Singles, Women

Steffi Graf won the 1984 Olympic demonstration singles title when she was only 15 years old. She achieved the #1 world ranking in 1987, and in 1988, became the fifth person and third woman to win the Grand Slam of tennis – Australia, French, Wimbledon, and US titles in one year– after Don Budge, Maureen Connolly, Rod Laver, and Margaret Court. When she won the Olympic gold medal, easily defeating Argentina’s Gabriela Sabatini in the final, 6-3, 6-3, it was called the Golden Slam, never before achieved. In the final Graf defeated Gabriela Sabatini, who she had also defeated earlier in the year in the final of the US Open and the semi-finals of Roland Garros. Sabatini would eventually defeat Graf at a major in the final of the 1990 US Open.

Graf’s career eventually had some tennis experts considering her the greatest woman player ever, as she won 22 Grand Slam singles titles – 4 Australian, 6 French, 7 Wimbledon, and 5 US – and 107 career professional titles. She later married fellow Olympic gold medalist, Andre Agassi.