Steffi Graf, born in 1969, was one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Her list of achievements is hard to match. In 1982, at the age of 13, she became the youngest player to ever earn a WTA ranking. After claiming her first Grand Slam title at Roland-Garros in 1987 (defeating Martina Navratilova 6-4, 4-6, 8-6 in the final), she completed a unique Golden Grand Slam in 1988 – claiming the gold medal at the Olympic Games on top of the four Grand Slam crowns for a unique achievement in tennis history. Her domination peaked in the French Open final, in which she destroyed Natasha Zvereva 6-0, 6-0 in the shortest major final ever played.
Graf also held the record of eight seasons finished as world No. 1 (1987-1990 and 1993-1996). In total, she spent 377 weeks on top of the WTA rankings – also a record. The German claimed 22 Grand Slam titles in her career, and when she triumphed at the US Open in 1995, she became the first player ever to hold the title at all four majors at the same time.
In those years, her only real rival on the tour had been Monica Seles, who dominated the game and took the No. 1 spot away from her in 1991 and 1992. However, Seles was tragically stabbed during a match in April of 1993 and never got back to her best level.
