Steffi Graf: The legendary journey of tennis' Golden Slam champion

As far as tennis is concerned, Steffi Graff has done it all. With a record-breaking 377 weeks as a world number one and being the only player to win a Golden Slam in a single year, the German superstar has a legitimate claim to being one of the greatest in the sport's history.

It wasn't alway so easy though. Let's take a look back at the highs and lows of a tennis legend.

"The Countess", as Steffi Graf is known in tennis circles, has won 22 Grand Slam tournaments and, with 377 weeks at the top spot had the longest stint at number one until February 2023, when it was overtaken by Novak Djokovic.

Stefanie Marie "Steffi" Graf was born on June 14, 1969 in Mannheim. At the age of three she held a tennis racket in her hands for the first time.

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Graf's father, Peter Graf, developed a passion for tennis at the age of 27, playing in the German regional league and working as a tennis coach. He quickly recognized his daughter's exceptional talent.

Photo: Steffi Graf with her parents Heidi and Peter Graf.

At the age of five, Steffi Graf won the "Jünsten Tournament" in Munich and continued that winning form.

In order to encourage his daughter's talent, Peter Graf gave up his jobs as an insurance salesman and used car dealer and devoted himself exclusively to supporting the then nine-year-old Steffi Graf, as The Telegraph recounted.

Peter employed Polish tennis player Daniela Nosek, former number 92 in the women's world rankings, to offer key advice and help with practical training.

In 1981, at the age of eleven, Graf competed in the adult indoor championships. Gaf played against Eva Pfaff, who was ranked 80th in the world at the time – and Graf became a sensation. Pfaff was only able to beat Graf after three tough rounds.

Klaus Hofsäss, the national coach at the time, said when asked that Steffi Graf was the greatest talent that had ever existed in Germany and that she was also unrivaled in her age group worldwide, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Graf's career progressed in leaps and bounds. At the age of 13 she was registered as a professional player. The Graf father-daughter team also received criticism for this.

Experts feared that Graf would be overwhelmed and was at risk of mental and physical burnout, but the young Graf was determined to go all the way to the top.

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Graf was especially known for her hard-hitting forehand, which earned her the nicknames  "Fraulein Forehand/Miss Forehand" and "Countess Merciless".

The year 1988 marked an extraordinary achievement for Steffi Graf, as she became the first and only tennis player to win all four Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold medal in a single calendar year. This remarkable feat, known as the Golden Slam, cemented her place in sports history.

Although various tennis players have achieved a career Grand Slam (four Grand Slam wins and one Olympic victory in their entire career), the Golden Slam, for both women and men, in the same year has only been achieved by Steffi Graf.

On October 1, 1988, Steffi Graf became a legend – even though she was only 19 at the time!

In the years that followed, Graf continued to win multiple Grand Slam titles. However, the physical toll of her career began to take its toll, leading to injuries that forced her to skip the Australian Open in Melbourne during the mid-1990s.

On August 13, 1999, the then-30-year-old Steffi Graf announced her retirement from professional tennis at a press conference.

Two scandals overshadowed Steffi Graf's career. First, there was the knife attack by a mentally ill Graf fan in 1993, who attacked and injured the world number one, Monica Seles.

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The second scandal affected the Graf family directly. Investigations into suspected tax evasion began as early as 1995. Entry fees and prize money had been transferred to foreign accounts.

The case against Steffi Graf was dropped because she could credibly assure that she was not involved in the finances. Her father Peter Graf was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison in 1997.

Steffi Graf has been married to US tennis player Andre Agassi since 2001, with whom she has a son and a daughter. Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi live in Las Vegas.

Today, Steffi Graf is involved in her "Children for Tomorrow" foundation, which works to help traumatized children.

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