Steffi Graf - Biography - IMDb
Steffi Graf
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Overview (4)
5' 9¼" (1.76 m)
Mini Bio (1)
Steffi Graf started playing tennis at age 3, coached by her father. Under the local tennis program, as the best girl player, she was matched up against the worst boy player -- who was usually Boris Becker . After winning the German Juniors and the European Juniors, she turned pro on October 18, 1982. The next day, she lost to Tracy Austin , who was less-than impressed with the 13 year old, telling reporters there were "hundreds of girls" like Graf back in the States. Peter kept a tight rein on Steffi's schedule to ensure that she wouldn't "burn out" as she climbed up the rankings. She finally won her first title on April 13, 1986, defeating Chris Evert at the Family Circle Cup. In total, Graf won 107 singles titles (third all-time behind Martina Navratilova and Evert), including 22 majors (second all-time).
She found herself at the center of a near-tragedy on April 30, 1993. As arch rival Monica Seles was resting during a changeover at the Hamburg Open, a man made his way through the stands, and plunged a knife into her back. At first, it was thought the attack was prompted by the conflict in Seles's native Yugoslavia. But it turned out Guenter Parche was a Graf fan, and reasoned that if he took Seles out, Graf would regain the #1 ranking. The attack reverberated across sports. It also changed the course of tennis history. Seles was off the court for 27 months. Although she won the 1996 Australian Open and was a finalist at the 1996 US Open and the 1998 French Open, Seles never regained her dominating form. Graf visited Seles in the hospital, but didn't comment publicly about the incident until 2004.
Graf retired on August 13, 1999 after beating Martina Hingis in the French Open, then losing to Lindsay Davenport at Wimbledon. By this time, she was dating Andre Agassi , whom also won the French Open, but was a finalist at Wimbledon that year. With only their mothers as witnesses, they were married on October 22, 2001 at his Las Vegas home four days before the birth of their son, Jaden. Daughter Jaz was born on October 3, 2003.
Famous for her killer instinct and business-like approach, at times she displayed a sense of humor. During a tight 1995 Wimbledon match against Kimiko Date , she was serving when a man yelled out "Steffi!" Everyone, including Steffi, laughed. Composing herself, she readied to serve when the man shouted "Steffi! Will you marry me?" The fans burst into peals of laughter, and play was delayed for a couple of minutes. Steffi readied to serve, tossed the ball, caught it, turned, and yelled to the man "How much money do you have?" Graf lost the set, but won the match to face (and defeat) Arantxa Sánchez Vicario for the title.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: ldavis-2
Spouse (1)
( 22 October  2001            -  present) (2 children)
Trivia (31)
First tennis player to win a calendar-year Grand Slam and an Olympic gold medal (1988).
Posed for the 1997 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in an effort to "feminize" her image.
Only player to win all four majors singles twice in two different decades.
Only player to win all four majors singles at least four times.
Only player to win all four majors on four different surfaces (carpet, clay, grass, hard court).
First player to beat the top three seeds in a major.
Was the #1 singles player for 186 straight weeks, broken by Roger Federer in August 2007. Her stay at #1 for a record 377 weeks total still stands.
At the age 13, became the second-youngest player ever to earn an international ranking.
German Sportswoman of the Year for four consecutive times from 1986 to 1989 and in 1999.
Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year 1989
Heads the non-profit foundation Children for Tomorrow, supporting and initiating projects that provide assistance to children and families who have become the victims of war, persecution and violence.
Born at 4:40 AM CET (Central Europe Time)
Career Prize Money: $20,130,835.00
Daughter of Peter Graf and Heidi Graf . Sister of Michael Graf . Peter spent nearly two years in jail after being convicted in 1997 of evading $7 million in taxes on her earnings.
Won a legal battle against Microsoft Germany about fake nude photos of her that were posted on a Web site run by the company. The photos were replaced in June at Graf's request, but the company declined to sign a formal agreement that they wouldn't use them again, so Graf sued. The state appeals court in Cologne upheld a ruling last October by a lower court, which had ruled that Microsoft Germany was responsible for the content of the site and must ensure that such pictures don't appear there (27 May 2002).
Gave birth to Jaden Gil Agassi, 3 weeks prematurely, on 26 October 2001 at 3:30 AM at Valley Hospital in Las Vegas, weighing 5 pounds, 14 ounces. While it was thought the baby's name originated from the Hebrew, meaning "God has listened," in a February 2002 interview, Graf disclosed that Jaden is a masculine form of jade, a word she had always liked, and Gil was in honor of Agassi's trainer, Gil Reyes .
Gave birth to her daughter Jaz Elle on 3 October 2003.
Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on 11 July 2004.
Ranked #3 in a survey by German network ZDF searching the 100 best German sportsmen of all time (19 November 2004).
Upon the birth of Christian Sampras, son of Pete Sampras and Bridgette Wilson-Sampras , London bookmakers gave the baby a 2,000-1 shot to beat Jaden Gil Agassi in a Wimbledon final.
She and Andre Agassi are the first two players to win all four majors singles titles and an Olympic gold medal.
Won the Australian Open (1988-1990, 1994), French Open (1987, 1988, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1999), Wimbledon (1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996), US Open (1988, 1989, 1993, 1995, 1996).
Was chosen "most admirable German woman" by the readers of "Amica" magazine (September 2005).
When they both won the singles' event at Wimbledon in 1992, she showed no interest in her later husband Andre Agassi at all. The officials didn't allow him to dance with her at the tournament's banquet, although he had been secretly pining for her as far back as 1990.
Resides with her family in Las Vegas.
Subject of "I'm in Love with Steffi Graf" by Hugh Laurie on A Bit of Fry and Laurie (1987).
Niece of Christel Ginepri , who acts as her spokesperson.
Two months after he resigned as Agassi's business manager in October 2008, Perry Rogers sued Graf for $50,000 in management fees.