Steffi Graf

Although Steffi became a tennis professional in 1982, her pinnacle year was 1988.
In 1988 Steffi Graf, aged 19, was the best female tennis player in the world. She had won the Grand Slam that year (winning all four grand slams) and an Olympic Gold medal at Seoul. No tennis player had ever done this before. It is hard enough to win a grand slam. Only Maureen Connelly and Margaret Court had done that before (in the women's game). But to win the Gold on top was a master stroke. However, tennis had not been an Olympic sport between 1924 and 1988. Grand slams were also not recorded before the late 20s either.

I think those achievements alone made her one of the greatest female tennis players ever. Martina Navratalova of the same vintage had won many tournaments and Gram Slams but never in the one calendar year had she won them all.


I loved watching the grace of Steffi's game. I saw her play at the Australian Open in a game of doubles. I was 6 foot away from her and very excited. She was taller than expected. She was the best athlete and most well-rounded player. She had a great serve. Her trademark powerful forehand revolutionized the game, and her slice backhand, while not as powerful, complimented her game perfectly, especially because it was virtually the same swing as her backhand drop shot. She was always the fastest player with the most endurance, the best conditioning, and the most will to win and she always raised the level of play on the big points.

Steffi's career highlights
Highest Rank: 1
Grand Slam Titles: 22
Tournaments Won: 107
Australian Open Titles: 4
French Open Titles: 6
Wimbledon Titles: 7
US Open Titles: 5
Grand Slam Finals: 31
Consecutive Grand Slams: 5
Years Ranked No1: 8
Career Prize Money: $21 million
Career Record: 902-114
Career Weeks Ranked No 1: 377



Steffi's biography
Steffi was born in Mannheim, West Germany and later moved to Bruhl. She still lived with her family in Bruhl in 1988. Steffi's parents both played tennis and her father was a competent player. She picked up a sawn off racquet at the age of 2 and played inside the house with her father using the sofa as a net. Soon she was hitting so hard this was no longer feasible and she moved on to a court at the age of 5.

She was dedicated player and sacrificed much to become the great player she was. She had to practice a lot and went to bed at 9pm. But she always loved the game and was never forced to practice.

As she got older it became clear that she had a powerful serve and a beautiful forehand. She was also extremely fit and could run 800 metres in 2' 5 secs. In those days the women didn't use weights or run to get fit. They just played tennis. But Steffi practiced running with weights on her ankles to become stronger.

Steffi retired from the sport at the age of 30, married Andre Agassi and has 2 children with him. I love it when Agassi plays becauseSteffi Graf and kids I love seeing the TV move in on her after they have found where she is sitting. She never sits in the players' box except maybe for a final Agassi is in. She is still shy of the spotlight. You see her these days with her children all watching Agassi play.
What sort of players will those kids be I wonder?

Steffi's records

Only person to win all four Grand Slams at least four times each
Only person to win Golden Grand Slam
Only person to win Grand Slam on four different surfaces
Only person to win and successfully defend all four Grand Slams
Only person to win all four Grand Slams twice in 2 different decades
Only person to win all four Grand Slams in the 1990's
Had a .500 or better record against every major opponent
Ranked No1 for a record 377 weeks
Ranked No1 for a record 186 consecutive weeks
Ranked No1 at end of year for a record 8 years
Ranked at least No 2 every week for a record 10 consecutive years
Named WTA Player of the Year a record 8 times
Won 3+ Grand Slams in a year a record 5 times
Had a record 13 consecutive Grand Slam Finals
Had a record 57 set win streak
Had a record 45 Grand Slam match win streak
Reached all four Grand Slam Finals in a year a record 3 times
Won a record 8 out of 9 Grand Slams in 1988-'90
1st in career prize money, $21 million
Achieved highest ranking point average ever of 441.1746
Achieved highest ranking point total ever of 6951.6185
Only person to win a calendar and a non-calendar year Grand Slam on separate occasions
One of only 5 people (3 women) to win all four Grand Slams in a year
One of only 2 people to win a non-calendar year Grand Slam
2nd in career Grand Slam wins, 22
3rd in career tournaments won, 107
3rd in most consecutive Grand Slams won, 5
2nd in consecutive years with 1+ Grand Slam, 10
4th in career Australian Open titles, 4
2nd in career French Open titles, 6
3rd in career Wimbledon titles, 7
4th in career US Open titles, 5
6th in career Australian Open finals, 5
1st in career French Open finals, 9
2nd in career Wimbledon finals, 9
4th in career US Open finals, 8
2nd in career WTA Championships titles, 5
3rd on my list of the top 100 Athletes of the Century