Famous Players : Men
Famous Players : Women
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Famous Tennis Players
Steffi Graf
Stefanie Maria Graf (born June 14, 1969, in Mannheim, West Germany) is a former World No. 1 ranked female tennis player from Germany. She is generally considered to be one of the greatest female tennis players of all time. Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, more than any player – male or female – during the open era.(Margaret Court won 24 Grand Slam singles titles, 11 of them during the open era.)
In 1988, Graf became the only player, male or female, to win the "Golden Slam" – capturing all four Grand Slam singles titles and an Olympic gold medal in the same year. She was ranked the Women's Tennis Association's No. 1 player for a record 377 weeks – the longest of any player, male or female, since rankings began – and is the only player to have won all four Grand Slam singles tournaments (Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, the French Open and the Australian Open) at least four times each.
A notable feature of Graf's game was her versatility across all playing surfaces, exemplified by her winning six French Open singles titles (second to Chris Evert) and seven Wimbledon singles titles (third behind Martina Navratilova and Helen Wills Moody). She is the only singles player, male or female, to have achieved a true Grand Slam across all three types of tennis courts, as the other five true singles Grand Slams occurred when the Australian and U.S. Opens were still played on grass. Graf reached thirteen consecutive Grand Slam singles finals, from the French Open in 1987 through the French Open in 1990, winning nine of them. She played in 36 Grand Slam singles tournaments from the 1987 French Open through the 1996 US Open, reaching the finals 29 times and winning 21 titles.
Graf retired in 1999, giving her the distinction of being the highest ranked player to retire.
Graf is married to the former World No. 1 men's tennis player Andre Agassi.
During her career, Graf won 107 singles titles and 11 doubles titles. Her 22 Grand Slam singles titles are second only to Margaret Court, who won 24. Graf won 7 singles titles at Wimbledon, 6 singles titles at the French Open, 5 singles titles at the US Open, and 4 singles titles at the Australian Open. She is the only person to have won at least 4 singles titles at each Grand Slam event. Her overall record in 56 Grand Slam events was 282-34 (89 percent) (87-10 at the French Open, 75-8 at Wimbledon, 73-10 at the US Open, and 47-6 at the Australian Open). Her career prize-money earnings totalled US$21,895,277. Her singles win-loss record was 902-115 (89 percent). She was ranked No. 1 for 377 weeks (non-consecutive), including a record 186 consecutive weeks (from August 1987-March 1991) – longer than any other man or woman player.
Grand Slam singles finals
Year |
Championship |
Position |
Opponent |
Score |
1987 |
French Open |
Champion |
Martina Navratilova |
6-4, 4-6, 8-6 |
1988 |
Australian Open |
Champion |
Chris Evert |
6-1, 7-6 |
1988 |
French Open |
Champion |
Natalia Zvereva |
6-0, 6-0 |
1988 |
Wimbledon |
Champion |
Martina Navratilova |
5-7, 6-2, 6-1 |
1988 |
U.S. Open |
Champion |
Gabriela Sabatini |
6-3, 3-6, 6-1 |
1989 |
Australian Open |
Champion |
Helena Suková |
6-4, 6-4 |
1989 |
Wimbledon |
Champion |
Martina Navratilova |
6-2, 6-7, 6-1 |
1989 |
U.S. Open |
Champion |
Martina Navratilova |
3-6, 7-5, 6-1 |
1990 |
Australian Open |
Champion |
Mary Joe Fernández |
6-3, 6-4 |
1991 |
Wimbledon |
Champion |
Gabriela Sabatini |
6-4, 3-6, 8-6 |
1992 |
Wimbledon |
Champion |
Monica Seles |
6-2, 6-1 |
1993 |
French Open |
Champion |
Mary Joe Fernández |
4-6, 6-2, 6-4 |
1993 |
Wimbledon |
Champion |
Jana Novotná |
7-6, 1-6, 6-4 |
1993 |
U.S. Open |
Champion |
Helena Suková |
6-3, 6-3 |
1994 |
Australian Open |
Champion |
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario |
6-0, 6-2 |
1995 |
French Open |
Champion |
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario |
7-5, 4-6, 6-0 |
1995 |
Wimbledon |
Champion |
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario |
4-6, 6-1, 7-5 |
1995 |
U.S. Open |
Champion |
Monica Seles |
7-6, 0-6, 6-3 |
1996 |
French Open |
Champion |
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario |
6-3, 6-7, 10-8 |
1996 |
Wimbledon |
Champion |
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario |
6-3, 7-5 |
1996 |
U.S. Open |
Champion |
Monica Seles |
7-5, 6-4 |
1999 |
French Open |
Champion |
Martina Hingis |
4-6, 7-5, 6-2 |
1987 |
Wimbledon |
Runner-Up |
Martina Navratilova |
7-5, 6-3 |
1987 |
U.S. Open |
Runner-Up |
Martina Navratilova |
7-6, 6-1 |
1989 |
French Open |
Runner-Up |
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario |
7-6, 3-6, 7-5 |
1990 |
French Open |
Runner-Up |
Monica Seles |
7-6, 6-4 |
1990 |
U.S. Open |
Runner-Up |
Gabriela Sabatini |
6-2, 7-6 |
1992 |
French Open |
Runner-Up |
Monica Seles |
6-2, 3-6, 10-8 |
1993 |
Australian Open |
Runner-Up |
Monica Seles |
4-6, 6-3, 6-2 |
1994 |
U.S. Open |
Runner-Up |
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario |
1-6, 7-6, 6-4 |
1999 |
Wimbledon |
Runner-Up |
Lindsay Davenport |
6-4, 7-5 |
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