Renowned German professional tennis player Steffi Graf, who had won 22 major singles titles, started training for Tennis at the age of three due to her parents, Heidi Schalk and Peter Graf.
Her father, Peter Graf, a professional car and insurance salesman, was into tennis and had been playing for a long time.
Therefore, from an early age, he taught his children, daughter Stefanie Graf and son Michael, how to swing a wooden racket in the family’s living room.
Adorable. A young Steffi Graf rocking the headband and sweater vest and strategizing at the net with father Peter. pic.twitter.com/04TJIpqp4N
— Steffi Graf Tribute (@GrafTribute) May 23, 2017
Although her brother Michael did not show much interest in sports growing up, Stefanie Graf loved it and continued her training.
At the age of four, she began practicing on a court, and when she was five, she played in her first tournament. As she continued her career, she started taking the top prize at junior tournaments and consequently in the 1982 European Championships.
Even when Steffi Graf started playing professional Tennis, her father, Peter Graf, continued to be her coach and manager for a long time.
Steffi Graf’s father, Peter Graf, was accused of controlling his daughter’s life and finances!
As Steffi Graf was coached by her father from an early age, she mostly did what her father thought was better for her career.
On the other hand, her father, Peter Graf, was not a professional or certified coach. He had just had experience playing tennis and had brought her daughter into the game. Since then, he has been her personal coach and manager.
"You can't measure success if you've never failed. My father taught me that if you really do want to reach your goals, you can't spend any time worrying about whether you're going to win or lose. Focus only on getting better." – Steffi Graf.#MondayMotivation #USOpen pic.twitter.com/mRAKFSvhsh
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) December 4, 2017
However, despite his lack of a coaching certificate, Steffi Graf did have great success, including winning 22 grand slam titles under his coaching.
However, amid her rising career in 1990, the controversy took over, and Steffi Graf’s father, as her manager, controlled her professional, personal, and financial life.
Despite Peter’s undeniable contributions to his daughter’s early career, his paternity scandal caused the tennis champion huge embarrassment under the glare of the untiring media.
Similarly, in 1995, Peter faced charges of tax evasion by German authorities and served 25 months in prison, although his sentence was 45 months. However, during the investigation, officers found no trace of Steffi Graf’s involvement in the crime.
Hoy cumple 52 años Steffi Graf, una de las mejores tenistas de la historia. Pura clase y elegancia en la pista. pic.twitter.com/f1cF4zBhwo
— retrochenta (@retrochenta) June 14, 2021
Moreover, in 1997, Steffi Graf again faced charges for tax envision and received three years since.
Due to her father’s work, Steffi Graf faced huge embarrassment, affecting her reputation. Later, her father released a public apology, writing,
Without the whole story, Steffi would still be No.1 in the world.
However, during her father’s scandal, Steffi Graf dropped from No. 1 to No. 2 in the world coincided.
In Case You Did Not Know
- Peter Graf was born in Mannheim, Germany, and passed away on November 30, 2013, at the age of 75, due to cancer.
- According to the reports, Peter Graf told his second wife, Britta, to request doctors to turn off the machine that was keeping him alive. They turned off the matching on Saturday, after which he fell into a coma and passed away peacefully.
- Nicole Meissner, a model who posed for the West German edition of Playboy, came to the media claiming she is the mother of Peter Graf’s child, whom they had during their two-year affair. However, a blood test proved her statement to be false.
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