- Graf, Steffi
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in full Stephanie Maria Grafborn June 14, 1969, Brühl, W.Ger.German tennis player.At age 13 she became the second youngest player ever to earn an international ranking. In 1987 she won her first grand-slam event (the French Open), and in 1988 she won all four grand-slam events (French, Australian, U.S., and Wimbledon) and an Olympic gold medal. Sidetracked by knee surgery in 1997, she played her way back to the top, winning the French Open in 1999 for her 22nd grand-slam title (including seven Wimbledon championships).
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▪ German athletebyname of Stephanie Maria Grafborn June 14, 1969, Brühl, West Germany [now in Germany]German tennis player who dominated women's tennis in the late 1980s and '90s.Graf began playing tennis with the encouragement of her father, who became her coach. At age 13 she became the second youngest player ever to earn an international ranking. In 1987 she won her first Grand Slam event, defeating Czech-born American Martina Navratilova (Navratilova, Martina) at the French Open. In 1988 she became the third woman to win all four Grand Slam tournaments (the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open (United States Open Tennis Championships)) in one calendar year, and she won a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea—an unprecedented feat that became known as the “Golden Slam.”Graf was known for her intensity, speed, and powerful forehand, and by the 1990s she had become one of the premier players in the world, winning multiple singles titles in the French Open (1987–88, 1993, 1995–96, 1999), Australian Open (1988–90, 1994), and U.S. Open (1988–89, 1993, 1995–96). Her seven victories at Wimbledon (Wimbledon Championships) (1988–89, 1991–93, 1995–96) were second in number to only Navratilova's nine. Soon after losing in the finals at Wimbledon in 1999, Graf, who had been plagued by injuries, retired from the sport.Graf's retirement did not remove her from the public spotlight. In 2001 she married fellow tennis great Andre Agassi, and the couple became involved in high-profile charitable causes and appeared in several television advertisements together. In 2004 Graf was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
