By Yemi Babalola Lagos
Our amazon for the week is no other than German tennis legend, Stephanie Maria Graf, popularly known as Steffi Graf. She was on June 14 1969 in then West Germany in the Mannheim, Baden-Wurttemberg area of Germany to an insurance sale representative father Peter Graf and her mom Heidi Schalk.
Steffi was introduced to tennis from a tender age by her father who as at then had a keen interest in the sport and hoped to become the sports coach at some point. Steffi was already practicing as early as the age of four. At the age of 13, she participated in her first European competition in 1982, and won the 12s and 18s tourney.
The following year Steffi began her full professional career in which she won no major titles but was steadily rising in the tennis rankings.
In 1984, being the youngest athlete representing West Germany (as then political discord was still on in Germany), she won the Tennis event in Los Angeles though no medal was awarded since the sport was not yet an official event then. During this period she was managed her Father alongside her Coach then Pavel Slozil.
Steffi won her first WTA title in 1986 as a 17 year old though before then was already challenging the dominance of then Elites, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. Defeating Chris Evert for the first time in the final of the Family Circle Cup in South Carolina and from then onward never lost to her all through her career.
By 1987, she fully matured on the court and this was her breakthrough year as she won her first Grand slam title, which is the French Open, once again defeating Chris Evert in the final of the slam. At the Wimbledon and US Open of the same year, she lost the titles to Martina Navratilova in the finals. The following year Steffi won all the Grand slam titles in the year 1988 and only lost three matches.
Looking at her overall career titles, she won 22 Grand slam singles titles and was second in the list of most grand slam titles won by a woman until Serena Williams equaled and overtook that record. Steffi has a career 107-titles and she is the third all time. Other titles won are five Tour finals titles; she is also a two time Federations cup title with her German team in 1987, 1992 and as well the Hopman Cup in 1993.
Steffi retired from professional tennis at the age of 30 in 1999 after battling series of injuries before that time. She retired as world no.3 after having quite an illustrious career on the court. Steffi was well recognized and instrumental in the growth and interest of Germans in the sport of tennis. She was the International Tennis Federation World Champion 7 times between 1987 and 1996. Steffi holds the record as the only player to win all four majors singles twice in two different decades
Steffi Graf was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2004 and the German Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. Her hometown Brühl, in 1988 awarded her the honourary citizen status. She was the WTA Player of the Year 8 times between 1987 and 1996. Steffi was the German Sportsperson of the Year 5 times between 1986 and 1999. She was named the 1988 BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year after emerging the First tennis player to win a calendar year Grand Slam.
Having had such an illustrious professional career, no doubt one would want to know what Steffi Graf’s personal life looks likes. Despite having a sheltered social life growing up, she caught the attention of former men’s world no.1 player Andre Agassi, and married him in the year 2001. They both have two children together and are happily married.
Currently she is a wife and mother; and sometimes spotted in the public at some tennis events. She never shies away from giving her two cents to issues in the tennis world. She is known for say ‘’ Sometimes I wish I could have been a bit more relaxed. But then I wouldn’t have been the same player’’.
