Legendary tennis star Steffi Graf is considered one of the greatest players to ever grace the courts. Nicknamed “Fraulein Forehand” because of her incredibly powerful tennis stroke, she dominated the sport in the 1980s and ‘90s. She was ranked the top female player by the Women’s Tennis Association for a record 377 weeks, of which 186 were consecutive. Graff was recognized for her stylistic footwork and the intense amount of strength she had despite her slender build.
Stefanie Maria Graf was born in 1969 in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany. She was introduced to tennis at the age of three by her father, an aspiring tennis coach, when he gave her a sawed-off racket to swing around in the family living room. By age 5 she was competing in tournaments and at 11 had been dubbed a “Wunderkind” by the German press.
Graf was 13 years old in 1983 when she had her first full professional year. She ranked at number 124 in the world, but by 1985 had skyrocketed to number 6. At the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Graf was only 15 years old when she represented West Germany and won the demonstration match.
Graf had her Grand Slam tournament breakthrough in 1987 when she defeated six-straight Wimbledon title holder Martina Navratilova. Graf won 75 of the 77 games she played that year and became the number-one player in women’s tennis. She continued her success in 1988 and achieved a Career Grand Slam by winning the four major tournaments: the 1987 French Open, 1988 Australian Open, 1988 Wimbledon, and 1988 US Open.
Graff added a Career Golden Slam by winning the singles Olympic gold medal at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. She continued to play throughout the 1990s, accumulating wins but also fighting through some devastating losses and having to miss tournaments to recover from injuries and surgeries. She retired in 1999 at age 30 still ranked number three in the world.
Throughout her career, Graf remained cool and collected on the court. She never had outbursts or tantrums and didn’t showboat when winning important points. These days she lives a quiet life in Las Vegas with another tennis great, her husband Andre Agassi. She prefers to go unrecognized and is not interested in a celebrity lifestyle.