Gabriela Sabatini

Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini (Spanish pronunciation: [gaˈβɾjela saβaˈtini]; born 16 May 1970) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. She was one of the leading players on the women's circuit in the late-1980s and early-1990s. She won the women's singles title at the US Open in 1990, the women's doubles title at Wimbledon in 1988, two Year-End Championships in 1988 and 1994, and a silver medal at the 1988 Olympic Games.
Sabatini also won most of the highest level regular events on the women's tour, including Miami and Rome (four times). In the late 1980s, Sabatini launched a line of fragrances after partnering with the German perfume company Muelhens. Her signature scent debuted in 1989.

Sabatini practicing in the early 1990's

Sabatini was born 16 May 1970 in Buenos Aires, Argentina to parents Osvaldo and Beatriz Garofalo Sabatini. She has an elder brother. Her father is an executive in General Motors.

Sabatini said that she deliberately lost matches in her youth to avoid reporters and limelights. She made this claim when she was 43, saying her shyness was a major problem and she thought she had to speak after winning a tournament, so she often lost in semifinals.

Sabatini first came to the tennis world's attention as a junior. She started playing tennis at the age of 6, and won her first tournament at age 8. In 1983, age 13, she became the youngest player to win the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. She won six major international junior titles, including the French Open girls' singles, and was ranked the World No. 1 junior player in 1984.

In 1985, aged 15 years and three weeks, Sabatini became one of the youngest-ever players to reach the semifinals at the French Open, where she lost to Chris Evert. She won her first top-level singles title later that year in Tokyo.

In 1988, Sabatini reached her first Grand Slam singles final at the US Open. She faced Germany's Steffi Graf, who had won the three previous Grand Slam singles events that year and was looking to win a fourth. Graf won the match in three sets. Sabatini was selected to represent Argentina in the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul. She also carried the country's flag in the opening ceremony. She went on to win the silver medal in the women's singles competition. In the final, she again faced Graf, who was bidding to turn her Grand Slam into what the media had dubbed a "Golden Slam". Graf won 6–3, 6–3. Sabatini teamed-up with Graf to win the women's doubles title at Wimbledon that year. She also won 1988's year-end WTA Tour Championships.

1990 US Open: Sabatini upsets Steffi Graf

Sabatini's next Grand Slam singles final came in 1990, where she again faced Graf in the final of the US Open. Sabatini beat Graf in two sets. She also beat Graf in a semifinal of the WTA Tour Championships but lost the final to Monica Seles in the event's first-ever five-set final 6–4, 5–7, 3–6, 6–4, 6–2.

1991

Sabatini had a strong start to 1991, winning five tournaments in the first half of the year. She reached her third Grand Slam singles final at Wimbledon and yet again faced Graf who prevailed in three sets, despite the fact that Sabatini served for the match on more than one occasion. Sabatini came close to attaining the World No. 1 ranking in 1991, but was narrowly denied by Graf and then by Monica Seles. All three players' rankings were within a few points of each other for much of the year.

1992: A mixed bag

Although winning 5 tournaments in 1992, Sabatini failed to reach a Grand Slam Final. At the 1992 Australian Open, Sabatini lost to Mary Joe Fernández in the semifinals, 6–1, 6–4. At the 1992 French Open, Sabatini lost a tight match against Seles in the semifinals. In the third and decisive set, Sabatini was leading 4–2, but Seles rallied to beat Sabatini in three sets. At Wimbledon of that year, Sabatini looked to reach a second consecutive Wimbledon Final. And, just as the previous year, Sabatini found Graf standing in her way, this time in the semifinals. But, unlike their 1991 Championship match, Graf beat Sabatini easily 6–3, 6–3. At the 1992 US Open, Sabatini lost once again to Fernández in the Quarterfinals, 2–6, 6–1, 4–6.

1993

At the start of the 1993 season, Sabatini continued to advance deep into Grand Slam singles events. At the Australian Open of that year, she reached the semifinals but lost to eventual champion Seles 2–6, 1–6. Later that year, at the French Open, Sabatini was defeated by Fernández in a quarterfinal clash. Sabatini had raced out to a commanding 6–1, 5–1 lead and appeared poised for the easy victory. However, Mary Joe saved five match points en route to winning a second set tiebreak. Finally, after 3 and a half hours, Fernández eliminated Sabatini by a final score of 1–6, 7–6(7–4), 10–8. Despite the setback at the French Open, Sabatini reached the quarterfinals at 1993 Wimbledon, facing Jana Novotná, a player she had beaten in six consecutive matches. But this time Novotná defeated Sabatini in straight sets. At the 1993 US Open, Sabatini had hoped to end the year on a high note, but she would first have to get past Graf in the quarterfinals. In their four previous meetings, Graf had beaten Sabatini, but Sabatini looked to change those recent results. After losing the first set 2–6, Sabatini raised the level of her game in the second set, winning 7–5 to even the match at one set apiece. However, in the third and deciding set, Graf dismantled Sabatini 6–1 to win the match. Sabatini was the only player to abstain from voting against Seles having her ranking preserved following her stabbing.

1994

After winning five tournaments in 1992, Sabatini had a 29-month drought in which she failed to win a title. At the 1994 Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Florida, Sabatini reached her first singles final in nearly a year, as she faced Arantxa Sánchez Vicario. It was also a rematch of the 1993 Bausch & Lomb final, where Sánchez Vicario disposed of Sabatini. One year later, both players were looking to end streaks without a singles title: Sabatini was winless in 32 consecutive tournaments while Sánchez Vicario's streak had reached 15 tournaments. This time around Sánchez Vicario beat Sabatini in convincing fashion for the sixth time in their last seven meetings.

Sabatini finally brought her winless streak to an end in November, defeating Lindsay Davenport in the final of the 1994 WTA Tour Championships. Also in 1994, the Great American Doll Company created a doll in Sabatini's likeness, dressed in tennis clothes. That same year, Sabatini published a motivational book entitled My Story (ISBN 1-886612-00-5) [1], providing a look at her background and the inspirations that led her to become a tennis player.

1995

Sabatini started the 1995 season by reaching the semifinals in Sydney, where she faced Mary Joe Fernández in what was a rematch of the previous year. At the 1994 Sydney tournament, Fernández put Sabatini away in straight sets in a semifinal encounter. This time, Sabatini won in straight sets, snapping a three match losing streak against Mary Joe. She then defeated Lindsay Davenport in the final in two sets, the last singles title of Sabatini's career. At the 1995 Australian Open, Sabatini, seeded 5th, was dismissed by Marianne Werdel in the first round. In the semifinals of the Lipton Championships in Key Biscayne, Sabatini was leading Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-1, 5-1. Sabatini then squandered three match points and double faulted 18 times, as Date rallied to beat Sabatini, 1–6, 7–6, 7–6. It turned out to be a repeat performance of the 1993 French Open quarterfinals, where Sabatini lost an identical lead of 6-1, 5-1 against Mary Joe Fernández. At the 1995 French Open, Sabatini looked to put that memory behind her when she faced second seeded Steffi Graf in the quarterfinals. However, Graf proved too strong for Sabatini and won in straight sets. Later that summer at Wimbledon, Sabatini, seeded 8th, lost to defending champion and third-seeded Conchita Martínez of Spain in the quarterfinals. Martínez had clearly turned the tables against Sabatini in their rivalry, beating Sabatini four out of their last five meetings. At the final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open, Sabatini beat Martina Hingis in the round of 16. She then defeated Mary Joe Fernández in the quarterfinals before losing to top-seeded Graf. With the victory, Graf had now got the best of Sabatini in eight consecutive matches. The match against Graf also marked the 40th and final time the two would meet since their rivalry began in 1985, with Graf winning 29 of the matches.

1996 and into retirement

Sabatini with her perfume in 2006.

Sabatini's last professional singles match was on 14 October 1996, when she lost to Jennifer Capriati 6–3, 6–4. (Capriati's first loss on the WTA tour was to Sabatini in 1990). Sabatini played her last professional match on 19 October 1996, in the doubles semifinals in Zürich with Lori McNeil. Sabatini retired from the professional tour in 1996, having won 27 singles titles and 14 doubles titles. She reached her highest ranking of World No. 3 in 1989. In 2001 she won the Diamond Konex Award as the most relevant Sportman of the decade in Argentina. Sabatini was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on 15 July 2006.

On 22 May 2003, Sabatini was able to obtain Italian citizenship "jus sanguinis", because her paternal great-grandfather David Sabbatini was born in Potenza Picena in the Marche region, and emigrated to Argentina at the end of the nineteenth century, like many other Santesi, in Roldán, in the Province of Santa Fe, with his wife Rosa Vivani, married on February 12, 1899 in Potenza Picena.

To date, Sabatini is unmarried and has no children. Nowdays, she resides in Buenos Aires and Boca Raton. She keeps very close to her kin, especially her nieces.

Since retiring at the age of 26, Sabatini has promoted her lines of perfumes and worked with organizations to help children and the poor. She works on campaigns for UNICEF, UNESCO and the Special Olympics, and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2006.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 3 (1 title, 2 runners–up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1988	US Open	Hard	Steffi Graf	3–6, 6–3, 1–6
Winner	1990	US Open	Hard	Steffi Graf	6–2, 7–6(7–4)
Runner-up	1991	Wimbledon	Grass	Steffi Graf	4–6, 6–3, 6–8

Women's doubles: 4 (1 title, 3 runners–up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1986	French Open	Clay	Steffi Graf	Martina Navratilova Andrea Temesvári	1–6, 2–6
Runner-up	1987	French Open	Clay	Steffi Graf	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	2–6, 1–6
Winner	1988	Wimbledon	Grass	Steffi Graf	Larisa Savchenko Natasha Zvereva	6–3, 1–6, 12–10
Runner-up	1989	French Open	Clay	Steffi Graf	Larisa Savchenko Natasha Zvereva	4–6, 4–6

Olympics

Singles: 1 (1 silver medal)

Outcome	Year	Location	Surface	Opponent	Score
Silver medal	1988	Seoul	Hard	Steffi Graf	3–6, 3–6

Year-End Championships finals

Singles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runners–up)

Outcome	Year	Location	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1987	New York City	Carpet	Steffi Graf	6–4, 4–6, 0–6, 4–6
Winner	1988	New York City	Carpet	Pam Shriver	7–5, 6–2, 6–2
Runner-up	1990	New York City	Carpet	Monica Seles	4–6, 7–5, 6–3, 4–6, 2–6
Winner	1994	New York City	Carpet	Lindsay Davenport	6–3, 6–2, 6–4

Singles: 55 (27–28)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1.	8 April 1985	Hilton Head Island	Clay	Chris Evert-Lloyd	4–6, 2–6
Winner	1.	14 October 1985	Tokyo	Hard	Linda Gates	6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	2.	4 November 1985	Tampa	Hard	Stephanie Rehe	4–6, 7–6(7–4), 5–7
Runner-up	3.	28 April 1986	Indianapolis	Clay	Steffi Graf	6–2, 6–7(5–7), 4–6
Winner	2.	1 December 1986	Buenos Aires	Clay	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	6–1, 6–1
Runner-up	4.	4 May 1987	Rome	Clay	Steffi Graf	5–7, 6–4, 0–6
Winner	3.	14 September 1987	Tokyo	Carpet	Manuela Maleeva	6–4, 7–6(8–6)
Winner	4.	19 October 1987	Brighton	Carpet	Pam Shriver	7–5, 6–4
Runner-up	5.	16 November 1987	Virginia Slims Championships	Carpet	Steffi Graf	6–4, 4–6, 0–6, 4–6
Winner	5.	30 November 1987	Buenos Aires	Clay	Isabel Cueto	6–0, 6–2
Winner	6.	7 March 1988	Boca Raton	Hard	Steffi Graf	2–6, 6–3, 6–1
Runner-up	6.	4 April 1988	Hilton Head Island	Clay	Martina Navratilova	1–6, 6–4, 4–6
Runner-up	7.	11 April 1988	Amelia Island	Clay	Martina Navratilova	0–6, 2–6
Winner	7.	2 May 1988	Rome	Clay	Helen Kelesi	6–1, 6–7(4–7), 6–1
Runner-up	8.	8 August 1988	Los Angeles	Hard	Chris Evert	6–2, 1–6, 1–6
Winner	8.	15 August 1988	Montreal	Hard	Natasha Zvereva	6–1, 6–2
Runner-up	9.	29 August 1988	US Open	Hard	Steffi Graf	3–6, 6–3, 1–6
Runner-up	10.	19 September 1988	Seoul	Hard	Steffi Graf	3–6, 3–6
Winner	9.	14 November 1988	Virginia Slims Championships	Carpet	Pam Shriver	7–5, 6–2, 6–2
Winner	10.	20 March 1989	Key Biscayne	Hard	Chris Evert	6–1, 4–6, 6–2
Winner	11.	10 April 1989	Amelia Island	Clay	Steffi Graf	3–6, 6–3, 7–5
Runner-up	11.	17 April 1989	Tampa	Clay	Conchita Martínez	3–6, 2–6
Winner	12.	8 May 1989	Rome	Clay	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	6–2, 5–7, 6–4
Runner-up	12.	15 May 1989	Berlin	Clay	Steffi Graf	3–6, 1–6
Runner-up	13.	7 August 1989	Los Angeles	Hard	Martina Navratilova	0–6, 2–6
Winner	13.	9 October 1989	Filderstadt	Carpet	Mary Joe Fernández	7–6(7–5), 6–4
Winner	14.	5 March 1990	Boca Raton	Hard	Jennifer Capriati	6–4, 7–5
Winner	15.	27 August 1990	US Open	Hard	Steffi Graf	6–2, 7–6(7–4)
Runner-up	14.	8 October 1990	Zürich	Carpet	Steffi Graf	3–6, 2–6
Runner-up	15.	5 November 1990	Worcester	Carpet	Steffi Graf	6–7(5–7), 3–6
Runner-up	16.	12 November 1990	Virginia Slims Championships	Carpet	Monica Seles	4–6, 7–5, 6–3, 4–6, 2–6
Winner	16.	28 January 1991	Tokyo	Carpet	Martina Navratilova	2–6, 6–2, 6–4
Winner	17.	4 March 1991	Boca Raton	Hard	Steffi Graf	6–4, 7–6(8–6)
Runner-up	17.	15 March 1991	Key Biscayne	Hard	Monica Seles	3–6, 5–7
Winner	18.	1 April 1991	Hilton Head Island	Clay	Leila Meskhi	6–1, 6–1
Winner	19.	8 April 1991	Amelia Island	Clay	Steffi Graf	7–5, 7–6(7–3)
Winner	20.	6 May 1991	Rome	Clay	Monica Seles	6–3, 6–2
Runner-up	18.	24 June 1991	Wimbledon	Grass	Steffi Graf	4–6, 6–3, 6–8
Winner	21.	6 January 1992	Sydney	Hard	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	6–1, 6–1
Winner	22.	27 January 1992	Tokyo	Carpet	Martina Navratilova	6–2, 4–6, 6–2
Runner-up	19.	16 March 1992	Key Biscayne	Hard	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	1–6, 4–6
Winner	23.	30 March 1992	Hilton Head Island	Clay	Conchita Martínez	6–1, 6–4
Winner	24.	6 April 1992	Amelia Island	Clay	Steffi Graf	6–2, 1–6, 6–3
Winner	25.	4 May 1992	Rome	Clay	Monica Seles	7–5, 6–4
Runner-up	20.	21 September 1992	Tokyo	Carpet	Monica Seles	2–6, 0–6
Runner-up	21.	12 October 1992	Filderstadt	Carpet	Martina Navratilova	6–7(1–7), 3–6
Runner-up	22.	5 April 1993	Amelia Island	Clay	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	2–6, 7–5, 2–6
Runner-up	23.	3 May 1993	Rome	Clay	Conchita Martínez	5–7, 1–6
Runner-up	24.	10 May 1993	Berlin	Clay	Steffi Graf	6–7(3–7), 6–2, 4–6
Runner-up	25.	4 April 1994	Amelia Island	Clay	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	1–6, 4–6
Runner-up	26.	16 May 1994	Strasbourg	Clay	Mary Joe Fernández	6–2, 4–6, 0–6
Winner	26.	14 November 1994	Virginia Slims Championships	Carpet	Lindsay Davenport	6–3, 6–2, 6–4
Winner	27.	9 January 1995	Sydney	Hard	Lindsay Davenport	6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	27.	3 April 1995	Amelia Island	Clay	Conchita Martínez	1–6, 4–6
Runner-up	28.	9 October 1995	Filderstadt	Carpet	Iva Majoli	4–6, 6–7(4–7)

Doubles: 30 (14–16)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Winner	1.	18 March 1985	São Paulo	Clay	Mercedes Paz	Csilla Bartos Neige Dias	7–5, 6–4
Runner-up	1.	25 March 1985	Palm Beach Gardens	Clay	Laura Gildemeister	JoAnne Russell Anne Smith	6–1, 1–6, 6–7(4–7)
Winner	2.	19 August 1985	Monticello	Hard	Mercedes Paz	Andrea Holíková Kateřina Skronská	5–7, 6–4, 6–3
Winner	3.	4 November 1985	Tampa	Hard	Carling Bassett	Lisa Bonder Laura Gildemeister	6–0, 6–0
Runner-up	2.	14 April 1986	Amelia Island	Clay	Catherine Tanvier	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Helena Suková	2–6, 7–5, 6–7(7–9)
Winner	4.	28 April 1986	Indianapolis	Clay	Steffi Graf	Gigi Fernández Robin White	6–2, 6–0
Runner-up	3.	26 May 1986	French Open	Clay	Steffi Graf	Martina Navratilova Andrea Temesvári	1–6, 2–6
Winner	5.	4 August 1986	Montreal	Hard	Zina Garrison	Pam Shriver Helena Suková	7–6(7–2), 5–7, 6–4
Winner	6.	6 October 1986	Zürich	Carpet	Steffi Graf	Lori McNeil Alycia Moulton	1–6, 6–4, 6–4
Runner-up	4.	13 October 1986	Filderstadt	Carpet	Zina Garrison	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	6–7(5–7), 4–6
Runner-up	5.	10 November 1986	Chicago	Carpet	Steffi Graf	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Helena Suková	7–6(7–5), 6–7(5–7), 3–6
Runner-up	6.	9 February 1987	San Francisco	Carpet	Zina Garrison	Hana Mandlíková Wendy Turnbull	4–6, 6–7(4–7)
Winner	7.	13 April 1987	Amelia Island	Clay	Steffi Graf	Hana Mandlíková Wendy Turnbull	3–6, 6–3, 7–5
Winner	8.	4 May 1987	Rome	Clay	Martina Navratilova	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Helena Suková	6–4, 6–1
Runner-up	7.	25 May 1987	French Open	Clay	Steffi Graf	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	2–6, 1–6
Winner	9.	30 November 1987	Buenos Aires	Clay	Mercedes Paz	Jill Hetherington Christiane Jolissaint	6–2, 6–2
Runner-up	8.	22 February 1988	Washington	Carpet	Helena Suková	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	3–6, 4–6
Winner	10.	14 March 1988	Key Biscayne	Hard	Steffi Graf	Gigi Fernández Zina Garrison	7–6(7–3), 6–3
Runner-up	9.	4 April 1988	Hilton Head Island	Clay	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch	Martina Navratilova Lori McNeil	4–6, 3–6
Winner	11.	20 June 1988	Wimbledon	Grass	Steffi Graf	Larisa Savchenko Natasha Zvereva	6–3, 1–6, 12–10
Runner-up	10.	31 October 1988	Worcester	Carpet	Helena Suková	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	3–6, 6–3, 5–7
Runner-up	11.	29 May 1989	French Open	Clay	Steffi Graf	Laris Savchenko Natasha Zvereva	4–6, 4–6
Winner	12.	30 July 1990	Montreal	Hard	Betsy Nagelsen	Helen Kelesi Raffaella Reggi	3–6, 6–2, 6–2
Runner-up	12.	13 August 1990	Los Angeles	Hard	Mercedes Paz	Gigi Fernández Jana Novotná	3–6, 5–7
Runner-up	13.	2 May 1994	Rome	Clay	Brenda Schultz	Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva	1–6, 3–6
Runner-up	14.	7 November 1994	Philadelphia	Carpet	Brenda Schultz	Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva	6–4, 4–6, 2–6
Winner	13.	6 February 1995	Chicago	Carpet	Brenda Schultz	Marianne Werdel Tami Whitlinger	5–7, 7–6(7–4), 6–4
Runner-up	15.	15 May 1995	Berlin	Clay	Larisa Neiland	Amanda Coetzer Inés Gorrochategui	6–4, 6–7(3–7), 2–6
Runner-up	16.	7 August 1995	Los Angeles	Hard	Larisa Neiland	Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva	5–7, 7–6(7–2), 5–7
Winner	14.	14 August 1995	Toronto	Hard	Brenda Schultz	Martina Hingis Iva Majoli	4–6, 6–0, 6–3

Singles

Doubles

• SR = the ratio of the number of tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.

Sabatini's win-loss record against certain players who have been ranked World No. 10 or higher is as follows:

Players who have been ranked World No. 1 are in boldface.