Steffi Graf

Steffi Graf is a German former professional tennis player who won 22 Grand Slam singles titles and held the world No. 1 ranking for 377 weeks, a record.

1988 tennis season: The tennis season in which Steffi Graf won all four Grand Slam singles titles and Olympic gold. Graf completed the Golden Slam in a single calendar year.
Tennis forehand: A tennis groundstroke struck on the player's dominant side. Graf's forceful forehand was her signature attacking shot.
Boris Becker: A German former professional tennis player who won six Grand Slam singles titles. Becker and Graf became Germany's most prominent tennis champions of the 1980s and 1990s.
WTA rankings: The Women's Tennis Association's system for ranking professional women's tennis players. Graf's 377 weeks at No. 1 remain the longest total in the ranking system's history.
Mannheim: A city in southwestern Germany, where Steffi Graf was born in 1969. Graf's hometown anchors the beginning of her life and tennis career.
Golden Slam: Winning all four Grand Slam singles titles and Olympic gold in the same calendar year. Graf achieved the only singles Golden Slam in tennis history in 1988.
Tennis serve: The stroke that starts each point in tennis by sending the ball into the opponent's service court. A strong serve helped Graf take control of points early.
Martina Navratilova: A Czech-American former professional tennis player who won 18 Grand Slam singles titles. Navratilova was Graf's formidable rival during Graf's rise to the top.
Monica Seles stabbing: The 1993 on-court attack in Hamburg that injured tennis player Monica Seles. Seles's absence reshaped the competitive landscape during Graf's later career.
West Germany: The state that existed in western Germany from 1949 until German reunification in 1990. Graf grew up and began her rise to prominence in West Germany.

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