Steffi Graf

It was at the 1984 fourth-round Centre Court match at Wimbledon that Graf came to the limelight when she almost upset the tenth seed, Jo Durie of the United Kingdom.

She went on to win the tennis demonstration event at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

In the following years, Graf emerged as the top challenger at the US Open. Though she lost both to Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert, she was consistent enough to reach the finals and the semi-finals.

1986 was a seminal day for Graf as she won her first WTA tournament by beating Chris Evert in the finals of the Family Circle Cup in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Steffi Graf followed up the same by winning at Amelia Island, Charleston, and Berlin.

Later in the French Open finals, Graf defeated Navratilova, who was the World No. 1, after beating Gabriela Sabatini in a three-set semi-final.

In the year 1988, Steffi Graf struck gold by not only winning all four Grand Slam titles but the Olympic Gold Medal as well.

With this, she became the first and the only player to achieve this feat.

While Graf gained an easy victory over Chris Evert in the finals of the Australian Open, at the French Open, she defeated Natasha Zvereva thus successfully defending her title.

At Wimbledon, Graf was playing against Navratilova when she won the match, thus ending the latter’s winning streak.

In the US Open, Graf played against Sabatini defeating her and winning the Calendar Year Grand Slam.

The year 1990, brought mixed results for Graf. While she won the Australian Open defeating Mary Joe Fernandez, she failed to make it to the finals of Wimbledon and the US Open.

As for French Open, Steffi Graf lost the finals to Monica Seles. Despite the defeat, Graf retained her position as a top-ranked player.

In the year 1992, she was the revival year for Graf. At the Olympics, Graf secured the silver medal. As for Virginia Slims Championships, she lost the tournament thrice in a row.

For the first time in a long, Graf was free from any kind of injury in 1994.

Steffi Graf began the year on a winning note, gaining triumph over the Australian Open where she defeated Arantxa Sanchez Vicario.

The next couple of games brought sad results as Graf was struggling with her form.

She lost against Mary Pierce in a French Open semi-final, and to Lori McNeil in the first round in Wimbledon.

The Virginia Slims Championships also brought depressing results as Graf went on to lose the same as well.

Steffi Graf took a breath of relief by defeating World No. 2 Hingis and World No. 1 Lindsay Davenport en route to the Philadelphia title in 1998.

Later, she went on to defeat World No. 3 Jana Novotna in the first round of the season-ending Chase Championships.

In the year 1999, she was a mixed bag. While she won quite a few warm-up games, she lost the quarter-finals of the Australian Open to Monica Seles.

As for French Open, Steffi Graf reached the finals, her first time in the last three years, and went on to win the same defeating Hingis.

Graf reached the finals of Wimbledon later losing it to Davenport. With this, she announced her retirement from the women’s tour. She was ranked in the World’s No. 3 position at that time.

Post-retirement, Graf played a few games and competed in some matches.

In the year 2009, she played a singles exhibition match against Kim Clijsters and a mixed doubles exhibition alongside her husband Andre Agassi against Tim Henman and Clijsters.

She played celebrity doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles before her strained calf muscle caused her exit.

Awards, Nomination

In the year 1986, Steffi Graf won her debut award in the category of ‘Newcomer of the Year’ by Corel WTA Tour.

She collected the ‘Player of the Year award eight times, four times in a row from 1987 to 1990 and 1993 to 1996.

Similarly, in 1988 she was the most significant year as she became the first and only tennis player to achieve the Calendar Year Golden Slam by winning all four Grand Slam singles titles and the Olympic gold medal in the same calendar year.

Steffi Graf was ranked#1 for 186 consecutive weeks, from August 17, 1987, to March 10, 1991.

Overall, she was ranked#1 for 377 weeks in total during her whole career, which is a record. The year 1999 witnessed Graf receiving numerous awards.