Steffi graf

T he days are long and the nights are warm but, sadly, we will have to wait until next year to see the great players of our time compete at Wimbledon. With that in mind, we are spending the Wimbledon fortnight debating which of the greats is the greatest of them all. This week our writers have made the case for Now it’s time for the readers to offer their verdict. More than 500 of you Steffi Graf Steffi Graf had the most graceful game of any female player in history. Her trademarks – the footwork of a ballerina, the speed of a gazelle, the impeccably carved backhand slice and that monstrous bazooka of a forehand – coalesced into a rare brand of athleticism, as beautiful as it was brutal. Being the greatest is not simply a case of having the numbers (though any way you spin it, Graf is in the conversation). She operated on a level of artistic elegance unmatched before or since. At full flight in her imperious pomp, she embodied what was possible with a tennis racket, doing so with incomparable poise while dragging her sport forward into the modern era. There were so many great Graf matches. That last, Read more She had lost her last two matches against Navratilova – the Wimbledon and US Open finals of 1987 – and this was her first meeting against her fellow GOAT candidate during her legendary Golden Slam-winning year. There was a lot on the line. Despite playing great tennis for the first hour or so, Graf somehow contrived to lose the first set from a winning position, and ...

Let's try and decode their individual careers and see if we can pick a winner from the trio. Serena Williams, whose glorious career came to an end just a few hours ago, is hailed as the single greatest woman player of all time by those who have watched her since her debut 27 years ago. However, older fans who witnessed the brilliance of A couple of years ago, even “If you just go on Majors, then you have Serena," Navratilova said. "If you go a different way, it would be me or Steffi Graf, perhaps Margaret Court. It just depends how you want to measure that. It's hard for me to talk about it completely objectively because we were playing under a different measuring stick, during my time, with Chris and myself. The Majors became a huge measuring stick in the '90s forward." 124 😢 BYE-BYE SERENA 😢This time it's for good: beaten by Alja Tomljanovic in 3 sets in round 3, Serena Williams has said farewell to pro tennis last night. We will mis you, Queen 👑 As far as Grand Slam titles are concerned, Serena Williams, who has 23 titles in 81 appearances (28%), is the winner among the three players. Graf is right behind the American with 22 Majors in 54 appearances (41%), while Navratilova has 18 titles in 76 appearances (27%). When it comes to the number of weeks spent as World No. 1, Graf reigns supreme. Her 377 weeks in the top spot win by some distance as Navratilova comes next with 332 weeks and Serena Williams with 319. Martina Navratilova Navratilova was born in Czechoslovakia ...

German legend She won 22 Grand Slam titles in a 16-year professional career, the second-most behind Serena Williams (23) since the start of the Open Era in 1968, and the third-most in history behind Margaret Court (24). Steffi Graf was Martina Navratilova (167) and Chris Evert (157). However, there is one achievement in her career that stands out. In 1988, a then 19-year-old Steffi Graf won the Golden Slam, and till today, remains the only player in tennis history - male or female - to achieve the feat. A term coined by the media, the Golden Slam is when a player wins all four Grand Slams - the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open - in addition to the Olympic gold medal in the same year. It is as daunting as it sounds and requires great effort and adaptability from a tennis player to triumph across Steffi Graf though had those qualities in abundance - she is the only player in history to have won each of the Grand Slams at least four times. Here’s how Steffi Graf became tennis’ Golden Slam winner in 1988. 1988 Australian Open Having won her first Grand Slam title, the French Open in 1987, and risen to world No.1 for the first time, Steffi Graf entered the 1988 Australian Open as the top seed. The German was in form, winning the first four rounds in straight sets and dropping only 13 games. Steffi Graf then beat defending champion Hana Mandlikova 6-2, 6-2 in the quarter-finals before ousting compatriot Claudia Kohde-Kilsch 6-2, 6-3 in the semis. With such dev...

Career finals Discipline Type Won Lost Total WR Singles Grand Slam 22 9 31 .71 Year-end championships 5 1 6 .83 WTA Premier Mandatory * 18 6 24 .75 Summer Olympics 1 1 2 .50 WTA Tour 61 14 75 .81 Total 107 31 138 .78 Doubles Grand Slam 1 3 4 .25 Year-end championships – – – – WTA Premier Mandatory * 1 0 1 1.00 Summer Olympics – – – – WTA Tour 9 4 13 .69 Total 11 7 18 .61 Total 118 38 156 .76 (1) WR = winning rate (2) * formerly known as "Tier I" tournaments. This is a list of the main career statistics of professional tennis player Performance timelines [ ] Key W F SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH (W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record. Only results in WTA Tour (incl. Grand Slams) main-draw, Olympic Games and Fed Cup are included in win–loss records. Singles [ ] West Germany Germany Tournament SR W–L Grand Slam tournaments A A NH A A A A A 4 / 10 47–6 A A 6 / 16 84–10 A A A 7 / 14 74–7 A A A 5 / 14 73–9 Win–loss 0–0 1–2 7–4 11–3 9–2 19–2 27–0 27–1 24–3 21–3 17–2 26–1 18–3 21–0 21–0 7–2 5–2 17–2 22 / 54 278–32 Year-end championship did not qualify DNQ DNQ 5 / 13 33–8 National representation not held not held not held not held A not held 1 / 2 10–1 A A A A A A A A A A A 2 / 7 20–2 Tier I tournaments not Tier I A A 7 / 10 43–3 not held not Tier I A A A A 4 / 8 41–4 not Tie...

Steffi Graf is a retired German tennis player, and easily one of the greatest of all time. In fact, until Serena Williams eclipsed her Open Era record of 22 Grand Slams, Graf was widely considered THE greatest player of all time. Graf has many astonishing records to her name, and is far the only player - male or female - to win the Calender Golden Slam (all 4 Slams plus Olympic gold in a single year). She is the standard by which all great women's players are judged, and continues to be an inspiration for millions across the world even decades after her retirement. Best finish at each of the four Grand Slams: Australian Open: 4-time Champion (1988, 1989, 1990, 1994) French Open: 6-time Champion (1987, 1988, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1999) Wimbledon: 7-time Champion (1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996) US Open: 5-time Champion (1988, 1989, 1993, 1995, 1996) Highest Ranking: No. 1 No. of weeks at No. 1: 377 Style of play, strengths and weaknesses Graf was an out-and-out aggressor, aiming for the lines with her groundstrokes all the time. While she approached the net a fair bit at Wimbledon, she was primarily a baseline player for much of her career. Graf's forehand was her dominant wing, and also her single biggest weapon. Many consider her forehand to be the best that the women's game has ever seen; she hit it with an unorthodox action, but could generate tremendous pace and spin with it. The German's backhand was solid, but it was mainly a slice. She all but eliminated the t...