"Everybody is talking about it, you get questions left & right"- When Steffi Graf opened up about extraordinary pressure on her during Golden Slam run
Steffi Graf once opened up about the exceptional pressure she faced before the final step in her once-in-a-lifetime Calendar Golden Slam run. The German tennis icon remains the only player to achieve the Golden Slam (winning all Grand Slam events and the Olympic gold medal) in the same year.
Graf earned her first Major at the 1987 French Open, and lost in the final of the next two Grand Slam events that year. However, in 1988, she did not lose a single match at any of the four Majors.
Graf kicked off the 1988 season in dominant fashion, storming through the Australian Open without dropping a set. She defeated Chris Evert 6-1, 7-6 in the final.
At the French Open, the German produced the most lopsided Grand Slam final in history, dismantling Natasha Zvereva 6-0, 6-0 in just 34 minutes. Then came Wimbledon, where she dethroned American tennis icon Martina Navratilova, rallying from a set and a break down to win 5-7, 6-2, 6-1.
With three Slams secured, the expectations reached a fever pitch. In an interview with Tennis.com in 2008, Graf looked back at the pressure she faced before heading into the US Open in 1988.
"I obviously had an incredible start to the year. Playing so well in the Australian Open and the same with Paris. The toughest part was going into the U.S. Open with everyone talking about the possibility of it," Graf recalled.
She added that she tried to defer them but it was difficult.
"I was trying to defer the pressure by saying I wasn’t thinking about it, but everybody is talking about it and you get questions left and right," she said.
Despite the weight of history, the 19-year-old Graf delivered when it mattered most. She defeated Gabriela Sabatini 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to complete the Grand Slam—the only one ever won on three surfaces.
Then, at the Seoul Olympics, she beat Sabatini again, 6-3, 6-3, clinching the "Career Golden Slam" - a feat no other player has matched.
When Steffi Graf revealed if the Olympic gold medal meant more to her than the Grand Slam titles won in 1988
In the same interview with Tennis.com, Steffi Graf was asked if her Olympic gold medal meant more to her than the Grand Slam titles she won in 1988.
"No, it didn’t. It was special, but if I look at what means more to me, it was winning the Slams. That is our sport. Four times a year you have to be at your best for two weeks," Steffi Graf responded.
In her career that lasted 10 more years until 1999, she added seven more runner-up finishes and 17 more Major titles to finish with 22 Grand Slam titles.