Legend Bio: Steffi Graf

Stefanie Graf's dazzling career lit up women's tennis for more than a decade, powered by explosive movement and a devastating forehand, which was particularly effective when played inside-out.

When she was 13, Graf made history as the youngest player to appear in the main draw at Roland Garros. Within a few years marked by consistent progress she had emerged as the player who would end the hegemony of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert in women's tennis.   

In 1986, Graf defeated Evert for the first time to win her maiden WTA title at Hilton Head, South Carolina. In 1987, she defeated Navratilova to capture her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, making her first appearance in a major final.

A few months later, on August 17, 2017, she became the new World No.1 and duly capped the season by winning the first of five WTA Finals titles, defeating Gabriela Sabatini in the final.

Then came a season that remains unmatched. In 1988, Graf became the first and only player to achieve the calendar-year Golden Slam, winning all four major championships and the Olympic singles gold medal in Seoul. It was a year that set the tone for a dominance that ultimately yielded 107 singles titles and a career tally of 900 wins against 115 losses.

Graf's eventual 22 Grand Slam singles titles were generously spread across each major. She won the Australian Open four times (1988-90, 1994), Roland Garros six times (1987-88, 1993, 1995-96, 1999), Wimbledon seven times (1988-89, 1991, 1991-93, 1995-96), and the US Open on five occasions (1988-89, 1993, 1995-96). Against her most regular rivals in those title bouts she went 4-2 against Navratilova, 3-3 against Monica Seles, and 5-2 against Arantxa Sánchez Vicario.

In addition to her Golden Slam, Graf won three of the four majors in four different seasons. In effect, she achieved a quadruple career Grand Slam – the only player of either gender to achieve the feat. In total, she reached 31 Grand Slam singles finals and won 71% of them. 

She was formidable week in, week out, on the WTA Tour too. In addition to her five WTA Finals titles (1987, 1989, 1993, 1995-96), Graf won 16 WTA 1000-equivalent titles, including five at Miami and two at Indian Wells. She reigned supreme on home soil at Berlin, where she lifted the trophy eight times – the tournament where she enjoyed most success. She compiled a winning percentage above 89% on every surface.

In total, Graf spent a record 377 weeks as World No.1, including a streak of 186 consecutive weeks – a record shared with Serena Williams – and finished a record eight seasons in the top spot (1987–1990, 1993–1996). 

While singles defined her legacy, Graf also won 11 doubles titles, highlighted by 1988 Wimbledon with Gabriela Sabatini. She was a fixture for Germany in Fed Cup, leading the German team to the title over the United States in 1987 and Spain in 1992. 

Graf founded the charitable organization Children for Tomorrow in 1998, before winning her first Grand Slam in nearly three years – and the last of her storied career – with a memorable final against Martina Hingis at Roland Garros in 1999. She retired a few months later, at age 30, before marrying fellow tennis legend Andre Agassi in 2001. They have two children.

Graf was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2004.