Stefanie Marie Graf better known as Steffi Graf and sometimes Fraulein Forehand always has been, and always will be, my favourite sports person. She won 22 Grand Slam titles, divided in seven titles at Wimbledon, six at the French Open, five at the US Open and four at the Australian Open. Who knows how many more she would have won if she hadn’t retired at the age of 30 because of injury-related problems. She was ranked World No 3 when she retired.
Born on June 14, 1969 in Mannheim, Germany, Steffi’s tennis debut was on October 18, 1982. On August 17, 1987, she became the No 1 seed and kept this place for 186 weeks in a row, until March 10, 1988. This fabulous record hasn’t been surpassed by any other player, man or woman, till date. She maintained the No 1 title for 377 weeks in total, again longer than any other player in the world. For eight years, Steffi finished the season at the No 1 seed.
In 1988, Steffi became the only player who could win all four Grand Slam tournaments in a year. And she also won the Olympic Gold medal the same year, making this her Golden Grand Slam year. With 107 titles, including the Olympic Gold medal, only Martina Navratilova with 167 and Chris Evert with 157 are ahead in overall ranking.
With her graceful 5’9” frame, her amazing serve, her speed, Steffi is simply the best athlete and most well-rounded player. Her trademark powerful forehand revolutionized the game, and her slice backhand, complimented her game perfectly. She was always the fastest player with the most endurance, the best conditioning, and the most will to win.
Steffi has a dreamlike run in her tennis career, with her amazing accomplishments. She was, however, bogged with controversy for a short period in the early 1990’s when a crazed fan stabbed the then Womens top seed Monica Seles, claiming he wanted Steffi back on the number one position. When she visited Monica at the hospital, they both were in tears.
Not only did Steffi excel in her professional life, her personal life is straight out of a fairy tale, too. She is happily married to American tennis star Andre Agassi since October 2001, and they have two children together a son named Jaden and a daughter, Jaz. Now that’s the kind of well rounded life we should all aspire to!