10 United States Best Tennis Players Of All Time
Updated on: September 2023
United States Best Tennis Players Of All Time in 2023
The Greatest Jewish Tennis Players of All Time
The Greatest Tennis Matches of All Time
Best Tennis Players of All Time (Sports' Best Ever)
Billie Jean King: Tennis Star & Social Activist (Legendary Athletes)
The Prince of Tennis, Vol. 10 (v. 10)
The Prince of Tennis, Volume 5
A Champion's Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis
How It Feels to Fly
Arthur Ashe: Tennis Great & Civil Rights Leader (Legendary Athletes)
Big Bill Tilden: The Triumphs and the Tragedy (Hall of Fame Edition Book 2)
Steffi Graf Versus Monica Seles - Who is Better?
Steffi Graf and Monica Seles are considered rivals stemming from the Hamburg stabbing. Seles was at that time on top of her Game. Maybe she would have been the most successful tennis player of our time if the stabbing wouldn't have occurred.
Steffi Graf Strengths
Reporters were raving after Steffi Graf's victory in 1987 announcing that a new era has arrived. That year she won Wimbledon for the first time beating Martina Navratilova. The German Tennis player was quick on her feet, full of energy while the much older Martina Navratilova seemed to easy fatigue and struggling to keep up. Graf's positioned herself cleverly on the corner of the court so she could hit the ball with her fierce forehand. Just reviewing the final moments of her first Wimbledon victory brings back memories. The young Graf needed much coaching back then accepting the trophy from British Royalty. I can't help but to smile about that.
Monica Seles - On Top of Her Game at Time of her Stabbing
In 1992 Graf acknowledged the strengths of the younger player Seles predicting that with time it will be tough for her to beat her. The following year Seles beat her and was listed the Number 1 female player at the AFT Ranking. Then Seles was stabbed by a German Fan in Hamburg forcing her to withdraw from the tournament and other Grand Slam Tournament for 27 months. Ironically it was during that time that Steffi Graf took the Number 1 spot again.
Seles and Graf Struggled Both With Personal Issues
But Steffi Graf's life wasn't without problem either. Her father who was also her coach was jailed for tax evasion. Graf even broke down crying at a press conference regarding questions about that matter forcing Wimbledon official to protect her in her press conferences. Seles on the other had struggled with fear and depression stemming from the stabbing incident but also with food and weight gain according to her biography. Her Dad, Her coach and her beloved puppy died. Some would say if Seles wouldn't have been stabbed in Hamburg , we would be crowning her as the Tennis Champion instead of Steffi Graf.
Numbers Don't Lie
In the end however numbers don't lie. Steffi Graf and her husband Andre Agassi are the only players, who won all four major tournaments and the Gold Medal in 1988. Graf is the only one who won all four tournaments twice in two decades. She also was number 1 for 186 consecutive weeks. Seles won 9 Grand Slam Titles and 44 tournaments. In the end these numbers make it appear that Steffi Graf was indeed the better Tennis player.
None of us can deny that Monica Seles and Steffi Graf are both amazing ladies in the Tennis World
