The Open Era
Argentina · born Buenos Aires, 1970 · right-handed · Wimbledon doubles champion 1988 and singles finalist 1991
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1988
Wimbledon doubles title with Steffi Graf, the first Wimbledon title won by an Argentine
8-6
Third set of the 1991 Wimbledon final, after she twice served for the title
42-11
Wimbledon singles record, 1985 to 1995
2h 49m
The 1988 ladies' doubles final, the longest in Wimbledon history
3
Career-high world ranking, 1989
Gabriela Sabatini was born in Buenos Aires in 1970, began playing at six and won a tournament two years later. At 13 she became the youngest winner of the Orange Bowl and left Argentina to train in the United States; in 1984 she was the world's No. 1 junior. At 15 she reached the semi-finals of the 1985 French Championships, losing to Chris Evert.
She won 27 singles titles, among them the 1990 US Open, where she beat Steffi Graf in the final, two season-ending championships (1988 and 1994) and four Italian Opens. She lost the 1988 US Open final and the 1988 Olympic final to Graf, carried Argentina's flag at the Seoul Games and reached a career-high No. 3 in 1989. With Graf as her partner she reached three French doubles finals and won Wimbledon in 1988.
On grass she was a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 1986, 1990 and 1992 and came within two games of the title in 1991, losing to Graf 6-4, 3-6, 8-6. She retired in 1996, aged 26, published an autobiography in 1994 and built a second career in fragrances, launching her first perfume in 1989. Graf presented her when she entered the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2006.
| Wimbledon doubles final 1988 | With Steffi Graf beat Larisa Savchenko and Natasha Zvereva 6-3, 1-6, 12-10, after saving two match points at 4-5 in the third set. At 2 hours 49 minutes it is the longest ladies' doubles final at Wimbledon, and its 38 games equal the record for one |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon singles final 1991 | Lost to Graf 6-4, 3-6, 8-6 in 2 hours 7 minutes on Centre Court; she served for the match twice in the third set and was broken back both times. It was the longest ladies' final for 21 years |
| Wimbledon semi-finals | 1986 and 1990, both lost to Martina Navratilova, and 1992 |
| Wimbledon record | 42 wins and 11 defeats in singles over 11 visits, 1985 to 1995 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Women's doubles | with Steffi Graf |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"When I was younger and thought that I had to talk after winning a tournament, I often lost in the semifinals so I did not have to."
The person behind the player.
Miami, 1983
At 13 she won the Orange Bowl junior tournament in Miami, the youngest player to do so, and the same year left home to train in the United States. A year later she was the world's No. 1 junior.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameShyness
Sabatini said in 2013 that as a teenager she believed the winner had to speak on court after a final, so she often lost in the semi-finals rather than face it. "I was very introverted," she said, adding that her fame may have been one reason she never became No. 1.
Source: Tennis.com, 20 October 2013Seoul, 1988
She carried Argentina's flag at the opening ceremony of the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, then won the silver medal in the singles, losing the final to Graf.
Source: OlympediaFame
By 1994 a rose, a doll and a perfume had all been named after her, and crowds packed her practice sessions. She launched the first fragrance in 1989 and went on to a business career in perfume and cosmetics.
Source: Sports Illustrated Vault, 1994; International Tennis Hall of FameCentre Court, 1991
In the 1991 final she twice served for the match in the third set and was broken back both times; Graf won 8-6 in the longest ladies' final for 21 years. Tennis.com later called it the best of their matches and the most painful for Sabatini, who had won their previous five meetings.
Source: Gulf News; Tennis.comNewport, 2006
When Sabatini entered the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2006, the player who presented her was Steffi Graf, her doubles partner and the opponent in all three of her major singles finals.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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