Steffi Graf

She won 22 major singles titles, the second-most in women's singles won since the start of the Open Era in 1968 and the third-most of all-time.

Stefanie Maria Graf (, ; born 14 June 1969) is a German former professional tennis player.

Stefanie Graf was born on 14 June 1969, in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany, to Heidi Schalk and car-and-insurance salesman Peter Graf (18 June 1938 − 30 November 2013).

When she was nine years old, her family moved to the neighboring town of Brühl.

She has a younger brother, Michael.

Her father, an aspiring tennis coach, first introduced her to the game, teaching his three-year-old daughter how to swing a wooden racket in the family's living room.

She began practising on a court at the age of four and played in her first tournament at five.

She soon began taking the top prize at junior tournaments with regularity, going on to win the European Championships 12s and 18s in 1982.

Graf played in her first professional tournament in October 1982 at Filderstadt, Germany.

She lost her first round match 6–4, 6–0 to Tracy Austin, a two-time US Open champion and former world No. 1 player.

(Twelve years later, Graf defeated Austin 6–0, 6–0 during a second round match at the Evert Cup in Indian Wells, California, which was their second and last match against each other.)

At the start of her first full professional year in 1983, Graf was 13 years old and ranked world No. 124.

She won no titles during the next three years, but her ranking climbed steadily to world No. 98 in 1983, No. 22 in 1984, and No. 6 in 1985.

In 1984, she first gained international attention when she almost upset the tenth seed, Jo Durie of the United Kingdom, in a fourth round Centre Court match at Wimbledon.

In August as a 15-year-old (and youngest entrant) representing West Germany, she won the tennis demonstration event at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

No medals were awarded as this was not an official Olympic event.

Graf's schedule was closely controlled by her father, who limited her play so that she would not burn out.

In 1985, for instance, she played only ten events leading up to the US Open, whereas another up-and-coming star, Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina, who was a year younger than Graf, played 21.

Peter Graf also kept a tight rein on Graf's personal life.

Social invitations on the tour were often declined as Graf's focus was kept on practicing and match play.

Graf reached 13 consecutive singles major finals from the 1987 French Open to the 1990 French Open, winning nine of them.

In 1988, Graf became the first tennis player to achieve the Golden Slam by winning all four major singles titles and the Olympic gold medal in the same calendar year.

She is the only tennis player, male or female, to have won each major singles tournament at least four times.

Graf was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for a record 377 total weeks.

She won 107 singles titles, ranking her third on the WTA's all-time list after Martina Navratilova (167 titles) and Chris Evert (157 titles).

She and Margaret Court are the only players, female or male, to win three majors in a calendar year five times (1988, 1989, 1993, 1995 and 1996).

Notable features of Graf's game were her versatility across all playing surfaces, footwork and powerful forehand drive.

Graf's athletic ability and aggressive game played from the baseline have been credited with developing the modern style of play that has come to dominate today's game.

She won six French Open singles titles (second to Evert), seven Wimbledon singles titles, four Australian Open titles, and five US Open singles titles.

She is the only singles player (male or female) to have achieved a Grand Slam across three surfaces (grass, clay, and hard courts).

She won five consecutive singles majors (1988 Australian Open to 1989 Australian Open), and seven out of eight, in two calendar years (1988 Australian Open to 1989 US Open, except 1989 French Open).

She reached a total of 31 major finals in singles.

Graf retired at the age of 30 in 1999 while ranked as the world No. 3. Martina Navratilova placed Graf at the top of her list of the greatest players ever.

In the year of Graf's retirement, Billie Jean King said, "Steffi [Graf] is definitely the greatest women's tennis player of all time."

In December 1999, Graf was named the greatest female tennis player of the 20th century by a panel of experts assembled by the Associated Press.

When asked in an interview to name the greatest players of all time, Serena Williams stated Graf and Roger Federer.

Graf married former world No. 1 men's tennis player Andre Agassi in October 2001.

They have two children.

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

Along with Boris Becker, Graf was considered instrumental in popularizing tennis in Germany, where it remains one of the foremost national sports.