Michael Stich

German tennis player Michael Stich only played one Olympic tournament in 1992 at Barcelona where he sensationally won the doubles with Boris Becker. This was more remarkable because the two were not the best-of-friends, and their rivalry was well publicised by the yellow and sports press in Germany throughout their careers. In the Barcelona single’s tournament, Stich surprisingly lost his third-round match to his teammate Carl-Uwe Steeb despite being seeded 8th.

Stich won his only Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 1991, beating Boris Becker in the final and, as of 2022, was the last German Wimbledon champion. In 1993, Stich won the ATP finals by beating Pete Sampras. He also won ten ATP double titles. Stich achieved his highest world ranking of #2 in 1993. He turned professional in 1990, and in 1992 won the Wimbledon doubles title with the non-Olympian John McEnroe, when they won the final set 19-17 in the longest Wimbledon doubles final ever, with the record 83 games lasting five hours and one minute.

Stich was also a member of the German Davis Cup team that won the title in 1993. The same year, he also won the Hopman Cup, partnering with Steffi Graf. Stich lost the final of the US Open in 1994 and French Open in 1996. When he retired in 1997, he was the only German tennis player to win all major tournaments in his own country.

In 1991, Stich was named Sportsman of the Year in Germany. He later became a sports manager and was tournament director of the Hamburg Rothenbaum Tournament from 2009-18. In 2015, he was inducted into the German Sports Hall of Fame and in 2018 into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He was married to German actress Jessica Stockmann from 1992-2003. In 2005 he married dressage rider Alexandra Rikowski. He also worked occasionally with the BBC as a tennis commentator.