Gabriela Sabatini

At 54 years old, Gabriela Sabatini has this physical status:

Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini (Spanish pronunciation: [gaˈβɾjela saβaˈtini]; born 16 May 1970) is an Argentine-Italian former professional tennis player. A former world No. 3 in both singles and doubles, Sabatini was one of the leading players from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, amassing 41 titles. In singles, Sabatini won the 1990 US Open, the Tour Finals in 1988 and 1994, and was runner-up at Wimbledon 1991, the 1988 US Open, and the silver medalist at the 1988 Olympics. In doubles, Sabatini won Wimbledon in 1988 partnering Steffi Graf, and reached three French Open finals. Among Open era players who did not reach the world No. 1 ranking, Sabatini has the most wins over reigning world No. 1 ranked players. In 2006, she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and in 2018 Tennis Magazine ranked her as the 20th-greatest female player of the preceding 50 years.

Personal life

In the late 1980s, Sabatini launched a line of fragrances after partnering with the German perfume company Mülhens. Her signature scent debuted in 1989. Since retiring, she has continued to promote her lines of perfumes.

In 1992, Sabatini became the first ever tennis player to have a rose named after her, an orange-red bloom.

Great American Doll Company created a doll in Sabatini's likeness in 1994, dressed in tennis attire. That same year, Sabatini published a motivational book entitled My Story.

In 2003, she obtained Italian citizenship "jus sanguinis" through her paternal great-grandfather – David Sabatini – who was born in Potenza Picena in Central Italy, and immigrated to Argentina at the end of the 19th century with his wife Rosa Vivani.

A statue of Sabatini was unveiled in central Buenos Aires by Mauricio Macri in 2014. Within weeks of its unveiling, however, the bronze-coloured racket was stolen from the statue's grip. The statue is placed alongside memorials to other Argentinian sports stars including Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona, Guillermo Vilas and Roberto de Vicenzo.

Sabatini was awarded the International Club's prestigious Jean Borotra Sportsmanship Award in 2017 in recognition of both the sportsmanship she demonstrated throughout her career, and for her charitable projects post-retirement. She received the award from Rod Laver at the 2018 Wimbledon Championships.

In 2019, the ITF presented Sabatini with its highest accolade, the Philippe Chatrier Award, for her achievements both during her tennis career and post-retirement charity work, specifically her work involving UNICEF, UNESCO, the Special Olympics, and as an 'Athlete Role Model' at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.

Through her brother Osvaldo, Sabatini's sister-in-law is Venezuelan actress Catherine Fulop and her niece is Argentinian singer and actress Oriana Sabatini. Sabatini resides in Buenos Aires, Boca Raton (Florida) and Pfäffikon in Switzerland.

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Childhood and junior career

Sabatini was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1970, to Osvaldo and Beatriz Garofalo Sabatini. Her father worked as an executive in GM. Osvaldo, her elder brother, is an actor and director.

Sabatini began playing tennis at the age of six and won her first tournament at eight years old. She was the youngest woman to win the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, in 1983, at the age of 13. With fellow Argentinian Mercedes Paz, she won the girls' singles and the US Open girls' doubles at the 1984 French Open and the US Open girls' doubles. Sabatini made history by becoming the world No. 1. The International Tennis Federation named 1984 Junior World Champion by the International Tennis Federation, placing him 1 in the junior rankings this year.

Sabatini claimed that she deliberately missed matches in her youth in order to avoid having to do on-court interviews and thus avoid public attention. She said that her shyness had been a big issue and that she had to speak on-court after being eliminated in the final of a tournament, meaning she would miss out in the semifinals.

Career

Sabatini, a 15-year-old girl from 1985, became one of France's youngest-ever participants, losing to Chris Evert in the semifinals. Later this year in Tokyo, she captured her first WTA Tour singles title. She debuted in the top ten (at #10) in September 1985 and ended the year as the country's top ten (at #10) and ended the year ranked number 12. She was named WTA Newcomer of the Year by the WTA.

Sabatini reached the semifinals of Wimbledon 1986, losing to Martina Navratilova, then losing her second WTA title in Buenos Aires, and will remain there for 508 weeks in a row until May 1996.

Sabatini reached the semifinals of the 1987 French Open and the final of the 1987 WTA Tour Championships, losing to Steffi Graf both times. She has also won three WTA titles, including defeating the world No. 1. Pam Shriver of Brighton, 4.

Sabatini debuted in February 1988 and is expected to remain in the top five in the rankings for the remainder of the year until August 1993. She progressed to her third French Open semifinal appearance and then advanced to the US Open singles final, defeating Graf in three sets. Sabatini represented Argentina in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul and was selected to carry her country's flag in the opening ceremony. She went on to win the silver medal in the women's singles competition, but Graf defeated her in the final. Sabatini won the women's doubles title at Wimbledon last year after partnering with Graf. Sabatini took her first WTA Tour Championships at the end of 1988 without missing a single detail.

Sabatini made seven tournament finals and won four titles, including the Miami Open in 1989 (Defeating Evert in the final). No. 1 in the world defeated the No. 1 in the world No. Martina Navratilova, No. 2 and No. 2 in the United Kingdom Martina Navratilova. 1, Steffi Graft won the Amelia Island championship, becoming the fifth player in Open Era history to win both the No. 1 and the No. 2 races. At the same tournament, the top two players are ranked 1 and 2. She has also reached the semifinals of the Australian Open and US Open Grand Slam tournaments.

Sabatini strained her ankle during a third-round match, but one set up and had to be taken out Centre Court in a wheelchair. Mark Woodforde sprained his ankle on the same court 80 minutes later and was forced to leave by wheelchair. Multiple players had feared the dangers of playing on the Rebound Ace hard court surface at the tournament, which they claimed became extremely sticky – and therefore potentially risky – under extremely hot weather. Sabatini was sidelined for six weeks due to a traumatic illness, returning to the tour in mid-March and winning her first tournament, the Virginia Slims of Florida, without losing a single set.

She reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon, losing in straight sets to eventual champion Martina Navratilova.

Sabatini advanced to her second Grand Slam final, defeating world No. 1 in the US Open. 1 Graf claimed the title in straight sets 6–2, 7–6, 6–6, having saved two set points against her during the second set and 5-6 down in the second set. She credited her victory with being more offensive and hitting Graf's shorter balls. Sabatini also defeated Graf in the semifinals of the WTA Championships in Madison Square Garden later this year, losing in the final to Monica Seles, 6–4, 5–6, 6–2. It was the first five-set match on the women's tour since 1901.

In the first half of the year, Sabatini won five tournaments. On her way to win the title in Tokyo, she defeated Graf three times (Graf, Navratilova, and Fernandez) and defeated Graf in Boca Raton, Key Biscayne, and Amelia Island. Sabatini defeated the world no. 1 in the Italian Open finals. For the loss of just five games, 1 Seles has been criticized. She reached the semifinals at Roland Garros (saving two match points in defeating Jana Novotna in the quarterfinals) and then the third Grand Slam singles final at Wimbledon, where she defeated Graf 4–6, 6–8, 6-8. Sabatini came close to winning the world No. 2 position. In 1991, the No. 1 position was ranked, but Graf and then Monica Seles denied it, and then Monica Seles were barely denied. For a few points more than a year, both three players' rankings were within a few points of each other. Her year was marked by being named WTA Most Improved Player of the Year.

Sabatini achieved eight finals and five titles, including her fourth Italian Open (where she defeated world No. 5) in the Italian Open (where she defeated world No. 2). Amelia Island (defeating Graf in the final) and Hilton Head are among the finalists in the final. She also appeared in the semifinals at three of the four grand slams: the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon; and a quarterfinal at the US Open.

Sabatini reached the semifinals of the Australian Open, saving three match points against Mary Pierce in the quarterfinals, beating her 4–6, 6–0, before losing to eventual champion Seles. During the clay-court season, she reached finals at both the Italian Open and German Open. Sabatini lost in the third set of the French Open in June 6–10 for the third time – her third longest match in Open Age tennis, having led 5–1 in the second set. Sabatini has also reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the US Open, where she lost in three sets to Graf.

Following Monica Seles' stabbing attack in the WTA Hamburg tournament, a vote among the top players was held by the tour organisers in May to determine whether Seles should have her world no. When recovering from the knife attack, a number one is ranked. All 17 players voted against protecting Seles' ranking, except for Sabatini (who abstained). Despite the voter's result, Seles was eventually given a joint No. On her return to the tour two years later, she received a top ranking (with Graf).

Sabatini qualified in 1994 and 1999 for Amelia Island and Strasbourg, as well as the Australian Open and US Open semifinals. She did not lose in 15 Grand Slam events from Wimbledon 1990 to Australian Open 1994; this was the third straight Grand Slam appearances in women's tennis ever (behind Graf and Navratilova tied on 19). Sabatini won her second title in that tournament in November in November over Lindsay Davenport in the final of the WTA Championships in New York. She defeated the world No. 1 in the first round of the world No. 109. Martina Navratilova in what was Navratilova's last match before retirement, is number 6 in Navratilova's last match before retiring.

Sabatini took the title at the Sydney International Stadium after defeating Davenport in straight sets in the final. She also reached the quarterfinals of both the French Open and Wimbledon as well as her third final at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, as well as the historic seventh finals of the Amelia Island Championships and her third final. Graf led by 29–11. This was the 40th and final match between the two teams. Sabatini's 11 victories meant she had defeated Graf more times than any other player had ever managed to defeat her.

Sabatini missed several months of the season due to a pulled stomach muscle injury. She resigned from competitive tennis in New York in October. She received the WTA Diamond Aces Award at the end of the year (given to the player who has done the most to promote tennis both on and off the court).

Sabatini spent 508 weeks in a row from 1986 to 1996, the first time she was out of the top ten. This is the fourth longest streak in WTA history for any player. She spent 312 weeks in the top five countries and had six seasons in a row with a top-five finish. Sabatini has appeared in Grand Slam singles and 14 times in doubles, as well as in doubles, and has reached at least one Grand Slam singles semifinal for the 11 years in a row. She defeated the reigning world No. 1 in the world No. 5. She has appeared on ten occasions (Graf seven times, Seles twice, and Navratilova once) during her career.

Sabatini was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in July 2006, and in 2000 she was named as the best "Sportsperson of the Decade" in Argentina.

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