Biography

Steffi Graf is a German professional tennis player.

She was ranked world No. 1 and won 22 Grand Slam singles titles. In 1988, she became the only tennis player to achieve the Golden Slam by winning all four Grand Slam singles titles and the Olympic gold medal in the same calendar year. She is the only tennis player to have won each Grand Slam tournament at least four times.

Graf was ranked world No. 1 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for a record 377 total weeks - the longest period for which any player, male or female, has held the number-one ranking. She won 107 singles titles.

Graf's athletic ability and aggressive game played from the baseline have been credited with developing the modern style of play that has come to dominate today's game. Notable features of Graf's game were her versatility across all playing surfaces, footwork and powerful forehand drive. She won six French Open singles titles, seven Wimbledon singles titles, four Australian Open titles, and five U.S. Open singles titles. Graf's Grand Slam was achieved on grass, clay, and hard court while the previous five Grand Slams were decided on only grass and clay. Graf reached thirteen consecutive major singles finals, from the 1987 French Open through to the 1990 French Open, winning nine of them. She won 5 consecutive major singles tournaments (1988 Australian Open to 1989 Australian Open). She reached a total of 31 major singles finals.
- IMDb mini biography by: Tango Papa

Steffi Graf started playing tennis at age 3, coached by her father Peter. Under the local tennis program, as the best girls' player, she usually played the worst boys' player, who was usually Boris Becker. After winning the German Juniors and the European Juniors, she turned pro on October 18, 1982. The next day, she lost to Tracy Austin, who was less-than impressed with the 13-year-old, telling reporters there were "hundreds of girls" like Graf in the States. Peter kept a tight rein on Steffi's schedule to ensure that she wouldn't "burn out" as she climbed the rankings. She defeated Chris Evert at the Family Circle Cup for her first title on April 13, 1986, and never lost to Evert again. In total, Graf won 107 singles titles, including 22 majors.

She found herself at the center of a near-tragedy on April 30, 1993. As arch-rival Monica Seles was resting during a changeover at the Hamburg Open, a man made his way through the stands and plunged a knife into her back. At first, it was thought the attack was prompted by the conflict in Seles's native Yugoslavia. But it turned out that Guenter Parche was a Graf fan, and reasoned if he took Seles out, Graf would regain the #1 ranking. The attack reverberated across sports. It also changed the course of tennis history. Seles was off the court for 27 months, and never regained her dominating form. Graf visited Seles in the hospital but didn't comment publicly about the incident until 2004.

Graf retired on August 13, 1999, after beating Martina Hingis in the French Open, then losing to Lindsay Davenport at Wimbledon. By this time, she was dating Andre Agassi, who also won the French Open, but was a finalist at Wimbledon that year. With only their mothers as witnesses, they were married at his Las Vegas home four days before the birth of their son. Their daughter was born in 2003.

Famous for her killer instinct and business-like approach, at times she displayed a sense of humor. During a tight 1995 Wimbledon match against Kimiko Date, she was serving when a man yelled: "Steffi!". Everyone, including Steffi, laughed. Composing herself, she readied to serve when the man shouted: "Steffi! Will you marry me?". The fans burst into peals of laughter, and play was delayed for a couple of minutes. She readied to serve, tossed the ball, caught it, turned, and yelled to the man: "How much money do you have?". Graf lost the set but won the match, and defeated Arantxa Sánchez Vicario for the title.
- IMDb mini biography by: ldavis-2