MONICA SELES, PLAYING FOR YUGOSLAVIA AND THE USA

Today, The Grandma has been reading about Monica Seles, the Yugoslavian tennis player who was born on a day like today in 1973.

Monica Seles (born December 2, 1973) is a former world No. 1 tennis player who represented Yugoslavia and the United States. She won nine major singles titles, eight of them as a teenager while representing Yugoslavia, and the final one while representing the United States.

In 1990, Seles became the youngest-ever French Open champion at the age of 16. She went on to win eight major singles titles before turning 20 and was the year-end No. 1 in 1991 and 1992. However, on April 30, 1993, while playing a match, she was the victim of an on-court attack when an obsessed fan of Seles' rival Steffi Graf stabbed Seles in the back with a 23 cm knife as she was sitting down between games. Seles did not return to tennis for over two years after the stabbing.

Though she enjoyed success after returning in 1995, including another major championship at the 1996 Australian Open, she was unable to consistently produce her best tennis. She played her last professional match at the 2003 French Open but did not officially retire until February 2008.

Regarded by many as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Seles was named one of the 30 Legends of Women's Tennis: Past, Present and Future by Time. Several players and historians have stated that Seles had the potential to become the most accomplished female player of all time had she not been stabbed. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009.

Seles was born in Yugoslavia to an ethnic Hungarian family. Her parents are Ester and Karolj (Eszter and Károly in Hungarian) and she has an older brother, Zoltan (Zoltán in Hungarian). She began playing tennis at age five, coached by her father, a professional cartoonist employed for decades at the Dnevnik and Magyar Szó newspapers, who drew pictures for her to make her tennis more fun. He is responsible for developing her two-handed style for both the forehand and backhand. Later, her coach was Jelena Genčić.

In 1985, at the age of 11, she won the Junior Orange Bowl tournament in Miami, Florida, catching the attention of tennis coach Nick Bollettieri.

In early 1986, Seles and her brother Zoltan moved from Yugoslavia to the United States, and Seles enrolled at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, where she trained for two years and continued to practice until March 1990. Nine months after their arrival at the academy, Seles' mother and father joined her and Zoltan in Florida.

Seles played her first professional tournament as an amateur in 1988 at age 14.

In the spring of 2003, Seles sustained a foot injury. She was forced to withdraw during the second set of a match against Nadia Petrova at the Italian Open. Then, a couple of weeks later and still injured, she lost in straight sets to the same player in the first round of the 2003 French Open. It was the only time she ever lost a first-round match at a Grand Slam. She never again played an official tour match.

In February 2005, Seles played two exhibition matches in New Zealand against Navratilova. Despite losing both matches, she played competitively and announced that she could return to the game early in 2006; however, she did not do so. She played three exhibition matches against Navratilova in 2007. On April 5, she defeated Navratilova in Houston, Texas on clay.

On September 14, Seles defeated Navratilova on an indoor court in New Orleans On September 16, she beat her on clay in Bucharest.

Seles was a baseline player who was known for her power-based, highly aggressive playing style. Her unconventional double-handed forehand and backhand were both hit flat, with relentless speed, power, and depth. As a result of her two-handed groundstrokes, she could create sharp angles around the court, and hit winners at will.

She was an aggressive return player, and would stand within the baseline to return serves. Further strengths included her fitness, speed, and court coverage, allowing her to be an excellent retriever, and hit winners from any position on the court.

Prior to her stabbing, Seles' greatest strengths were her powerful groundstrokes and mental toughness, with her being described as one of the toughest players to beat on the WTA tour.

Seles was also known for accompanying her shots with loud grunting, and was frequently criticized for doing so. Due to her aggressive power game, she is considered one of the inspirations for modern WTA players such as Serena and Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, and Victoria Azarenka.

More information: Instagram-Monica Seles

Tennis has to become everything to you
if you're going to make it to the top.
You have to live it.

Monica Seles

IF ALEX WEASLEY PLAYS WELL, HE WINS WIMBLEDON

Today, The Weasleys & The Grandma are visiting Wimbledon courts, where Alejandro Weasley is playing n the oldest tennis tournament in the world.

Before this, the family has studied Zero Conditional & Comparative of Equality.

  

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The Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is played on outdoor grass courts, with retractable roofs over the two main courts since 2019.

Wimbledon is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the others being the Australian Open, the French Open, and the US Open. Wimbledon is the only major still played on grass, the traditional tennis playing surface. Also, it is the only Grand Slam that retains a night-time curfew, though matches can now continue until 11.00 pm under the lights.

The tournament traditionally takes place over two weeks in late June and early July, starting on the last Monday in June and culminating with the Ladies' and Gentlemen's Singles Finals, scheduled for the Saturday and Sunday at the end of the second week. Five major events are held each year, with additional junior and invitational competitions also taking place. 

In 2009, Wimbledon's Centre Court was fitted with a retractable roof to lessen the loss of playing time due to rain. A roof was operational over No. 1 Court from 2019, when a number of other improvements were made, including adding cushioned seating, a table and 10 independently operable cameras per court to capture the games.

Wimbledon traditions include a strict all-white dress code for competitors, and royal patronage. Strawberries and cream are traditionally consumed at the tournament. Unlike other tournaments, advertising is minimal and low key from official suppliers such as Slazenger and Rolex. The relationship with Slazenger is the world's longest-running sporting sponsorship, providing balls for the tournament since 1902.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 Wimbledon was cancelled, the first cancellation of the tournament since World War II. The rescheduled 134th edition was staged from 28 June 2021 to 11 July 2021, following from the 2020 cancellation. The 135th edition was played between 27 June 2022 and 10 July 2022, and regularly scheduled play occurred on the middle Sunday for the first time. It marks the centenary of the inaugural championships staged at the Centre Court. The ATP, ITF, and WTA did not award ranking points for the 2022 tournament, due to controversy over the tournament excluding players representing Russia and Belarus.

The 2023 Wimbledon Championships will be the 136th staging and will run from 3 July 2023 to 16 July 2023 and it will be the first event of King Charles III since the death of the former patron, Queen Elizabeth II, on 8 September 2022.

More information: Wimbledon

The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is a private club founded on 23 July 1868, originally as The All England Croquet Club. Its first ground was at Nursery Road off Worple Road, Wimbledon.

In 1876, lawn tennis, a game devised by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield a year or so earlier as an outdoor version of real tennis and originally given the name Sphairistikè, was added to the activities of the club. 

In spring 1877, the club was renamed The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club and signalled its change of name by instituting the first Lawn Tennis Championship. A new code of laws, replacing the code administered by the Marylebone Cricket Club, was drawn up for the event. Today's rules are similar except for details such as the height of the net and posts and the distance of the service line from the net.

The inaugural 1877 Wimbledon Championship started on 9 July 1877 and the Gentlemen's Singles was the only event held. 22 men paid a guinea to enter the tournament, which was to be held over five days. The rain delayed it four more days and thus, on 19 July 1877, the final was played. Spencer Gore, an old Harrovian rackets player, defeated William Marshall 6–1, 6–2 and 6–4 in 48 minutes. Gore was presented with the silver challenge cup, valued at 25 guineas and donated by the sports magazine The Field, as well as a prize money of 12 guineas. About 200 spectators paid one shilling each to watch the final.

The lawns at the ground were arranged so that the principal court was in the middle with the others arranged around it, hence the title Centre Court. The name was retained when the Club moved in 1922 to the present site in Church Road, although no longer a true description of its location. However, in 1980 four new courts were brought into commission on the north side of the ground, which meant the Centre Court was once more correctly described. The opening of the new No. 1 Court in 1997 emphasised the description.

Wimbledon is widely considered the world's premier tennis tournament and the priority of the club is to maintain its leadership. To that end a long-term plan was unveiled in 1993, intended to improve the quality of the event for spectators, players, officials and neighbours.

More information: English Club

There's a certain beauty and majesty to Wimbledon.
The elegance, the way the grass looks on TV.

John McEnroe

CHRIS M. EVERT LLOYD, THE AMERICAN 'ICE PRINCESS'

Today, The Grandma has been watching TV. She loves tennis and she has chosen some classic matches played by Chris Evert, the American former world No. 1 tennis player, who was born on a day like today in 1954.

Christine Marie Evert (born December 21, 1954), known as Chris Evert Lloyd from 1979 to 1987, is an American former world No. 1 tennis player.

Evert was born in 1954 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Colette (née Thompson) and Jimmy Evert, and raised in a devout Catholic family. She is a 1973 graduate of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Ft. Lauderdale.

She won 18 Grand Slam singles championships and three doubles titles. She was the year-end world no. 1 singles player in 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, and 1981. Overall, Evert won 157 singles titles and 32 doubles titles.

Evert reached 34 Grand Slam singles finals, more than any other player in the history of professional tennis. She holds the record of most consecutive years (13) of winning at least one Major title.

In singles, Evert reached the semifinals or better in 52 of the 56 Grand Slams she played, including the semifinals or better of 34 consecutive Grand Slams entered from the 1971 US Open through the 1983 French Open.

Evert never lost in the first or second round of a Grand Slam singles tournament and lost in the third round only twice. In Grand Slam women's singles play, Evert won a record seven titles at the French Open and a co-record six championships at the US Open, tied with Serena Williams.

Evert's career winning percentage in singles matches of 90.00% (1309-146) is the fifth highest in the history of tennis, for men or women. On clay courts, her career winning percentage in singles matches of 94.55% (382-22) remains a WTA record.

More information: Chris Evert

Evert served as president of the Women's Tennis Association for eleven calendar years, 1975-76 and 1983-91. She was awarded the Philippe Chatrier award and inducted into the Hall of Fame.

In later life, Evert was a coach and is now an analyst for ESPN, and has a line of tennis and active apparel.

Evert began taking tennis lessons from her father Jimmy Evert when she was five years old. He was a professional tennis coach who had won the men's singles title at the Canadian Championships in 1947.

Evert was voted the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year on four occasions and was the first female athlete to be Sports Illustrated magazine's sole recipient of Sportswoman of the Year award in 1976.

In April 1985, she was voted the Greatest Woman Athlete of the Last 25 Years by the Women's Sports Foundation. Evert served as president of the Women's Tennis Association during 1975–76, and from 1983 to 1991.

In 1995, she was the fourth player ever to be unanimously elected into the International Tennis Hall of Fame following a worldwide ballot of 185 sports journalists.

In 1997, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) presented her with its highest accolade -the Philippe Chatrier Award- for her contributions to tennis, whilst 1999 saw Evert rated No. 50 among ESPN's Greatest North American athletes of the 20th century. Evert was awarded the International Club's prestigious Jean Borotra Sportsmanship Award in 2001.

In 2005, Tennis named her fourth on its list of 40 Greatest Players of the Tennis era.

In 2012, Tennis Channel conducted a poll of players and experts to determine the 100 Greatest Players of all-time, in which Evert ranked ninth overall, and fourth highest among women finishing behind Graf, Navratilova, and Court in that order.

In June 2013, Evert was awarded a special merit from the International Tennis Hall of Fame. They presented her their gold ring in recognition of her outstanding achievements both on and off the tennis court.

Evert was a baseline player, who is credited with revolutionising the sport of tennis. She was known for her consistent, counterpunching game, with her being described retrospectively by the International Tennis Hall of Fame as a human backboard.

More information: Twitter-Chris Evert

Evert was one of the first players to play exclusively from the baseline, typically approaching the net to retrieve short balls only; towards the end of her career, however, Evert would approach the net to end points more frequently.

Evert's forehand was hit flat, with consistent depth and power, penetrating deep into the court; towards the end of her career with the development of graphite technology, she would begin to apply more topspin to her forehand.

Evert was one of the first exponents of the double-handed backhand on the WTA tour, which, whilst not having the variety and flexibility that a one-handed backhand afforded, provided power and consistency that was previously unseen on the tour, and would later become the norm for female tennis players. She was adept at absorbing and redirecting power with both her forehand and her backhand, being able to create sharp angles and hit winners from any position on the court; despite this, Evert would not typically hit large numbers of winners, instead predicating her game on the retrieval of balls with devastating accuracy, and keeping unforced errors to a minimum.

Evert did not possess a powerful serve, however, it was reliable and accurate.

Evert possessed delicate touch, and had one of the most effective drop shots at the time. Playing in an era where serve and volleying was the dominant style of play, Evert was able to hit difficult passing shots with ease, pushing her opponents behind the baseline, and preventing them from rushing the net.

Evert's greatest strengths on court were her speed, detailed footwork, court coverage, fitness, consistency, and mental fortitude. Despite having success on all surfaces, Evert's favourite surface was clay, where the high bounce and slower speed afforded by the surface allowed her to execute her measured, defensive style of play with tremendous success; this is highlighted by her career 382-22 (94.6%) winning record on the surface. Due to her composure, mental toughness, and elegant style of play, Evert was known as the Ice Princess.

More information: Instagram-Chris Evert

You've got to take the initiative and play your game.
In a decisive set, confidence is the difference.

Chris Evert

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA, THE GREATEST TENNIS PLAYER

Today, The Grandma has been watching some old tennis matches. She loves them, and she has chosen Martina Navratilova's ones. Navratilova, who was born on a day like today in 1956, is considered the greatest female tennis players of all time.

Martina Navratilova (née Šubertová; born October 18, 1956) is a Czech-American former professional tennis player and coach.

Widely considered among the greatest female tennis players of all time, Navratilova won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 major women's doubles titles, and 10 major mixed doubles titles, for a combined total of 59 major titles, marking the Open Era record for the most Grand Slam titles won by a single player.

She reached the Wimbledon singles final 12 times, including for nine consecutive years from 1982 through 1990, and won the women's singles title at Wimbledon a record nine times, surpassing Helen Wills Moody's eight Wimbledon titles, including a run of six consecutive titles.

Navratilova was WTA world No. 1 in singles for a total of 332 weeks, second behind Steffi Graf, and for a record 237 weeks in doubles, making her the only player in history to have held the top spot in both singles and doubles for over 200 weeks.

Navratilova is one of the three female tennis players, along with Margaret Court and Doris Hart, to have accomplished a Career Grand Slam in women's singles and doubles, and mixed doubles, called the career Grand Slam Boxed Set".

 More information: Martina Navratilova

Navratilova, Margaret Court and Maureen Connolly share the record for the most consecutive major singles titles. She won her last major title in 2006, adding the mixed doubles crown at the 2006 US Open to her resume just a few weeks before her 50th birthday, 32 years after her first Major title in 1974.

Originally from Czechoslovakia, she was stripped of her citizenship when, in 1975 at age 18, she asked the United States for political asylum and was granted temporary residence.

At the time, Navratilova was told by the Czechoslovak Sports Federation that she was becoming too Americanized, and she should go back to school and make tennis secondary.

Navratilova became a US citizen in 1981. On January 9, 2008, she reacquired Czech citizenship. She stated she has not renounced her U.S. citizenship nor does she plan to do so, and that reclaiming Czech nationality was not politically motivated.

More information: Twitter-Martina Navratilova

Navratilova was born Martina Šubertová in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Her parents divorced when she was three, and her mother, an accomplished gymnast, tennis player, and ski instructor, moved the family to Řevnice.

In 1962, her mother Jana married Miroslav Navrátil, who became her first tennis coach. Martina then took the name of her stepfather, adding the feminine suffix -ová, thus becoming Martina Navrátilová. Her father, Mirek (officially Miroslav Šubert), was a ski instructor.

When Navratilova was four, she was hitting a tennis ball off a concrete wall and started to play tennis regularly at age seven.

In 1972, at the age of 15, Navratilova won the Czechoslovakia national tennis championship.

In 1973, aged 16, she made her debut on the United States Lawn Tennis Association professional tour but did not turn professional until 1975.

Navratilova won her first professional singles title in Orlando, Florida, in 1974, at the age of 17. Upon arriving in the United States, Navratilova first lived with former Vaudeville actress, Frances Dewey Wormser, and her husband, Morton Wormser, a tennis enthusiast.

Navratilova won her first major singles title at Wimbledon in 1978, where she defeated Evert in three sets in the final and captured the world No. 1 ranking for the first time on the WTA computer, a position she held until Evert took it back in January 1979.

Navratilova won the 1984 French Open, thus holding all four major singles titles simultaneously. Her accomplishment was declared a Grand Slam by Philippe Chatrier, president of the International Tennis Federation, although some tennis observers countered that it was not a true slam because the titles had not been won in a single calendar year.

More information: Instagram-Martina Navratilova

Navratilova capped off her career by winning the mixed doubles title, her 41st major doubles title, 31 in women's doubles and 10 in mixed doubles, and 177th overall, at the 2006 US Open with American doubles specialist Bob Bryan. At the time, she was only about a month shy of her 50th birthday and broke her own record as the oldest ever major champion (aged 49 years, 10 months).

Navratilova won 167 top-level singles titles, more than any other player in the open era, and 177 doubles titles.

Her last title in women's doubles came on August 21, 2006, at the Tier I Rogers Cup in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where she partnered Nadia Petrova.

Navratilova won 18 major singles titles: nine at Wimbledon, four at the US Open, three at the Australian Open, and two at the French Open. Her overall record in 67 major singles events was 306–49 (120–14 at Wimbledon, 89–17 at the US Open, 51–11 at the French Open, and 46–7 at the Australian Open).

Some observers argue that the very few singles match she played in her forties should be counted separately in her career statistics.

She is the only player to have won at least one tour event for 21 consecutive years, and won the singles and doubles at the same event a record 84 times.

She was ranked in the world's top 3 in singles for 15 years between 1977 and 1993. Her career singles match win total of 1,442 is the most during the open era.

More information: The Guardian

The tennis ball doesn't know how old I am.
The ball doesn't know if I'm a man or a woman
or if I come from a communist country or not.
Sport has always broken down these barriers.

Martina Navratilova

ROGER FEDERER, SWISS TEMPLANCE PLAYING TENNIS

Today, The Grandma has been practising tennis, one of her favourite sports. She likes this sport, and she has a huge list of players to admire.

 

One of them is Roger Federer, the Swiss player, considered one of the greatest of all time, who was born on a day like today in 1981.

Roger Federer (born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He has won 20 Grand Slam men's singles titles, an all-time record shared with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Federer has been world No. 1 in the ATP rankings a total of 310 weeks -including a record 237 consecutive weeks- and has finished as the year-end No. 1 five times.

Federer has won 103 ATP singles titles, the second-most of all-time behind Jimmy Connors and including a record six ATP Finals.

Federer has played in an era where he dominated men's tennis together with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who have been collectively referred to as the Big Three and are widely considered three of the greatest tennis players of all-time.

A Wimbledon junior champion in 1998, Federer won his first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon in 2003 at age 21.

In 2004, he won three out of the four major singles titles and the ATP Finals, a feat he repeated in 2006 and 2007.

More information: Roger Federer

From 2005 to 2010, Federer made 18 out of 19 major singles finals. During this span, he won his fifth consecutive titles at both Wimbledon and the US Open. He completed the career Grand Slam at the 2009 French Open after three previous runner-ups to Nadal, his main rival up until 2010. At age 27, he also surpassed Pete Sampras's then-record of 14 Grand Slam men's singles titles at Wimbledon in 2009.

Although Federer remained in the top 3 through most of the 2010s, the success of Djokovic and Nadal in particular ended his dominance over grass and hard courts. From mid-2010 through the end of 2016, he only won one major title. During this period, Federer and Stan Wawrinka led the Switzerland Davis Cup team to their first title in 2014, adding to the gold medal they won together in doubles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Federer also has a silver medal in singles from the 2012 London Olympics, where he finished runner-up to Andy Murray.

After taking half a year off in late 2016 to recover from knee surgery, Federer had a renaissance at the majors. He won three more Grand Slam singles titles over the next two years, including the 2017 Australian Open over Nadal and a men's singles record eighth Wimbledon title later in 2017. He also became the oldest ATP world No. 1 in 2018 at age 36.

A versatile all-court player, Federer's perceived effortlessness has made him highly popular among tennis fans. Originally lacking self-control as a junior, Federer transformed his on-court demeanour to become well-liked for his general graciousness, winning the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award 13 times. He has also won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award a record five times.

Outside competing, he played an instrumental role in the creation of the Laver Cup team competition.

 

Federer is also an active philanthropist. He established the Roger Federer Foundation, which targets impoverished children in Southern Africa, and has raised funds in part through the Match for Africa exhibition series. 

Federer is routinely one of the top ten highest-paid athletes in any sport, and ranked first among all athletes with $100 million in endorsement income in 2020.

Roger Federer was born on 8 August 1981 in Basel, Switzerland. His Swiss father, Robert Federer, is from Berneck in the Canton of St. Gallen, and his Afrikaner mother, Lynette Federer (née Durand), is from Kempton Park, Gauteng, in South Africa.

Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have won more Grand Slam tournament titles (20) than any other men's singles players. He is the first men's singles player to have reached ten consecutive Grand Slam tournament finals and a total of 31 Grand Slam finals. He has earned a men's doubles gold medal, and a man's single silver medal at the Olympics in 2008 and 2012, respectively. He has spent the second-most time at the top of the ATP Rankings (310 weeks). He also holds the record for the most titles (6) at the year-end tournament, where only the year-end eight highest-ranked players participate.

Federer was ranked among the top eight players in the world continuously for 14 years and two weeks -from 14 October 2002 until 31 October 2016, when injuries forced him to skip much of the 2016 season.

More information: Twitter-Roger Federer

Federer has won the ATP Player of the Year five times (2004–07, 2009), and has become ITF World Champion five times (2004–07, 2009).

He has won the ATPWorldTour.com Fans' Favourite Award a record 18 times consecutively (2003–20), and has won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award (voted for by the players) a record 13 times (2004–09, 2011–17), both being awards indicative of respect and popularity.

He also won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year Award twice (2006, 2013), the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year five times (2005–08, 2018), and the Laureus World Comeback of the Year once, following his 2017 renaissance.

Federer is one of the founders, via his management company TEAM8, of the Laver Cup; the annual team tennis tournament which pits Europe against the rest of the world. He co-founded the tournament in honour of tennis legend Rod Laver and the inaugural edition was played in 2017.

Roger Federer has huge popularity in the world of sport, and because of his achievements, Federer is widely considered to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, with many players and analysts in the period between 2009 and 2017 considering him to be the greatest player ever. He has also been called the greatest athlete of his generation. Tennis.com listed him as the greatest male player of the Open Era.

Federer's versatility has been described by Jimmy Connors: In an era of specialists, you're either a clay court specialist, a grass court specialist, or a hard court specialist... or you're Roger Federer.

More information: Roger Federer Foundation

When you do something best in life,
you don't really want to give that up
-and for me, it's tennis.

Roger Federer

STEPHANIE GRAF, THE TENNIS GOLDEN SLAM WINNER

The Grandma loves tennis, and today she has enjoyed watching an amazing match played in Roland Garros in 1999 between Martina Hingis and Steffi Graf to commemorate the 52nd anniversary of the German tennis player, who is considered one of the best ever.

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

She was ranked world No. 1 for a record 377 weeks (more than 7 years) and won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, which ranks second since the introduction of the Open Era in 1968 and third all-time behind Margaret Court and Serena Williams.

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

Furthermore, she is the only tennis player, male or female, to have won each Grand Slam tournament at least four times.

Graf was ranked world No. 1 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for a record 377 total weeks -the longest period for which any player, male or female, has held the number-one ranking since the WTA and the Association of Tennis Professionals began issuing rankings.

She won 107 singles titles, which ranks 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, male or female, to win three Grand Slam tournaments 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 U.S. Open singles titles. She is the only singles player (male or female) to have achieved a Grand Slam since hard court was introduced as a surface at the US Open in 1987.

More information: WTA Tennis

Consequently, Graf's Grand Slam was achieved on grass, clay, and hard court while the previous five Grand Slams were decided on only grass and clay. Graf reached thirteen consecutive major singles finals, from the 1987 French Open through to the 1990 French Open, winning nine of them.

She won 5 consecutive major singles tournaments (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 singles finals.

Graf retired at the age of 30 in 1999 while she was ranked world No. 3. She is regarded as one of the greatest female tennis players of all time. Navratilova included Graf on the top of her list of the greatest players ever.

The year of her retirement, Billie Jean King said, Steffi 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. She 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 countryman Boris Becker, Graf was considered instrumental in popularizing tennis in Germany, where it has remained a highly popular sport ever since.

More information: Tennis Fame

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 neighbouring 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.

Graf won seven singles titles at Wimbledon, six singles titles at the French Open, five singles titles at the US Open, and four singles titles at the Australian Open. Her overall record in 56 Grand Slam events was 282–32 (89 percent) (87–10 at the French Open, 75–7 at Wimbledon, 73–9 at the US Open, and 47–6 at the Australian Open).

Her singles win-loss record was 900–115 (88.7 percent). She was ranked World No. 1 for 186 consecutive weeks (from August 1987 to March 1991, tied with Serena Williams, a record in the women's game) and a record total of 377 weeks overall.

More information: Bleacher Report

You can have a certain arrogance,
and I think that's fine,
but what you should never lose is
the respect for the others.

Steffi Graf