Graf had a bone splinter in her right foot during this tournament (and for the next few months), finally resulting in surgery on 4 October.[51]. [82] Kerber stated in her post-match interview that she had not reserved plans to find a new coach nor did she have plans to hire former coach Torben Beltz.[83]. In her first two matches of the tournament, she defeated Katerina Siniakova and Barbora Strycova both in straight sets. Kerber made a quarterfinal appearance in Washington where she lost to Magdaléna Rybáriková. Wimbledon authorities then threatened to immediately shut down any subsequent press conferences where questions about the issue were asked. Graf was ranked world No. Graf's schedule was closely controlled by her father, who limited her play so that she would not burn out. Kerber reached the final of the Eastbourne grass court tournament, losing to Tamira Paszek, having served for the championship at 5–3 in the deciding set and missing five match points. It was announced on 21 October that Kerber had qualified for the WTA Finals. She then defeated Lesia Tsurenko in the first round of the Apia International Sydney and went on to reach the semifinals before losing to Karolína Plíšková. She then lost to Svitolina. With this victory, she returned to No. [10] In an interview Kerber clarified that, despite strong Polish connection, she considers herself German: "I am German. She lost her 1st match to Jarmila Gajdošová in three sets but then defeated Samantha Stosur in straight sets in her next match.[33]. Graf became the first player in the open era to defeat the first, second, and third ranked players in the same Grand Slam tournament by beating second-ranked Davenport in the quarterfinals and third-ranked Monica Seles in the semifinals. [143] She is the founder and chairperson of "Children for Tomorrow", a non-profit foundation established in 1998 for implementing and developing projects to support children who have been traumatized by war or other crises. She partnered with doubles specialist Mark Woodforde at the Australian Open in 1994, with Henri Leconte at Wimbledon in 1991 and at the French Open in 1994, and with Charlie Pasarell at the US Open in 1984. However, in the Federation Cup final in Vancouver, Canada, three weeks later, she defeated Evert easily 6–2, 6–1. Kerber was the sixth seed at the Western & Southern Open and won her second round match against Makarova in straight sets after receiving a first round bye. 3, Jana Novotná, before losing in the semifinal to first-seeded Davenport. Seemingly free of injury for the first time in years, Graf began the year by winning the Australian Open, where she defeated Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in the final with the loss of only two games. En route to the final, she defeated Yulia Putintseva, played two three-setters against Natalia Vikhlyantseva and world No. [139] Agassi has said that he and Graf are not pushing their children toward becoming tennis players. 1 after the tournament. [113], Early in her career, Graf wore Dunlop apparel, before signing an endorsement contract with Adidas in 1985. [29], Kerber's first singles event of the season was at the Brisbane International, reaching the quarterfinals. In the fall, Graf won the Volkswagen Card Cup in Leipzig a day before her foot operation, losing only two games to Jana Novotná in the final. 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 377 weeks overall. She defeated Garcia in straight sets to reach her first French Open quarterfinals in six years. Performance & security by Cloudflare, Please complete the security check to access. The US Open ended anti-climactically as Navratilova defeated Graf in the final 7–6, 6–1. Kerber finished 2014 by representing Germany in the Fed Cup final. 1, 6–4, 4–6, 8–6 after beating Sabatini in a three-set semifinal. She lost twice to Sabatini in the early spring at the Lipton International and the Bausch & Lomb Championships, which now brought her to 7 losses in her last 8 matches against Sabatini; however, the Bausch & Lomb loss would be Graf's final loss to Sabatini, winning her next, and last, eight matches against Sabatini.[47]. [111] She often positioned herself in her backhand corner and although this left her forehand wide open and vulnerable to attack, her court speed meant that only the most accurate shots wide to her forehand caused any trouble. Her next tournament was the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, where she was the defending champion. 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). This was Kerber's first time ending the year with the No. Then she retired in the third match of Madrid, but due to Serena's absence became world No. Graf won four indoor tournaments after the US Open, including a pair of straight set wins over Sabatini in the finals of Zürich and Worcester. At the US Open, Kerber, seeded 6th, struggled to victory over unseeded Venus Williams in the second round. She reached the semifinals to face Sloane Stephens and she was forced to retire due to a viral illness. 2007–2010: Steady rise and first WTA final, 2011: Career breakthrough and US Open semifinal, 2012: First WTA title, Wimbledon semifinal and top 5 ranking, 2016: Australian Open & US Open champion, Olympic Silver and world No. The following week, she played in Montreal where she was the 6th seed. On 21 November, Kerber announced that she has hired former World #130 Dieter Kindlmann as her coach. Graf's Grand Slam tournament winning streak ended at the French Open, where 17-year-old Spaniard Arantxa Sánchez Vicario beat Graf in three sets. In 2015, Graf was the recipient of the International Club's prestigious Jean Borotra Sportsmanship Award. 24 as of October 12, 2020[update]. Like the exhibition match the previous year against Sabatini, proceeds went to "Children for Tomorrow". 1 again. Prosecutors dropped their case against Graf in 1997, when she agreed to pay a fine of 1.3 million Deutsche Marks to the government and an unspecified charity.[70]. [84] At Wuhan, Kerber was defeated in the first round by Monica Puig in three sets. [62] In Sydney, Kerber entered as defending champion, defeating Camila Giorgi, but lost to Petra Kvitová in the quarterfinals. [85] In the second round, she was defeated by Polona Hercog in straight sets, 4–6, 2–6. [48] In Eastbourne, Kerber lost in semifinals to Caroline Wozniacki,[49] having defeated Dominika Cibulková, Danielle Collins and Daria Kasatkina en route. She exited in the round-robin stage, managing just one win over Kvitová. Speculation was rife at the beginning of 1989 about the possibility of Graf winning another Grand Slam. 1 Maria Sharapova. On 17 October 2016, Serena Williams pulled out of the WTA Finals in Singapore due to a shoulder injury. Angelique Kerber (German: [ʔandʒɛˈliːk ˈkɛɐ̯bɐ]; born 18 January 1988) is a German professional tennis player. She exited the tournament in the round robin stage, without winning any matches. 4 Dominika Cibulkova in straight sets to reach the semifinals. At the US Open, Graf beat Sabatini in a three-set final to win the Grand Slam by 6–3, 3–6, 6–1, a feat previously performed by only two other women, Maureen Connolly Brinker in 1953 and Margaret Court in 1970. Kerber won in three sets to collect her seventh career title. At the 2012 Fed Cup, Kerber played for Germany against the Czech Republic, teaming up along Sabine Lisicki, Julia Görges and Anna-Lena Grönefeld. In 2009, Kerber only won three WTA main-draw matches and reached the second round of the US Open as a qualifier where she lost to María José Martínez Sánchez. This was her fifth career title and saw her extend her winning streak on clay to eleven matches for the season. "[85], From the beginning of her career until 1990, Graf regularly played doubles events in Grand Slams and other tournaments, winning a total of 11 titles. Next came Wimbledon, where Martina Navratilova had won six straight titles. The match was played over two days with Navratilova finally winning after saving three match points 6–1, 6–7, 7–6. She reached the quarterfinals of the China Open, but against Maria Sharapova. [23] During that period, she lost six times to Evert and three times to Navratilova, all in straight sets. At the French Open, Kerber lost to Eugenie Bouchard in the fourth round.[32]. Shortly after the US Open, she underwent surgery to remove a bone spur in her right wrist. At Wimbledon, she once again lost to Chakvetadze in the first round. She soon began taking the top prize at junior tournaments with regularity, going on to win the European Championships 12s and 18s in 1982. She struggled at the tournament in Berlin where she lost a 6–0 set to the unheralded Sabine Hack before defeating Mary Joe Fernández and Sabatini in three-set matches to claim her seventh title there in eight years. In the subsequent Amelia Island final on clay, Graf lost her first match of the year to Sabatini but returned to European clay with easy victories at Hamburg and Berlin. I was hoping to be ready in time for the upcoming…, "Jennifer Brady has gone from under-the-radar to contender at the 2020 US Open", "Rome Masters Kerber bows out Rublev advances", "Wimbledon 2018: Angelique Kerber's athleticism told in final victory over Serena Williams", "For Tennis Star Angelique Kerber, Sponsorship Millions Beckon", "The 'Secrets' Out – International Sporting Star Angelique Kerber Partners with Australian Brand", "Rolex TV Commercial, 'One to Watch' Featuring Angelique Kerber", "SAP Welcomes Angelique Kerber as Brand Ambassador", "Angelique Kerber on Instagram: "Incredibly proud to call myself part of the @OleLynggaardCopenhagen family for the years to come ✨ When I traveled to Copenhagen last week…, "ANGELIQUE KERBER IS TOURNAMENT AMBASSADOR - Bad Homburg Open", "Serena Williams Heads The Highest-Paid Female Athletes 2017", "Angelique Kerber Reunites With Former Coach With Aim to Regain Past Success", "Murray and Kerber named 2016 ITF World Champions", "espnW unveils 2016 IMPACT25 honorees for Woman of the Year consideration", "World No.1 Kerber named among Forbes' 30 Under 30", "Forbes 30 under 30 Europe: Entertainment", "Serena Williams heads the highest-paid female athletes 2017", Women's tennis players who won two or more Grand Slam singles titles in one calendar year, Australian Open women's singles champions, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Angelique_Kerber&oldid=983477661, Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's singles, Tennis players at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Tennis players at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing potentially dated statements from October 2020, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia, Articles with German-language sources (de), Articles with Polish-language sources (pl), ITF template using Wikidata property P8618, Articles containing potentially dated statements from August 2020, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Left-handed (two-handed backhand), born right-handed, German Sportswoman of the Year (2016, 2018), Named among "Europe's 30 under 30" by Forbes (2017), World's second highest-paid female athlete by Forbes (2017), This page was last edited on 14 October 2020, at 13:09. After that, she defeated third seed and former world No. She won the title, defeating the top seed and defending champion Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets. [13] A huge football fan, Kerber has cited German club FC Bayern Munich as her favourite team. In Osaka, Kerber received a bye into the second round, and defeated Nicole Gibbs and Madison Keys to reach the semifinals, where she lost to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Graf did not lose a set the whole tournament. Kerber lost in the first round of Wimbledon to 17-year-old Laura Robson.[21]. In her next match, she faced fellow top-ten Petra Kvitová. Notable features of Graf's game were her versatility across all playing surfaces, footwork and powerful forehand drive. Graf's technique on the forehand was unique and instantly recognizable: generating considerable racquet head speed with her swing, she reached the point of contact late and typically out of the air. You may need to download version 2.0 now from the Chrome Web Store. He claimed that he committed the attack to help Graf reclaim the world No. [30] That was the shortest-ever and most one-sided Grand Slam final ever and the only double bagel in a Major final since 1911. [147] In March 2012, Tennis Channel picked Graf as the greatest female tennis player ever in their list of 100 greatest tennis players of all time. 1 ranking for the first time in 22 months. [7] She made inroads at events in Germany and elsewhere in Europe, but did not win a junior title before 2003, at which point she had already turned professional at age 15. [88][89] She played her last Grand Slam doubles tournament at the 1999 Australian Open with Gorrochategui, losing in the second round. She had a first round bye and, in her opening match, faced CoCo Vandeweghe, whom she defeated in three sets. In the Miami final, she lost her first set of the year—to Natasha Zvereva—after winning 54 consecutive sets. The last few years of Graf's career were beset by injuries, particularly to her knees and back. Graf played a singles exhibition match against Kim Clijsters and a mixed doubles exhibition alongside husband Andre Agassi against Tim Henman and Clijsters as part of a test event and celebration for the newly installed roof over Wimbledon's Centre Court in 2009. 1 ranking for the first time in her career, a ranking she would hold for the next 186 consecutive weeks, a record (it was tied by Serena Williams in 2016). [61][62], A strained right calf muscle forced Graf to withdraw from the Australian Open. Graf's 1988 Grand Slam remains the only one in history completed on three surfaces (grass, clay, hard court), as all other Grand Slams in tennis history were achieved prior to the introduction of hard court at the US Open in 1978.[33]. Her 6–3, 6–0 defeat of Argentina's Gabriela Sabatini in a semifinal was described by veteran observer Ted Tinling as "probably the best tennis I've seen". [42], Kerber then played at Doha and reached the quarterfinals defeating Samantha Stosur and Johanna Konta. Fish out of water. 34 after the tournament. Graf served for the match at 5–3 in the third set but lost the game and won only three more points in the match. As the world No. She reached the quarterfinals after defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova but was then being defeated by Ivanovic, again in straight sets; it was Kerber's second loss against her in three weeks. During a quarterfinal match between Seles and Magdalena Maleeva in Hamburg, Seles was stabbed between the shoulder blades by a mentally ill German fan of Graf, Günter Parche. Soon after, she split with her long-time coach, Pavel Složil. No medals were awarded as this was not an official Olympic event.[21]. At Stuttgart's Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Kerber advanced to the quarterfinals, with wins over Roberta Vinci and 6th seed Caroline Wozniacki, before losing to 3rd seed Petra Kvitová. [143], In 2001, Graf indicated that she preferred to be called Stefanie instead of Steffi. Kerber reached a career high ranking of world No. [72] Graf had led 4–1 in the second set tiebreak, only to lose six points in a row and force a decider. [36] Kerber defeated Kristina Mladenovic, Barbora Strýcová, Carla Suárez Navarro, and Simona Halep to reach the final, where she faced No. Kerber was born in Bremen to Polish parents[5][6] Sławomir Kerber, from Poznań, and Beata (née Rzeźnik), who is her manager. [64] In August Monica Seles made her much anticipated return to tennis at the Canadian Open. She repeated the feat in 1993, 1995, and 1996. [101] In August 2019, Kerber announced that she became a brand ambassador for Head and Shoulders Suprême. He was 75 years old. [120] Graf's racquets were strung at 29 kilograms (64 pounds), significantly above the 50-60 pound range recommended by Wilson. [74] Graf played only one warm-up event ahead of the US Open, the Acura Classic in Manhattan Beach, California, where she lost to Lindsay Davenport in the semifinals. In the meantime, she lost surprisingly to Nicole Bradtke of Australia in a Fed Cup match on clay before winning the Acura Classic in San Diego and the Canadian Open in Toronto in preparation for the US Open. She ended up losing the match when Kvitová launched her comeback from 1–4 down in the third set, to win it 6–4, giving the Czech team the title. The win elevated Graf to the World No. She then successfully defended the three Grand Slam titles she won the year before. She faced American Madison Keys and defeated her in just under an hour in straight sets to reach her second semifinal at the Australian Open. The partnership was the subject of much discussion, as the two women, both known to be shy, usually kept communication to a minimum during changeovers and between points, a highly unusual situation in doubles. [102] In November 2019, Kerber announced that she became a brand ambassador for Ole Lynggaard Copenhagen. [144], On 30 November 2013, Graf's father Peter died of pancreatic cancer. At the former, she received a first-round bye before losing to Daria Kasatkina once again. She won her first French Open title since 1988 with a three-set victory over Mary Joe Fernández in the final. She then faced Venus Williams who she defeated in three sets as well to progress to the quarterfinals. [113], She built her powerful and accurate serve up to 174 km/h (108 mph), making it one of the fastest serves in women's tennis and was a capable volleyer. In the second round, she was shocked 6–2, 2–6, 1–6 by lucky loser Lauren Davis, despite Davis requiring several medical timeouts. In Beijing, she entered as 10th seed, defeating home favorite, Zhang Shuai in three sets 6–2, 1–6, 6–4. This was her fifth consecutive loss to Svitolina since the China Open 2016.[44]. Kerber played for Germany in the Fed Cup in February. She defeated Petra Cetkovská in the first round, Tímea Babos in the second round and Venus Williams in the third, before losing to top seed Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals. Twice in the third set Sánchez Vicario served for the championship but was broken each time by Graf. She defeated Wang Qiang in straight sets in the first round, but she retired from her match against Dayana Yastremska due to a left-hamstring injury, with Kerber down one set and a break. Her performance resulted in a shock first-round loss to Australian tennis player Samantha Stosur in straight sets, 7–6, 7–6. Stefanie Maria "Steffi" Graf (German pronunciation: [ˈʃtɛfiː ˈɡʁaːf];[4][5] born 14 June 1969) is a German former professional tennis player. She then advanced to the semifinals after CoCo Vandeweghe retired in the second set. At the 2020 US Open she defeated Ajla Tomljanovic, Anna-Lena Friedsam, and Ann Li before her loss to Jennifer Brady in the fourth round. Her only rubber was a singles match which she played against Lucie Hradecká. Graf lost twice to Sabatini during the spring, once on hardcourts in Boca Raton, Florida, and once on clay at Amelia Island, Florida. 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. At Wimbledon, Graf lost in the semifinals to Zina Garrison, who with this victory broke Graf's string of 13 consecutive Major finals. [32], Kerber began the 2015 season at the Brisbane International, reaching the quarterfinals before losing to Elina Svitolina in straight sets. In Germany's tie against Switzerland, Kerber scored a straight-set win over Timea Bacsinszky but lost to Belinda Bencic. [99] She was also in Berlin to host a charity gala, as well as inaugurating a tennis stadium renamed the "Steffi Graf Stadion". Just Don't Ask Her", "The Shadow of Steffi Graf: Before Serena, Women's Tennis Had Another Unconquerable Force «", "Remembering What Made Steffi Graf a Tennis Legend", "Tennis in Reunified Germany: Then and Now – The Tennis Island", "Steffi's father Peter Graf dies after cancer battle", "Both on and Off Court, Graf Has Come a Long Way in Past Year", "Tennis Roundup : Mysterious Illness Forces Graf to Withdraw From Wimbledon", "Graf Defeats Evert, Gains No. After defeating Bojana Jovanovski in her first rubber, Kerber fell to Ana Ivanovic in straight sets. She played Jelena Dokic in Christchurch, New Zealand, Amanda Coetzer in Durban, South Africa, and her former rival Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in Zaragoza, Spain. 1 ranking. "[87] The pair played their last major tournament together at the 1990 Wimbledon Championships, losing in the quarterfinals. Four consecutive indoor tournament victories in the autumn helped improve her season, but for the third consecutive year, she failed to win the Virginia Slims Championships, where she lost in the first round to Lori McNeil. In the quarterfinals she lost to top seed Caroline Wozniacki in a three setter. Then at the US Open, she drew Serena Williams in the first round and lost in straight sets. 1 men's tennis player Andre Agassi in October 2001. Fernandez had two break points to take a 3-0 and double break lead in the third set. She overcame British player Heather Watson in the second round to face Kuznetsova but lost in three sets. As a result, she hit her forehand with exceptional pace and accuracy. [150] She was voted the WTA Player of the Year in 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996.