 |
Gabriela Sabatini
Videos more videos      Biography Gabriela Sabatini is an Argentine tennis player. She retired from professional tennis in 1996 after winning one Grand Slam and dazzling tennis fans with her brilliant game and exotic looks. She was inducted to the International Tennis Hall of Fame on July 15, 2006. Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini was born on May 16, 1970 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Gabriela Sabatini started as an exceptional junior tennis player. She started playing tennis when she was just six years old. In 1978 at the age of eight, she won her first tournament. At the age of 13 in 1983, she became the youngest player to win the unofficial junior World Championships, Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. She went on to win the French Open girls' singles and other major international junior titles. In 1984, she became the World No. 1 junior player. In January 1985, Gabriela Sabatini turned pro when she was just 14 years old. In June 1985, she lost to Chris Evert in the semi-finals of the French Open. She broke another record by becoming the youngest player to reach the semi-finals at the French Open. She won her first major singles title in Tokyo later that year. It was in 1988 at the US Open that Sabatini reached her first Grand Slam singles final. She gave a tough fight to the then invincible Graf who eventually won in three sets at 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. In 1988, Sabatini represented Argentina at the Seoul Olympic Games where she won the Silver medal. She reached the finals and faced Graf in the final of the women's singles competition. Graf went on to win in straight sets at 6-3, 6-3 and the Gold medal. Sabatini and Graf teamed up to win that year's women's doubles title at Wimbledon. That year, Sabatini also won the WTA Tour Championships. Sabatini finally won her first Grand Slam title at the 1990 US Open beating Graf in straight sets at 6-2, 7-6. She seemingly made it a habit of beating Graf with a second win over her in the semi-finals of the 1990 WTA Tour Championships. However, she lost to Monica Seles in the final in the five-sets at 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 2-6. Though Sabatini won five tournaments in the next year, she didn't win any Grand Slam title. She made it to the final at the 1991 Wimbledon where she was defeated in three sets by Graf at 6-4, 3-6, 8-6. She was however ranked World No. 3, her career-high singles ranking. After this, her performance declined. In 1992, she won five tournaments after which she didn't win a single title for more than two years. Her bad luck came to an end when she won the 1994 WTA Tour Championships followed by a tournament at Sydney in 1995. She retired from professional tennis in 1996 after winning 27 singles titles and 12 doubles titles. In 1989, at the height of her popularity and tennis form, she launched her own perfume, called Gabriela Sabatini and since retiring has launched several other perfumes. There is even a rose named after her. Despite winning just one Grand Slam title, Sabatini was more popular because of her looks than the near-invincible Graf and Seles. Links Gabriela Sabatini 123celebs - Gabriela Sabatini Gabriela Sabatini - a great tennis star Gabriela Sabatini unofficial website Related Celebrities Carola del Bianco Carolina Ardohain Gisela Dulko Ines Rivero Marianela Pereyra Martina Klein Mia Maestro Natalia Verbeke Valeria Mazza Yamila Diaz-Rahi | |||||||||||
 |