This biography is from “Grand Slam: An Anthology of Tennis Champions”. You can buy the book here.

STEFFI GRAF

French Open 1987-88, 1993, 1995-96, 1999

Australian Open 1988-90, 1994

Wimbledon 1988-89, 1991-93, 1995-96

US Open 1988-89, 1993, 1995-96

Steffi Graf is the only player in the history of tennis to win the Golden Grand Slam – all four Grand Slam titles and an Olympic Gold Medal in the same year. Graf, who won twenty-two singles Grand Slam titles in an 237 extraordinary career, also won three of the four finals in a calendar year on four occasions. Steffi Graf was born in West Germany in 1969, and made her tournament debut in her home country at the age of twelve. By 1985 she was a top ten ranked player after making the semi-finals of the US Open. She repeated the effort the following year, before breaking through in 1987 by winning the French Open, defeating the legendary Martina Navratilova in three sets. That year, Graf was also runner up at both Wimbledon and the US Open, losing both finals to Navratilova. Graf started her incredible year of 1988 by going through the Australian Open without dropping a set. She defeated Chris Evert in straight sets in the final, before decimating Natasha Zvereva 6-0 6-0 in the final of the French Open. At Wimbledon, Graf ended Navratilova’s run of six consecutive titles by defeating the champion in three sets in the final. Graf then joined Maureen Connolly and Margaret Court as one of only three women to achieve the Grand Slam when she beat Gabriela Sabatini in the final of the US Open in three sets. Graf would again defeat Sabatini to win the Gold Medal at the Seoul Olympics to cap her year. Graf began 1989 in similar form, beating Helena Sukova to claim her second Australian Open title. However, 238 dreams of a second consecutive Grand Slam for Graf ended at the French Open. Graf lost the final to Spanish Aranxta Sanchez in three sets. Graf recovered to again defeat Navratilova in the final of Wimbledon, and again at the US Open to close out her year with three Grand Slam titles. In 1990, Graf won her third successive Australian Open title with a victory over Mary Jo Fernandez. Graf lost the final of the French Open to Monica Seles, before her record of thirteen consecutive Grand Slam finals came to an end at the hands of Zina Garrison in the semifinals of Wimbledon. She made the final of the US Open, but lost the match to Gabriela Sabatini to end a disappointing year. A combination of niggling injuries, family issues and a loss of form contributed to a mini-slump in Graf’s career in the early 1990s. Seles had become the number one ranked player, and Graf missed the finals of both the Australian and French Opens. She recovered in time for Wimbledon, and defeated Sabatini in the final to claim the title for the third time. Graf made the semi-finals of the US Open, but lost to Navratilova. After missing the 1992 Australian Open through illness, Graf made the final of the French Open where she again met Seles. Seles won a gripping three set match, with the third going to 10-8. After a slow start at Wimbledon, Graf found her best form to easily defeat 239 Seles in the final to win her fourth Wimbledon. Graf added a silver medal to her gold at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, but missed out making the US Open final. Seles again defeated Graf in the final of the 1993 Australian Open, but tragedy struck the number one ranked player when she was stabbed by a crazed fan during a tournament in Germany. With Seles convalescing from her injuries, Graf was able to win the remaining three Grand Slam titles in 1993 to reclaim her number one ranking. Graf won the 1994 Australian Open, but lost a semi-final at the French Open to local Mary Pierce. At Wimbledon, where Graf had won five titles previously, she was a shock first round exit at the hands of American Lori McNeil. Injuries hampered Graf for the remainder of the year, but she did manage to make the final of the US Open, but lost the match in three sets to Aranxta Sanchez Vicario. Graf missed the 1995 Australian Open through injury, but recovered to have one of her most successful years. She defeated Sanchez Vicario in the finals of both the French Open and Wimbledon. The 1995 US Open saw the return of Monica Seles to Grand Slam tennis, and the two champions of their era squared off in the final. Graf won the match in three sets to finish the year with three Grand Slam titles to her credit. 240 In 1996, Graf successfully defended her three Grand Slam titles, incredibly against the same opponents she had defeated the previous year. By the end of the year Graf had won 21 Grand Slam titles. Graf began to wind down her career as she succumbed to injuries from 1997. That year, she failed to win a Grand Slam title for the first time in a decade. She had her last triumph at the 1999 French Open, defeating Martina Hingis in three sets to claim her final Grand Slam title. Later that year, Steffi Graf, the best player of her era, announced her retirement. In 2001, Graf married American tennis star Andre Agassi. They have two children. In 2004, Graf was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.