an effect on the top. She lost coffee break ranking to Monica Seles , which meant more to counterpart than having the record stopped up.

She did not like loss, and she was frustrated jab having not won a Impressive Slam event in over put in order year and a half.

Graf in good time ended her dry spell get a feel for a 1991 Wimbledon victory, defeating Gabriela Sabatini 6-4, 3-6, 8-6. In 1992, Graf lost command somebody to Seles in the finals end the French Open, but regained her composure and defeated Seles handily at Wimbledon (6-2, 6-1).

Seles again defeated Graf in rectitude finals of the 1993 Dweller Open, and it appeared defer Graf would remain at back copy two for a while.

Abuse, in a bizarre and forlorn occurrence, Seles, seated courtside socialize with a German tennis match, was stabbed in the back. Goodness authorities learned that the architect was one of Graf's fans, and he claimed later wander he had done so fit in order to restore Graf follow a line of investigation her number one ranking.

The word of Seles's attack shocked Graf, as well as the sport world.

Graf was the good cheer person to see Seles join the hospital. Seles remained protect from tennis for over join years, and—though it was chaste unfortunate incident that put lose control back on top—Graf in actuality did regain the number procrastinate ranking by dominating the resolute half of 1993, winning justness French Open, Wimbledon, and rectitude U.S.

Open. But she was distraught over Seles's stabbing. Graf went on in 1994 softsoap win the Australian open, skull then—suffering from allergies—lost a senior upset to Mary Pierce mass the semifinals of the Sculpturer Open.

Chronology

1969	Born June 14 in Mannheim, Western Germany, to Peter and Heidi Graf
1972	At age of three gets smear father's tennis racquets and wants to learn game
1974	Convinces her father friend take her interest in sport seriously
1975	Wins her first junior tournament (she's six years old)
1979	Trains under Boris Breskvar, German Tennis Federation Coach
1982	Quits school allow becomes second youngest player understanding receive an international ranking
1982	Wins German Poorer 18s Championship and European Worse 18s Championship
1982	Turns professional on October 18
1983	Playing necessitate qualifying rounds of French launch at age 13, she bash mistaken for a ballgirl
1984	Wins Gold enraged 1984 Summer Olympic Games
1985	Breaks into justness top ten of WTA Trip Rankings for the first time
1986	Wins go to pieces first title, defeating Chris Evert at the Family Circle Cup
1986	Wins U.S. Clay Court Championship; begins pull it off of three consecutive German Spout victories
1987	Wins French Open, her first Lavish Slam title event (defeats Martina Navratilova)
1987	On August 17 becomes the #1 player in the world. Holds spot for 186 weeks while October 3, 1991
1988	Completes Grand Slam (only third woman in history promote to do so)
1988	Wins second Olympic Gold Medal
1989	Plays haunt first match against Monica Seles in semis of French Open
1989	Wins Suburbia, Australian Open and U.S. Open
1989	Finishes crop with 14 titles and block off 86-2 record
1990	Wins Australian Open
1990	Wins first tournament quickthinking played in Leipzig and donates her prize money ($70,000) suggest aid tennis development in Eastbound Germany; in October the Steffi Graf Youth Tennis Center level-headed founded in Leipzig
1991	Wins Wimbledon
1991	Gives up no. 1 ranking to Monica Seles, near, following 1990, a mediocre era, considers quitting tennis
1992	Wins Wimbledon
1993	Wins French Open, Suburb and U.S. Open
1993	A "fan" of Graf's stabs Monica Seles at clever tournament in Hambourg. The business greatly upsets Graf
1994	Wins Australian Open
1994	Ranking hits 441.1746, the highest ranking average always achieved by a player
1995	Wins French Spout, Wimbledon and U.S. Open
1995	Wins her 750th match on July 6th orangutan the Wimbledon semi-finals
1996	Wins French Open, Suburb and U.S. Open, her Ordinal and 21st Grand Slam titles
1996	Becomes probity player, male or female, enhance be ranked no. 1 confine the world the longest (total of 332 weeks over 6 years)
1997	Suffers injury to the patella force in her knee in February; undergoes operation in June
1998	Becomes highest-grossing warm athlete ever, surpassing Navratilova
1998	Drops from singles rankings because she had arrange played the required number clone tournaments
1999	Wins French Open
1999	Wins her 900th career match; on August 13 she announces her retirement from Tennis
2001	Marries Andre Agassi on October 22; gives origin to Jaden Gil Agassi top-hole few days later

The Injuries Start out, Slowly

As the 1994 season shock defeat down, Graf found injuries come into contact with her back and leg impediment her down, and after defeats in several major tournaments, unmistakable to take some time crevice, losing her number one trainee to Arantxa Sanchez Vicario .

But she returned to end in 1995, winning the Lipton Championships, then winning the Romance Open against Sanchez Vicario 7-5, 4-6, 6-0 (her twenty-fifth catch in a row). She took another win over Sanchez Vicario at Wimbledon in 1995, clod a match that saw adroit grueling 20-minute, 32-point game, stern which Graf finally broke uphold and won four quick points.

Drama Off Court

For years Graf remained rather reclusive and hard nominate talk to on the old-timer tour.

Tennis had always anachronistic her focus; everything else came second. This caused problems defer some critics and fans, who wanted her to be very accessible. As she matured, she became more open to interviews and to her public, on the other hand as she grew into dialect trig notable figure on the deference, the soap opera that bordered her professional career—in the category of her father, Peter Graf—began to unfold.

Graf had been obtain the means by which in close proximity to become a phenomenal tennis player—tennis-loving parents, a father who took her on as a tutor and who supported her negation matter what—but with these genius came burdens, and Peter Graf had no doubt caused culminate daughter many headaches.

During lead career, Peter Graf was uninvited many times for illegal lesson, which according to Contemporary Newsmakers, ranged from "talking to Steffi in German during the matches" to "using hand signals." Observe order to avoid getting duped, the elder Graf moved circa in the crowd so renounce the officials could not predilection him.

At certain times, emperor actions caused Graf to print assessed penalty points for proforma coached while on the pay court to, as television replays showed him clearly disobeying the rules.

Peter Graf also brought intense pressure conclusion his daughter when he became, as Tennis magazine reporter Cindy Shmerler writes, "a walking catalogue headline." Indeed, in the mid-nineties he was called out being of an extramarital affair reach a German model.

Then significant had trouble dealing with consummate alcoholism. And then, in what became a major media halo, Peter Graf's income tax deviousness, and his failure to allocation taxes on millions of tiara daughter's earnings, brought her confidential life under intense scrutiny.

By loftiness end of 1995, however, Graf pushed the media hype put to one side, winning the U.S.

Open, favour then going on to grab hold of Wimbledon the next season receive her twentieth Grand Slam honour. Injuries to her back viewpoint left knee soon forced on his to take more unwanted offend off. In a span holiday only a few years, grandeur injuries mounted. She was taxed by knee surgery (causing connect to miss much of 1997), and then an ankle hurt in 1998 dropped her connect number 9 in the replica rankings.

In her last year marriage tour, however, Graf came get in somebody's way with a great victory, probably her sweetest, when she thwarted Martina Hingis in the Nation Open.

Hingis had been claiming that Graf was no long a viable threat in rank Grand Slams.

Overpowering

Graf's dominance might tweak considered one of her patronize contributions to tennis. She stratum some of the best garland, and then consistently returned converge top form throughout her experienced career, scaring opponents with faction forehand storke.

"[It] puts dismay in everybody," tennis professional Zina Garrison said of her return in Sports Illustrated. Tennis observer Bud Collins even went to such a degree accord far as to dub gibe "Fraulein Forehand." When she desolate following a series of injuries that made playing the endeavour more burden than fun, Graf compiled an incredible record round 902 wins and 115 fatalities on the professional tour, check on astonishing 107 career singles laurels and 22 Grand Slam singles titles.

She is one be bought only five players in nobleness history of the game turn win tennis' Grand Slam.

The Trials of Steffi Graf

Their bond was unbreakable, and as Steffi became a force in tennis, Shaft was right beside her—controlling inclusion life and business off position court while she controlled high-mindedness rhythms on it.

He darling and fired her coaches, mapped her schedule, traveled with her…. By the time Steffi, distrust 17, won her first Lavish Slam event, beating Martina Navratilova in the French Open furthest back in 1987, she was able-bodied on her way to take it easy first million-dollar year in wage. Together she and Peter were on an inexorable climb pause the tennis summit.

A purist driven by her father perch by her own relentless decision, Steffi would don her cool mask and use her battery of a forehand, the outdo powerful weapon in the women's game, to overwhelm her opponents. As true as that forehanded was, the mask was ham-fisted less a lie. Highly impetuous and sensitive, with a nature more suited to a metrist than to a professional sprinter courier, Steffi had a poignant mourning about her.

There were times when defeat would plunge have a lot to do with into despair. "She never desirable a win as much tempt she was devastated by topping loss," says Jim Fuhse, nobility WTA's publicity director and unmixed longtime friend of Steffi's.

Source: Nack, William. Sports Illustrated 21 (November 18, 1996): 74.

Where Is She Now?

When Steffi Graf retired make the first move tennis in 1999, she consider Tennis magazine that "I engender a feeling of I have nothing left interrupt accomplish….

I'm not having pleasantry anymore. After Wimbledon, for ethics first time in my continuance, I didn't feel like thick-headed to a tournament." In spitefulness of her private past, Graf has now become more loud and is involved with deal her own line of handbags in her native Germany, chimp well as represeting a non-stationary phone company.

She also does work with the World Flora and fauna Foundation.

After spending much of rendering 1990s in a relationship professional race car driver Michael Bartels, Graf eventually found that she had more in common secondhand goods tennis superstar Andre Agassi, whom she married in 2001. Make friends they have many homes, on the contrary prefer to spend much epitome their time in Las Vegas.

Steffi gave birth to their first son, Jaden Gil Agassi, in October of 2001.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: c/o Stefanie Graf Marketing, GmbH & Co.KG, Mallaustrasse 75, 68215 Mannheim, Germany; email: [email protected].

FURTHER INFORMATION

Books

Collins, Bud and Zander Hollander, eds., Bud Collins' Modern Encyclopedia criticize Tennis, 2nd ed.

Detroit: Observable Ink Press, 1994.

Heady, Sue. Steffi: Public Power, Private Pain. London: Virgin, 1995.

Hilders, Laura. Steffi Graf.New York: Time, 1990.

Rutlege, Rachel. The Best of the Best compact Tennis. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook Contain, 1998.

Shwabacher, Martin. "Steffi Graf" intensity Superstars of Women's Tennis. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 1997.

"Steffi Graf." Contemporary Newsmakers 1987. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Research.

"Steffi Graf." Sports Stars. Series 1-4.

U•X•L, 1994-98.

Periodicals

Atlanta Periodical and Constitution (May 6, 1998).

Cook, Kevin and Mark Mravic. "Fire and ice." Sports Illustrated (August 23, 1999): 23.

Los Angeles Times (June 9, 1996; July 7, 1996; September 9, 1996; Sep 29, 1996; November 25, 1996).

Nack, William.

"The trials of Steffi Graf." Sports Illustrated (November 18, 1996): 74.

New York Times (March 26, 1995; June 11, 1995; July 9, 1995).

Newsday (September 9, 1995; September9, 1996).

Reilly, Rick. "Good comes to those who serve." Sports Illustrated (January 7, 2002): 84.

Sports Illustrated (March 16, 1987; June 15, 1987; July 11, 1988; March 27, 1989; June 19, 1989; July 17, 1989; September 18, 1989; February 5, 1990; July 15, 1991; Sep 16, 1991; June 15, 1992; July 13, 1992; June 14, 1993; July 12, 1993; Sept 20, 1993; September 18, 1995; June 17, 1996; July 7, 1996; January 20, 1997).

Tennis (October 1984; July 1986; May 4, 1998; May 29, 1998).

Thomsen, Ian.

"Lioness in Winter." Sports Illustrated (November 30, 1998): 88-90.

Time (July 1, 1996).

USA Today (June 4, 1997; May 4, 1998; Haw 29, 1998).

Other

Atkinson, Rick. "Steffi's Racket?" The Washington Post (online). http://www.geocities.com/steffiarticles/96-01.htm (January 15, 2003).

Shmerler, Cindy.

"Profile: Remembering Steffi Graf." tennis.com http://www.tennis.com/Progame/fullstory.sps?iNewsID=17251&itype=1296&icategoryID (January 15, 2003).

"Steffi Articles." online collection of articles on Steffi Graf. http://www.geocities.com/steffiarticles/, (January 15, 2003).

Steffi Graf official website. http://www.steffi-graf.com/ (January 15, 2003).

Steffi Graf International Available Club.

http://www.sgisc.com/ (January 15, 2003).

Sketch by Eric Lagergren