58 Fun Facts About Steffi Graf

In which German city was Steffi Graf born in 1969?

Mannheim was her birthplace; her father Peter, a car and insurance salesman, later gave up his job to coach her full time.

Which man finally passed Graf's record 377 weeks as world No. 1?

Novak Djokovic began his 378th week at No. 1 in February 2023 and said he was 'flattered' to pass Graf, having beaten the men's record of 310 weeks two years earlier.

Which woman's 24 singles majors top Graf's 22?

Margaret Court won 13 of her 24 as an amateur, before the Open Era began in 1968, so Graf's 22 stood as the Open Era record until 2017.

Graf alone has won every major at least four times, but which one did she win exactly four times?

The Australian Open, which she won in 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1994; injuries kept her out of it in 1995 and 1996, the two years she swept the other three majors.

Opponents aimed at Graf's backhand side, where she almost always replied with which shot?

A slice. She seldom hit over the ball on that side, which is why rivals aimed there, yet she kept the shot so low that it set up her next attack.

Which former teenage prodigy beat the 13-year-old Graf in her first professional match, at Filderstadt in 1982?

Tracy Austin, the youngest US Open champion at 16, won 6–4, 6–0 and said there were 'hundreds' like Graf back in America.

What did the 15-year-old Graf win at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics?

The tennis demonstration event carried no medals and was limited to players aged 20 or under; Graf, the youngest in the draw, still won it.

Where did Graf's father first teach his three-year-old daughter to swing a wooden racket?

In the family living room, where Peter Graf had sawn the handle off a racket so that she could hold it, and the two rallied indoors.

Whom did Graf beat for her first WTA title at Hilton Head in 1986, never losing to her again?

Chris Evert had won all six of their earlier meetings; after this 6–4, 7–5 win at Hilton Head, Graf took the remaining seven as well.

In which city did the 17-year-old Graf win her first major title in 1987?

Paris. In the French Open final the world No. 1 served for the title at 5–3 in the third set, then double-faulted on match point; 'I'm happy and sorry I won the match,' Graf said.

Which player later matched Graf's record of 186 consecutive weeks as world No. 1?

Serena Williams drew level in September 2016, then lost the No. 1 ranking the very next week, one week short of taking the record outright.

What is the name for Graf's 1988 feat of winning all four majors and the Olympic title in one year?

The Golden Slam. She sealed it by beating the same rival in the US Open final and, three weeks later, in the Olympic final.

Whom did Graf beat 6–0, 6–0 in about half an hour in the 1988 French Open final?

Natasha Zvereva, a 17-year-old who had beaten the second seed on the way, won only 13 points in the first 6–0, 6–0 major final since 1911.

Whose run of six straight Wimbledon titles did Graf end in the 1988 final, after trailing by a set and a break?

Martina Navratilova led 7–5, 2–0 before Graf won 12 of the last 13 games; 'I succumbed to a better player,' the champion said afterwards.

Which American teenager was the first woman to win all four majors in one year, 35 years before Graf?

Maureen Connolly, known as Little Mo, did it in 1953 at 18; a riding accident the following summer crushed her leg and ended her career at 19.

In which city did Graf win her only Olympic singles gold medal?

Seoul. In the final she beat the opponent she had beaten in the US Open final weeks earlier, a rival who was also her doubles partner that year.

Graf's only major doubles title came at Wimbledon in 1988 with which partner?

Gabriela Sabatini was also her fiercest rival that year: within three months of their Wimbledon title together, Graf beat her in both the US Open and Olympic finals.

Who upset Graf in the semifinals of the 1988 season-ending championships, only her third defeat of the year?

Pam Shriver's 6–3, 7–6 win in New York cost Graf the one big title she missed in 1988, after she had swept all four majors and the Olympic tournament.

Which 17-year-old ended Graf's run of five straight major titles in the 1989 French Open final?

Arantxa Sánchez Vicario won 7–5 in the third set after Graf had served for the title at 5–3; it was Graf's only loss at a major in 1989 and cost her a second straight sweep of all four.

Rain during Graf's opening major final of 1988 led to which first for a major final?

Play under a roof: organisers closed the sliding roof of Melbourne's new stadium after a delay of more than an hour, and Graf went on to win 6–1, 7–6 indoors.

What sent Graf running off court in tears seconds after she won her 1989 US Open semifinal?

Leg cramps. Both thighs had seized up late in the third set, so she threw down her racket at match point and ran for treatment, then came back to win the final.

Which German newspaper ran the 1990 scandal story about Graf's father that left her in tears at a Wimbledon press conference?

Bild ran a former model's claim that Peter Graf had fathered her child. Tests later proved that he had not.

In the 1992 Wimbledon final, Graf's opponent played almost silently after complaints about which habit?

Grunting. After a fortnight of complaints and newspaper 'gruntometers', Monica Seles stayed quiet and lost 6–2, 6–1; Graf thought all the talk 'got to her a little bit'.

Who beat Graf in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic final, leaving her with silver?

Jennifer Capriati was 16; she lost the first set, then came back to beat the top seed and defending champion for the gold medal.

In which city was Monica Seles stabbed by a Graf fan in 1993?

Hamburg. Günter Parche said he wanted Graf back at No. 1; he received a suspended sentence, and Seles, out for 27 months, vowed never to play in Germany again.

Who wept on the Duchess of Kent's shoulder after losing to Graf at Wimbledon?

Jana Novotná led the 1993 final 4–1 in the deciding set with a point for 5–1, then lost five games in a row; five years later she came back and won the title.

Graf's father and manager Peter was jailed in the 1990s for which offence involving her earnings?

Tax evasion. He was sentenced to 45 months and served 25, and prosecutors dropped their case against Steffi herself once she agreed to pay 1.3 million marks.

When Graf's rival Monica Seles returned to the tour in 1995, which special status was she given?

A shared No. 1 ranking, because she had held the top spot when she was attacked 27 months earlier. Graf then beat her in three sets in the US Open final, their first meeting since.

Whom did Graf beat in the 1999 French Open final for her 22nd and last major?

Martina Hingis, 18 and world No. 1, had said Graf's 'time has passed'; she came within three points of the title, then lost 4–6, 7–5, 6–2 and ended the match in tears.

Who beat Graf in her ninth and final Wimbledon singles final in 1999?

Lindsay Davenport won 6–4, 7–5 for her only Wimbledon title; it turned out to be Graf's last match at a major, and she retired six weeks later.

Graf's much-publicised 1999 Wimbledon mixed doubles partnership was with which player?

John McEnroe, by then 40, reached the semifinals with her, but Graf pulled out before they could play it to save herself for the singles final.

Why did Graf say she retired in 1999 while ranked world No. 3?

No longer fun, she said, insisting that she was 'perfectly fit' and that injuries had nothing to do with it: 'I have done everything I wanted to do in tennis.'

Which player in 2016 became the first German to win a major singles title since Graf in 1999?

Angelique Kerber grew up idolising Graf and later became her friend; before Kerber's US Open final that September, Graf sent her a good-luck message, and she won.

What nickname did Graf's signature inside-out groundstroke earn her?

Fräulein Forehand hit the shot late and often with both feet off the ground; her footwork was quick enough that she could afford to.

In which city did Graf win the German Open, her home tournament, a record nine times?

Berlin crowds saw her win it nine times between 1986 and 1996, but also saw her 66-match winning streak end there in the 1990 final.

Graf founded Children for Tomorrow in 1998 to help children traumatised by what?

War and violence. Its main project is a clinic that gives therapy to refugee children and their families, built up with a German university hospital.

Which fellow tennis great has Graf been married to since 2001?

Andre Agassi married her in October 2001 with only their two mothers as witnesses, four days before their first child was born.

Which sport did Graf's son Jaden choose over tennis, later playing it for Germany?

Baseball. The son of two tennis champions became a pitcher, played for the University of Southern California and then joined Germany's national team.

In which US city have Graf and her family made their home?

Las Vegas is her husband's home town; the family lives in its suburb of Summerlin, and Graf's mother and brother moved there too.

Michael Bartels, Graf's partner from 1992 to 1999, made his name in which sport?

Motor racing. Bartels entered four Formula One races in 1991 without qualifying for any, then won titles in GT cars; he and Graf parted in 1999, the year she retired.

In which sport did Graf and her husband win a televised million-dollar 'Slam' in 2024?

Pickleball. The couple took it up with their children during the 2020 lockdowns, and four years later they beat two fellow former world No. 1s for the prize.

Which women's team competition did Graf win with her country in 1987 and 1992?

The Fed Cup, then called the Federation Cup: she won it once for West Germany and once for the reunified Germany, losing only two of her 22 singles matches in it.

Which BBC award did Graf win in 1988?

Overseas Sports Personality of the Year, the BBC's prize for a non-British athlete, came to her after she swept every major of 1988; the boxer Mike Tyson won it next.

Which name has Graf preferred to be called since 2001?

Stefanie is the name she was given at birth; she asked for it in 2001, the year she married, and the Hall of Fame inducted her under it three years later.

Tennis Channel's 2012 list of the 100 greatest players ranked Graf third and the top woman; which man came first?

Roger Federer led the list from Rod Laver, with Graf third, even though his 16 major titles at the time were six fewer than her 22.

Which coach worked alongside Graf's father during her rise to No. 1, practising with her up to four hours a day?

Pavel Složil, a Czech doubles specialist once ranked No. 4 in the world, coached her until 1991 and even partnered her in the mixed doubles at Wimbledon in 1988.

Which player, together with Graf, is credited with popularising tennis in Germany?

Boris Becker won Wimbledon at 17 in 1985, two years before Graf's first major, and the era ended as it began: both retired in the summer of 1999, six weeks apart.

Who beat Graf in the 1990 Wimbledon semifinals, ending her run of 13 straight major finals?

Zina Garrison had lost the first 20 points of a final against Graf the year before; here she won 6–3, 3–6, 6–4 to reach her only major singles final.

To which town did Graf's family move when she was nine, later making her an honorary citizen?

Brühl made her an honorary citizen at the end of 1988, and she kept her home there throughout her career, when many leading players had moved abroad.

Graf's 1988 sweep spanned three surfaces; every earlier singles sweep had three of its majors on what?

Grass. The US Open and Melbourne's major were still played on it when the earlier sweeps were won; both had switched to hard courts by 1988, Melbourne that very year.

Which 18-year-old did Graf beat in the 1990 Australian Open final, her eighth major title in nine attempts?

Mary Joe Fernández lost 6–3, 6–4 in her first major final; it was the high point of Graf's first reign, and from 1990 to 1992 she won only one major a year.

Which illness forced Graf to miss the first major of 1992?

Rubella, better known as German measles, kept her out of the tournament in Melbourne, and on her return she lost three of her first four events.

Which former Swiss player became Graf's coach in 1992 after her father approached him?

Heinz Günthardt, a Wimbledon doubles champion in 1985, stayed until she retired; he once likened her habit of leaping at the ball to Fred Flintstone: 'if you're in the air, you can't move.'

Who beat Graf in the first round of Wimbledon in 1994, her only defeat there from 1991 to 1996?

Lori McNeil won 7–5, 7–6, and it was no fluke: she had also knocked Graf out in the first round of the 1992 season-ending championships.

Which body named a rival its 1994 World Champion even though Graf ended the year ranked No. 1?

The ITF looked at the year's biggest events, where a Spanish rival had won two majors to Graf's one, while the WTA stood by its computer rankings and named Graf.

Which German did Graf beat in a five-set final at the 1995 season-ending WTA Championships?

Anke Huber took her the full distance over two hours and 46 minutes; the final of this event was then the only women's match anywhere played over the best of five sets.

Which South African handed Graf the worst defeat of her career, 6–0, 6–1 in 56 minutes, in 1997?

Amanda Coetzer beat her three times that year, twice at majors; a week after the last of them Graf had reconstructive knee surgery and missed the rest of the season's majors.

Which car maker signed Graf to a ten-year endorsement deal in 1985?

She later played with Wilson Pro Staff racquets, switching to the 7.5 in 1996 and the 7.1 in 1998.