Chris Evert

Chris Evert in the 1970s.
Country	United States
Residence	Boca Raton, Florida, U.S.
Born	(1954-12-21) December 21, 1954 (age 57) Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	57 kg (126 lb)
Turned pro	1972
Retired	1989
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	$8,895,195
Int. Tennis HOF	1995 (member page)
Singles
Career record	1309–146 (89.96%)
Career titles	157
Highest ranking	No. 1 (November 3, 1975)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	W (1982, 1984)
French Open	W (1974, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986)
Wimbledon	W (1974, 1976, 1981)
US Open	W (1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982)
Other tournaments
Championships	W (1972, 1973, 1975, 1977)
Doubles
Career record	117–39 (75.0%)
Career titles	32
Highest ranking	No. 13 (September 12, 1988)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	F (1988)
French Open	W (1974, 1975)
Wimbledon	W (1976)
Last updated on: August 14, 2006.

Christine Marie "Chris" Evert (born December 21, 1954) is a former world #1 professional tennis player from the United States. She won 18 Grand Slam singles championships, including a record seven championships at the French Open and a record six championships at the U.S. Open. She was the year-ending World No. 1 singles player in 1975, 1976, 1977, 1980, and 1981.

Evert's career win–loss record in singles matches of 1,309–146 (89.96%) is the best of any professional player, man or woman, in the Open Era. On clay courts her career match win loss rate of 94.05% (316/20) remains a WTA record. In tennis writer Steve Flink's book The Greatest Tennis Matches of the Twentieth Century, he named Evert as the third best female player of the 20th century, after Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova.^[1] Evert never lost in the first or second rounds of a Grand Slam singles tournament. She won 157 singles championships. In women's doubles, Evert won three Grand Slam titles and 29 regular tour championships.

[edit] Tennis career

Evert began taking tennis lessons when she was five years old from her father, Jimmy Evert (a professional tennis coach who had won the men's singles title at the Canadian Championships in 1947). By 1969, she had become the No. 1 ranked 14-under girl in the United States. Evert played her first senior tournament in that year also, reaching the semifinals in her home town of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, losing to Mary Ann Eisel 7–5, 3–6, 6–1. (For years, this was the record for the furthest a player had reached in her first senior-level tournament.^{[citation needed]} That record was broken when another Floridian, Jennifer Capriati, reached the final of the tournament in Boca Raton, Florida, in 1990 at the age of 13.) In 1970, Evert won the national sixteen-and-under championship and was invited to play in an eight player clay court tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 15 year-old Evert defeated Françoise Durr 6–1, 6–0 in the first round before defeating Margaret Court 7–6, 7–6 in a semifinal. Court was the World No. 1 player and had just won the Grand Slam in singles. These results led to Evert's selection for the U.S. Wightman Cup team, the youngest player ever in the competition.^[2]w

Evert made her Grand Slam tournament debut at the 1971 U.S. Open, aged 16, receiving an invitation after winning the national sixteen-and-under championship. After an easy straight-sets win over Edda Buding in the first round, she faced the American No. 4 Mary Ann Eisel in the second round. Evert saved six match points with Eisel serving at 6–4, 6–5 (40–0) in the second set before Evert went on to win 4–6, 7–6, 6–1. She made two further comebacks against Durr (2–6, 6–2, 6–3) and Lesley Hunt (4–6, 6–2, 6–3), both seasoned professionals, before losing to Billie Jean King in a semifinal (6–3,6–2). This defeat ended a 46-match winning streak built up through carefully selected participation in junior tour events.

In 1973 Evert was the runner-up at the French Open and the Wimbledon Tournament. A year later, she won both those events during her then record 55 consecutive match win streak, which included 8 other tournament wins. She ended the year with at 100-7 match record, winning 16 tournaments including two Grand Slams (French and Wimbledon) and was a finalist in her first Australian Open, and for a fourth straight year, reached the semi-finals at the U.S. Open. She was chosen as the year-end number one over her closest rivals, Billie Jean King and Evonne Goolagong, each of whom had 6 titles including a Grand Slam (King the U.S. Open and Goolagong the Australian), by the leading experts and authorities of the day, except Bud Collins.

Her fiancé at the time, Jimmy Connors, won the Wimbledon men's singles title that year and media attention surrounded the "Love Match" of tennis that summer. They partnered in the mixed doubles event at the 1974 U.S. Open, finishing as runners-up. Their engagement was short-lived, as the marriage was called off later in the year. However, their on-again off-again relationship continued over the next couple of years.

For the next five years, Evert was the world's No. 1 player. In 1975, she won the French Open again and the first of four straight U.S. Open titles by defeating Evonne Goolagong Cawley in a three-set final. Also in November of that year the official WTA computer ranking system was instituted, with Evert being the first No. 1. In total, Evert logged 260 weeks at number one (third all-time behind Graf and Navratilova respectively). She also won Wimbledon again in 1976, again beating Goolagong in a three-set final. In all, Evert won 26 of 39 matches with Goolagong. Evert's domination of the women's game and her calm, steely demeanor on court earned her the nickname of the "Ice Maiden" of tennis.^[3]

A new rival to Evert's dominance emerged on the scene in the later part of the 1970s in the form of Martina Navratilova. Though frequent doubles partners, and good friends off the court, their fierce on-court rivalry is remembered as one of the greatest in tennis history. Evert had the best of their earlier encounters, at one point holding a 30-18 edge. However, in late 1982 Navratilova overhauled her game and fitness to begin a 13 match win streak that culminated in dramatic fashion at the 1984 U.S. Open (tennis), on what came to be known as Super Saturday . They entered the final with 30 match wins a piece. In a thrilling three set win, Navratilova overcame a first set deficit and a decidely pro-Evert crowd to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Eventually the Evert-Navratilova rivalry saw a final match record of 43-37, in favor of Martina.

Though successful on all surfaces, it was on clay courts where Evert was most dominant. Beginning in August 1973, she won 125 consecutive matches on the surface, with a loss of only 8 sets; a run which continues to stand as the benchmark among both men and women players.^[4] The streak was broken on May 12, 1979, in a semifinal of the Italian Open, when Evert lost to Tracy Austin 6–4, 2–6, 7–6(4) after Evert lost a game point to go up 5–2 in the third set. Evert said after the match, "Not having the record will take some pressure off me, but I am not glad to have lost it." Evert rebounded with a another clay court streak that reached 64 matches (including titles at the 1979 and 1980 French Open) before ending with a semi-final loss to eventual winner Hana Mandlíková at the 1981 French Open (a record of 189 victories in 191 matches on clay from 1973 to 1981). Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling had a similar run of clay court dominance from 1935 through 1939, winning the French Championships three consecutive years (not playing there the other two years) and incurring only one loss on clay during that five year period.

Evert won the French Open singles title a record seven times. Three of her victories came in three-set finals against Navratilova. In 1975, Evert defeated Navratilova to defend her title from the previous year 2–6, 6–2, 6–1. In 1985, Evert prevailed 6–3, 6–7, 7–5, a win that saw her capture the World No. 1 ranking for the fifth and final time. And, in 1986, the 31 year-old Evert won her last Grand Slam title by beating Navratilova 2–6, 6–3, 6–3.

Evert retired from the professional tour in 1989. During her career, she won 157 singles titles and eight doubles titles. Her record in finals was 157–72 (.686). She reached the semifinals in 273 of the 303 tournaments she entered. Evert won the WTA Tour Championships four times and helped the United States win the Fed Cup eight times. Evert's last match was a 6–3, 6–2 win over Conchita Martínez in the final of the 1989 Fed Cup.

Perhaps of all of Evert's records and accomplishments, what may be her greatest single achievement is her record of having won at least one Grand Slam singles title a year for 13 consecutive years, from 1974 through 1986: '74 French, Wimbledon; '75 French, US Opens; '76 Wimbledon, US Open; '77 US Open, '78 US Open; '79 French Open; '80 French, US Opens; '81 Wimbledon; '82 US, Australian Opens; '83 French Open; '84 Australian Open; '85 French Open; '86 French Open. This is an unparalleled record of consistency in the world's biggest tournaments, made even more impressive when its realized that Evert did not even participate in the Australian Opens held in 75-80, 83 or the French Opens in 76-78, thereby further reducing the number of chances to win one of the sport's four crown jewels.

In fact, between September 1971 (her Grand Slam debut at the U.S. Open) and June 1983 (her twelfth visit to The Championships Wimbledon), Evert never failed to reach at least the semi-finals of the 34 Grand Slam singles events she entered. This stunning string, however, was broken in the third round at Wimbledon in 1983, when the All England Club refused Evert's request to delay her match with Kathy Jordan to recover from food poisoning. This defeat also ended her attempt to be the holder of all four Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously, as Evert was then holder of the '82 Australian, U.S., and the '83 French titles. In 56 Grand Slam singles events entered from 1971 to 1989, Evert fell short of the semi-finals a mere 4 times (1983 Wimbledon 3rd round; 1987 US Open quarter-final; 1988 French Open 3rd round; 1989 US Open quarter-final).

In total, Evert reached a record 34 Grand Slam finals, winning 18 Grand Slam singles titles during her career: seven at the French Open (a record), six at the U.S. Open (an open era record), three at Wimbledon, and two at the Australian Open (both on grass).

Evert's overall record in Grand Slam events was 297–38 .887 (72–6 at the French Open, 94–15 at Wimbledon, 101–13 at the U.S. Open (most singles match wins in history), and 30–4 at the Australian Open (never failing to reach the final). Evert faced Navratilova in the final of 14 Grand Slam events, with Evert losing 10 of those encounters. (Navratilova defeated Evert at least once in the final of each of the four Grand Slam events, whereas three of Evert's four wins were at the French Open and the fourth was at the Australian Open.) In their 8 semi-final clashes, their record stands at 4 wins a piece. Evert defeated Navratilova in the semi-finals of the U.S. Open (1975), Wimbledon (1976 and 1980), and the Australian Open (1988) but lost to Navratilova in the semi-finals of the U.S. Open (1981), Wimbledon (1987 and 1988), and the French Open (1987). An interesting footnote, in those semi-final rounds, each player won twice on grass, once on hard, and once on clay.

During her career versus selected rivals, Evert was: 40–6 against Virginia Wade, 37–43 against Martina Navratilova, 26–13 against Evonne Goolagong Cawley, 24–0 against Virginia Ruzici, 23–1 against Sue Barker, 22–0 against Betty Stöve, 22–1 against Rosemary Casals, 21–7 against Hana Mandlíková, 20–1 against Wendy Turnbull, 19–7 against Billie Jean King (winning the last 11 matches with a loss of only 2 sets), 19–3 against Pam Shriver, 18–2 against Kerry Melville Reid, 17–2 against Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere, 17–2 against Helena Suková, 17–3 against Andrea Jaeger, 16–3 against Dianne Fromholtz Balestrat, 15–0 against Olga Morozova, 13–0 against Françoise Durr, 9–4 against Margaret Court, 8–9 against Tracy Austin, 7–0 against Mary Joe Fernandez, 6–3 against Gabriela Sabatini, 6–5 against Nancy Richey Gunter (winning the last 6 matches), 6–8 against Steffi Graf (losing the last 8 matches), and 2–1 against Monica Seles.

Evert was voted the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year on four occasions and was the first female athlete to be Sports Illustrated magazine's sole recipient of "Sportswoman of the Year" award in 1976.^[5][6] In April 1985, she was voted the "Greatest Woman Athlete of the Last 25 Years" by the Women's Sports Foundation. Evert served as President of the Women's Tennis Association from 1975–76, and from 1983 to 1991.^[7] In 1995, she was the fourth player ever to be unanimously elected into the International Tennis Hall of Fame following a worldwide ballot of 185 sports journalists whilst 1999 saw Evert rated No. 50 among North American athletes of the 20th century.^[3][8] In 2005, TENNIS Magazine named her fourth on its list of TENNIS Magazine's 40 Greatest Players of the TENNIS Era.^[9]. In 2012, Tennis Channel conducted a poll of players and experts to determine the 100 greatest players of all-time, in which Evert ranked ninth overall, and fourth highest among women (finishing behind Graf, Navratilova, and Court respectively.)

[edit] Personal life

Evert was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Colette Thompson and Jimmy Evert,^[10] and raised in a devout Roman Catholic family.^[11] She is partially of Luxembourgish ancestry. Jimmy was a professional tennis coach, and tennis was a way of life in his family. Chris and her sister Jeanne Evert became professional tennis players, and their brother John Evert attended Auburn University, in Auburn, Alabama, on a full athletic scholarship for intercollegiate tennis. Evert is a 1973 graduate of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale.

Early in her career, before she won her first Grand Slam event, Evert signed a contract with Calvin Klein to endorse a line of sportswear^{[citation needed]}. Company president Carl Rosen thought so highly of her that he named a yearling racehorse in her honor. The horse Chris Evert went on to win the 1974 U.S. Filly Triple Crown, be voted the Eclipse Award for Outstanding 3-Year-Old Filly, and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

Evert's romance with the top men's player Jimmy Connors captured the public's imagination in the 1970s, particularly after they both captured the singles titles at Wimbledon in 1974. Evert and Connors also occasionally played mixed doubles together. In 1974, they were the runners-up at the U.S. Open. They got engaged, when she was only 19, but the romance did not last. A wedding was planned for November 8, 1974, but it was called off.

In 1979, Evert married the British tennis player John Lloyd and changed her name to "Chris Evert-Lloyd." After Evert's affair with British singer/actor Adam Faith, the couple separated,^{[12][13][14][15]} yet the couple reconciled and chronicled their marriage in a biography Lloyd On Lloyd co-authored by Carol Thatcher.^[16] The marriage ended in divorce in 1987.

In 1988, Evert married two-time Olympic downhill skier Andy Mill. They have three sons: Alexander James (born October 12, 1991), Nicholas Joseph (born June 8, 1994), and Colton Jack (born June 14, 1996). On November 13, 2006, Evert filed for divorce.^[17] The divorce was finalized on December 4, 2006, with Evert paying Mill a settlement of U.S. $7 million in cash and securities.^[18]

Evert and Australian golfer Greg Norman were married on June 28, 2008, in the Bahamas.^[19] On October 2, 2009 they announced they were separating after only 15 months, saying in a statement that they "...will remain friends and supportive of one another's family."^[20] Their divorce was final on December 8, 2009 after 18 months of marriage.

[edit] Current work

Evert operates a tennis academy bearing her name in Boca Raton, Florida. She also helps coach the Saint Andrew's School high school tennis team. She is also currently (2009) a contributor to Tennis Magazine. In June, 2011 she joined ESPN as a tennis commentator.^[21]

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] Records

• These records were attained in Open Era of tennis.
• Records in bold indicate peer-less achievements.

[edit] See also

Tennis portal

• Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final
• Luxembourgian American

[edit] References

Notes

Further reading

• Amdur, Neil; Evert, Chris (1982). Chrissie, My Own Story. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-671-44376-3. 
• Howard, Johnette (2006). The Rivals: Chris Evert vs. Martina Navratilova: Their Epic Duels and Extraordinary Friendship. New York: Broadway. ISBN 0-7679-1885-1. 

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chris Evert

• Chris Evert at the Women's Tennis Association
• Chris Evert at the Fed Cup
• Chris Evert at the International Tennis Federation
• Chris Evert at the International Tennis Hall of Fame

Andrea Jaeger

Country	United States
Residence	Durango, Colorado
Born	(1965-06-04) June 4, 1965 (age 46) Chicago, Illinois
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Turned pro	1979
Retired	1987
Plays	Right-handed
Career prize money	US$1,379,065[1]
Singles
Career record	260–85[1]
Career titles	8
Highest ranking	No. 2 (August 17, 1981)[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	SF (1982)
French Open	F (1982)
Wimbledon	F (1983)
US Open	SF (1980, 1982)
Doubles
Career record	47–38[1]
Career titles	4
Mixed Doubles
Career titles	1
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
French Open	W (1981)

Andrea Jaeger (born June 4, 1965 in Chicago, Illinois) is a former World No. 2 professional tennis player from the United States whose brief but highly successful tennis career ended prematurely due to major shoulder injuries. Jaeger reached the singles final of Wimbledon in 1983 and the French Open in 1982. She reached the singles semifinals of the Australian Open in 1982 and of the U.S. Open in 1980 and 1982. She also won 8 singles titles. In mixed doubles, Jaeger won the French Open with Jimmy Arias in 1981. During her career, Jaeger won U.S. $1.4 million in prize money and millions more in endorsements. After retirement in 1987, she has prominently dedicated her life to public service, charities, and philanthropy. In 2006 she became Sister Andrea, an Anglican Dominican nun. She is a member of the Episcopal Church and based in Colorado, U.S.^[2]

[edit] Tennis career

While a student at Stevenson High School in suburban Chicago, Jaeger was the top ranked player in the United States in the 18-and-under age group. She won 13 U.S. national junior titles, including the most prominent junior titles in tennis: the 1979 Orange Bowl and 1979 Boca Raton.

In 1980 (at the age of 15 years, 19 days), she became the youngest player ever to be seeded at Wimbledon,^[3] a record that was broken by Jennifer Capriati in 1990. After defeating former champion Virginia Wade, she became the youngest quarterfinalist in the history of the tournament.^[4] Later in the year, she became the youngest semifinalist in US Open history and was elected rookie of the year.

In 1981, Jaeger won the U.S. Clay Court Championships, defeating Virginia Ruzici in the final.

At the French Open in 1982, Jaeger defeated Chris Evert in a semifinal 6–3, 6–1 but lost the final to Martina Navratilova. She then reached the semifinals of both the US Open and the Australian Open, losing both matches to Evert in straight sets.

At Wimbledon in 1983, Jaeger defeated six-time Wimbledon singles champion Billie Jean King 6–1, 6–1 in a semifinal on Centre Court, which was King's last career singles match at that tournament and her most lopsided singles defeat ever at Wimbledon.^[5] Jaeger then lost the final to Navratilova. In 2003, Jaeger said that the night before the final, she had a heated argument with her father^[6] over practicing and was locked out of her apartment by her father. Eventually, Jaeger asked Navratilova to convince her father to let her back in. She stated that emotional fatigue might have contributed to her lackluster performance in the final.^[6] On July 4, 2008, Jaeger claimed in the British paper The Daily Mail that she threw the final against Navratilova.^[7]

Jaeger competed in the tennis demonstration event at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles (tennis was re-introduced as an Olympic sport in 1988). In 2006, Jaeger exchanged gifts with an Army Ranger serving in the Iraq War. He gave her his dog tags, and she gave him her Olympic ring.^[8]

Jaeger's career win-loss record against other top players was 3–17 against Evert, 4–11 against Navratilova, 2–8 against Tracy Austin, 6–8 against Hana Mandlíková, and 2–4 against Pam Shriver.

In an interview in 2003, Jaeger stated that she was never committed to being the top ranked player in the world and tanked matches to avoid the top spot.^[9] As she rose toward the top of the game, she started visiting hospitals during tournaments. She stated that she found it, in the words of a USA Today columnist, "difficult to reconcile the narrow-minded focus of a top tennis player with her desire to help others."^[10]

Jaeger won eight of the nine singles matches she played for the U.S. in Fed Cup. She also won two of the three Wightman Cup singles matches she played for the U.S.^[11]

A major shoulder injury at the age of 19 ended Jaeger's career prematurely in 1985. Seeing this career-ending injury as a door to a spiritual awakening, she went to college and received a degree in theology.

[edit] Philanthropy

Jaeger used her winnings from tennis to create the Silver Lining Foundation with her close friend and business partner Heidi Bookout in 1990. Located in Aspen, Colorado, the organization transported groups of young cancer patients to Aspen for a week of support and activities, including horseback riding and whitewater rafting. The foundation also provided money for reunions, family campouts, college scholarships, medical internships, and other programs for children who could not travel. The organization had other powerful backers, both in the world of sports and elsewhere. The first contributor was John McEnroe. Many high-profile celebrities were also involved, including Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, and David Robinson.

Jaeger's autobiography, "First Service", was published in 2004. In the book she wrote about her teenage years as a tennis player and her later decision to focus on serving God. All proceeds from the book were donated to children's charities.

Jaeger has since established the "Little Star Foundation", reaching on average 4,000 kids annually. She has moved from Aspen to a much larger 220-acre (0.89 km²) property in Hesperus, Colorado, where she will be able to expand her programs.^[10]

On September 16, 2006, at the age of 41, Jaeger became Sister Andrea, an Anglican Dominican nun.^[12] She reportedly left the order in 2009.^[13]

In April 2007, Jaeger and several former athletes, including Andre Agassi, Lance Armstrong, Tony Hawk, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and Muhammad Ali, appeared on the American morning television talk show Good Morning America to announce their formation of a new charity entitled "Athletes for Hope" with the goal of encouraging their fellow athletes to think philanthropically.^[14][15]

Oprah Winfrey describes Jaeger as a superstar turned superhero.^[16]

[edit] Major finals

[edit] Grand Slam finals

[edit] Singles: 2 finals (0 titles, 2 runner-ups)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1982	French Open	Clay	Martina Navratilova	7–6(6), 6–1
Runner-up	1983	Wimbledon	Grass	Martina Navratilova	6–0, 6–3

[edit] Mixed doubles: 1 final (1 title, 0 runner-ups)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1981	French Open	Clay	Jimmy Arias	Betty Stöve Fred McNair	7–6, 6–4

[edit] Year-End Championships finals

[edit] Singles: 1 finals (0 titles, 1 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Location	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1981	New York City	Carpet (i)	Martina Navrátilová	6–3, 7–6(3)

[edit] Titles (12)

[edit] Singles (8)

No.	Date	Location	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
1.	September 15, 1980	Las Vegas, USA	Hard (i)	Hana Mandlíková	7–5, 4–6, 6–3
2.	November 10, 1980	Tampa, USA	Hard	Tracy Austin	walkover
3.	January 12, 1981	Kansas City, USA	Carpet (i)	Martina Navrátilová	3–6, 6–3, 7-5
4.	February 9, 1981	Oakland, USA	Carpet (i)	Virginia Wade	6–3, 6–1
5.	August 8, 1981 [17]	Indianapolis, USA (US Clay Court)	Clay	Virginia Ruzici	6–1, 6–0
6.	February 1, 1982	Detroit, USA	Carpet (i)	Mima Jaušovec	2–6, 6–4, 6–2
7.	February 22, 1982	Oakland, USA	Carpet (i)	Chris Evert-Lloyd	7–6(5), 6–4
8.	January 24, 1983	Marco Island, USA	Clay	Hana Mandlíková	6–1, 6–3

[edit] Doubles (4)

[edit] Grand Slam singles performance timeline

A = did not participate in the tournament.

SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.

[edit] See also

• Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Andrea Jaeger at the Women's Tennis Association
• Andrea Jaeger at the International Tennis Federation
• Andrea Jaeger at the Fed Cup
• Athletes for Hope

Gabriela Sabatini

Country	Argentina
Residence	Buenos Aires and Boca Raton
Born	(1970-05-16) 16 May 1970 (age 42) Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	59 kg (130 lb)
Turned pro	January 1985
Retired	1996
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Career prize money	$8,785,850
Int. Tennis HOF	2006 (member page)
Singles
Career record	632–189
Career titles	27
Highest ranking	No. 3 (27 February 1989)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	SF (1989, 1992, 1993, 1994)
French Open	SF (1985, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1992)
Wimbledon	F (1991)
US Open	W (1990)
Doubles
Career record	252–96
Career titles	14
Highest ranking	No. 3 (6 November 1988)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	SF (1989)
French Open	F (1986, 1987, 1989)
Wimbledon	W (1988)
US Open	SF (1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1994)
Last updated on: 4 February 2009.

Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini (born 16 May 1970 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a former professional Argentine tennis player. She was one of the leading players on the women's circuit in the late-1980s and early-1990s. She won the women's singles title at the US Open in 1990, the women's doubles title at Wimbledon in 1988, two WTA Tour Championships in 1988 and 1994, and a silver medal at the 1988 Olympic Games.

Sabatini also won most of the highest level regular events on the women's tour, including Miami and Rome (four times), and she scored a total 10 wins over every reigning number one player she faced during her career.

[edit] Career

Sabatini first came to the tennis world's attention as a junior. She started playing tennis at the age of 6, and won her first tournament at age 8. In 1983, age 13, she became the youngest player to win the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. She won six major international junior titles, including the French Open girls' singles, and was ranked the World No. 1 junior player in 1984.

In 1985, aged 15 years and three weeks, Sabatini became the youngest-ever player to reach the semifinals at the French Open, where she lost to Chris Evert. She won her first top-level singles title later that year in Tokyo.

In 1988, Sabatini reached her first Grand Slam singles final at the US Open. She faced Germany's Steffi Graf, who had won the three previous Grand Slam singles events that year and was looking to win a fourth. Graf won the match 6–3, 3–6, 6–1.^[1] Sabatini was selected to represent Argentina in the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul. (She also carried the country's flag in the opening ceremony.) She went on to win the silver medal in the women's singles competition. In the final, she again faced Graf, who was bidding to turn her Grand Slam into what the media had dubbed a "Golden Slam".^[2] Graf won 6–3, 6–3. Sabatini teamed-up with Graf to win the women's doubles title at Wimbledon that year. She also won 1988's year-end WTA Tour Championships.

[edit] 1990 US Open: Sabatini upsets Steffi Graf

Sabatini's next Grand Slam singles final came in 1990, where she again faced Steffi Graf in the final of the US Open. This time, Sabatini beat Steffi 6–2, 7–6. She also beat Steffi Graf in a semifinal of the WTA Tour Championships but lost the final to Monica Seles in the event's first-ever five-set final 6–4, 5–7, 3–6, 6–4, 6–2.

[edit] 1991

Sabatini had a strong start to 1991, winning five tournaments in the first half of the year. She reached her third Grand Slam singles final at Wimbledon and yet again faced Steffi Graf. Steffi prevailed 6–4, 3–6, 8–6, despite the fact that Sabatini served for the match on more than one occasion. Sabatini came close to attaining the World No. 1 ranking in 1991 but was narrowly denied by Steffi Graf and then by Monica Seles. All three players' rankings were within a few points of each other for much of the year.

[edit] 1992: A mixed bag

Although winning 5 tournaments in 1992, Sabatini failed to reach a Grand Slam Final. At the 1992 Australian Open, Sabatini lost to Mary Joe Fernandez in the semifinals, 6-1, 6-4. Playing fine tennis at the 1992 French Open, Sabatini dropped a tight match against Monica Seles in the semifinals. In the third and decisive set, Sabatini was leading 4-2, but Monica rallied to beat Sabatini 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. At Wimbledon of that year, Sabatini looked to reach a second consecutive Wimbledon Final. And, just as the previous year, Sabatini found Steffi Graf standing in her way, this time in the ladies semifinals. But, unlike their 1991 Championship match, Steffi disposed of Sabatini easily, beating Sabatini 6-3, 6-3. And finally, at the 1992 US Open, Sabatini lost once again to Mary Joe Fernandez in the Quarterfinals, 2-6, 6-1, 4-6.

[edit] 1993

After winning five tournaments in 1992, Sabatini had a 29-month drought in which she failed to win a title. She brought this run to an end at the WTA Tour Championships in 1994 and then won her first tournament of 1995 at Sydney (defeating Lindsay Davenport in the final of both events). But that proved to be the last singles title of Sabatini's career.

In 1994, the Great American Doll Company created a doll in Sabatini's likeness, dressed in tennis clothes.^[3] That same year, Sabatini published a motivational book entitled My Story (ISBN 1-886612-00-5) [1], providing a look at her background and the inspirations that led her to become a tennis player.

Sabatini retired from the professional tour in 1996, having won 27 singles titles and 14 doubles titles. She reached her highest ranking of World No. 3 in 1989. Her last professional singles match was on October 14, 1996, when she lost to Jennifer Capriati 6-3, 6-4. (Capriati's first loss on the WTA tour was to Sabatini in 1990.) Sabatini played her last professional match on October 19, 1996, in the doubles semifinals in ZĂĽrich with Lori McNeil. Sabatini was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on July 15, 2006.

[edit] Major finals

[edit] Grand Slam finals

[edit] Singles: 3 (1-2)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1988	US Open	Hard	Steffi Graf	6–3, 3–6, 6–1
Winner	1990	US Open	Hard	Steffi Graf	6–2, 7–6
Runner-up	1991	Wimbledon	Grass	Steffi Graf	6–4, 3–6, 8–6

[edit] Doubles: 4 (1-3)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1986	French Open	Clay	Steffi Graf	Martina Navratilova Andrea Temesvári	6–1, 6–2
Runner-up	1987	French Open (2)	Clay	Steffi Graf	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	6–2, 6–1
Winner	1988	Wimbledon	Grass	Steffi Graf	Larisa Savchenko Natasha Zvereva	6–3, 1–6, 12–10
Runner-up	1989	French Open (3)	Clay	Steffi Graf	Larisa Savchenko Natasha Zvereva	6–4, 6–4

[edit] Olympic finals

[edit] Singles: 1 (1 silver medal)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Silver medal	1988	Seoul	Hard	Steffi Graf	6–3, 6–3

[edit] Year-End Championships finals

[edit] Singles: 4 (2-2)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1987	New York City	Carpet (i)	Steffi Graf	4–6, 6–4, 6–0, 6–4
Winner	1988	New York City	Carpet (i)	Pam Shriver	7–5, 6–2, 6–2
Runner-up	1990	New York City	Carpet (i)	Monica Seles	6–4, 5–7, 3–6, 6–4, 6–2
Winner	1994	New York City	Carpet (i)	Lindsay Davenport	6–3, 6–2, 6–4

[edit] Titles (41)

[edit] Singles (27)

No.	Event	Date	Location	Surface	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
1	VS	14 October 1985	Tokyo, Japan (Japan Open)	Hard	Linda Gates	6–3, 6–4
2	VS	1 December 1986	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Clay	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	6–1, 6–1
3	VS	14 September 1987	Tokyo, Japan (Pan Pacific Open)	Carpet (i)	Manuela Maleeva	6–4, 7–6(6)
4	VS	19 October 1987	Brighton, UK	Carpet (i)	Pam Shriver	7–5, 6–4
5	VS	30 November 1987	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Clay	Isabel Cueto	6–0, 6–2
6	Tier II	7 March 1988	Boca Raton, USA	Hard	Steffi Graf	2–6, 6–3, 6–1
7	Tier IV	2 May 1988	Rome, Italy	Clay	Helen Kelesi	6–1, 6–7(4), 6–1
8	Tier II	15 August 1988	Montreal, Canada	Hard	Natasha Zvereva	6–1, 6–2
9	WTA Championships	14 November 1988	Virginia Slims Championships, New York City	Carpet (i)	Pam Shriver	7–5, 6–3, 6–2
10	Tier I	27 March 1989	Key Biscayne, USA	Hard	Chris Evert	6–1, 4–6, 6–2
11	Tier II	10 April 1989	Amelia Island, USA	Clay	Steffi Graf	3–6, 6–3, 7–5
12	Tier II	8 May 1989	Rome, Italy	Clay	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	6–2, 5–7, 6–4
13	Tier III	9 October 1989	Filderstadt, Germany	Carpet (i)	Mary Joe Fernandez	7–6(5), 6–4
14	Tier II	5 March 1990	Boca Raton, USA	Hard	Jennifer Capriati	6–4, 7–5
15	Grand Slam	27 August 1990	US Open, New York City	Hard	Steffi Graf	6–2, 7–6(4)
16	Tier II	28 January 1991	Tokyo, Japan (Pan Pacific Open)	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	2–6, 6–2, 6–4
17	Tier I	4 March 1991	Boca Raton, USA	Hard	Steffi Graf	6–4, 7–6(6)
18	Tier I	1 April 1991	Hilton Head Island, USA	Clay	Leila Meskhi	6–1, 6–1
19	Tier II	8 April 1991	Amelia Island, USA	Clay	Steffi Graf	7–5, 7–6(3)
20	Tier I	6 May 1991	Rome, Italy	Clay	Monica Seles	6–3, 6–2
21	Tier III	6 January 1992	Sydney, Australia	Hard	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	6–1, 6–1
22	Tier II	27 January 1992	Tokyo, Japan (Pan Pacific Open)	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	6–2, 4–6, 6–2
23	Tier I	30 March 1992	Hilton Head Island, USA	Clay	Conchita Martínez	6–1, 6–4
24	Tier II	6 April 1992	Amelia Island, USA	Clay	Steffi Graf	6–2, 1–6, 6–3
25	Tier I	4 May 1992	Rome, Italy	Clay	Monica Seles	7–5, 6–4
26	WTA Championships	14 November 1994	Virginia Slims Championships, New York City	Carpet (i)	Lindsay Davenport	6–3, 6–2, 6–4
27	Tier II	9 January 1995	Sydney, Australia	Hard	Lindsay Davenport	6–3, 6–4