 Sabatini at the US Embassy in Buenos Aires, January 2012 | |||||||||||||||
| Full name | Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  Argentina | ||||||||||||||
| Residence | Buenos Aires, Argentina Boca Raton, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Born | (1970-05-16)16 May 1970 (age 55) Buenos Aires | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||
| Turned pro | 1982 | ||||||||||||||
| Retired | 1996 | ||||||||||||||
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) | ||||||||||||||
| Prize money | $8,785,850 | ||||||||||||||
| Int. Tennis HoF | 2006(member page) | ||||||||||||||
| Singles | |||||||||||||||
| Career record | 632–189 | ||||||||||||||
| Career titles | 27 | ||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 3 (27 February 1989) | ||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam singles results | |||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | SF (1989,1992,1993,1994) | ||||||||||||||
| French Open | SF (1985,1987,1988,1991,1992) | ||||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | F (1991) | ||||||||||||||
| US Open | W (1990) | ||||||||||||||
| Other tournaments | |||||||||||||||
| Tour Finals | W (1988,1994) | ||||||||||||||
| Olympic Games | F (1988) | ||||||||||||||
| Doubles | |||||||||||||||
| Career record | 252–96 | ||||||||||||||
| Career titles | 14 | ||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 3 (6 November 1988) | ||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam doubles results | |||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | SF (1989) | ||||||||||||||
| French Open | F (1986,1987,1989) | ||||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | W (1988) | ||||||||||||||
| US Open | SF (1986,1987,1988,1989,1994,1996) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||
Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini (Spanish pronunciation:[gaˈβɾjelasaβaˈtini]; born 16 May 1970) is an Argentine former professionaltennis player.[1] A former world No. 3 in both singles and doubles, Sabatini was one of the leading players from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, amassing 41 titles across both disciplines.
In singles, Sabatini won the1990 US Open, theWTA Finals in1988 and1994, and was runner-up atWimbledon 1991, the1988 US Open, and the silver medalist at the1988 Olympics. In doubles, she wonWimbledon in 1988 partnering withSteffi Graf, and reached threeFrench Open finals. AmongOpen Era players who did not reach the world No. 1 ranking, Sabatini has the most wins over reigning No. 1 players.[2] In 2006, she was inducted into theInternational Tennis Hall of Fame, and in 2018,Tennis Magazine ranked her as the20th-greatest female player of the preceding 50 years.
Sabatini was born 16 May 1970 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Osvaldo and Beatriz Garofalo Sabatini. Her father was an executive in General Motors.[3] Her elder brother, Osvaldo, is an actor and producer.[4]
Sabatini started playing tennis at the age of six, and won her first tournament at eight. In 1983, age 13, she became the youngest player ever to win theOrange Bowl in Miami, Florida. She won the girls' singles at the 1984 French Open and the US Open girls' doubles with fellow ArgentinianMercedes Paz. Sabatini reached world No. 1 in the junior rankings that year and was named 1984Junior World Champion by theInternational Tennis Federation.
Sabatini stated that she deliberately lost matches in her youth to avoid having to do on-court interviews and therefore avoid media attention. She said that her shyness had been a major problem, and she thought she had to speak on-court after playing in the final of a tournament; so, she would lose in the semifinals.[5][6][7]
In 1985, aged 15 years and three weeks, Sabatini became one of the youngest-ever players to reach the semifinals of theFrench Open, where she lost toChris Evert. She won her firstWTA Tour singles title later that year inTokyo. She first entered the world's top ten (at #10) in September 1985,[8] and ended the year ranked number 12. She received theWTA Newcomer of the Year award.
Sabatini reached the semifinals of Wimbledon in 1986, losing toMartina Navratilova, before winning her second WTA title in Buenos Aires, She re-entered the world's top ten in September 1986 and would remain there for 508 consecutive weeks until May 1996.
Sabatini reached the semifinals of the 1987 French Open, and reached the final of the1987 WTA Tour Championships, losing toSteffi Graf both times. She also won three WTA titles, including defeating world No. 4,Pam Shriver in Brighton.
In February 1988, Sabatini entered the top five in rankings, and would remain there uninterrupted until August 1993.[9] Having reached her third French Open semifinal, she then reached her firstGrand Slam singles final at the US Open, where she lost to Graf in three sets. Sabatini represented Argentina in the1988 Summer Olympics held inSeoul and was selected to carry her country's flag in the opening ceremony. She went on to win the silver medal in the women's singles competition, losing to Graf in the final. Sabatini teamed-up with Graf to win the women's doubles title at Wimbledon that year. At the end of 1988, Sabatini won her firstWTA Tour Championships, without dropping a set.
In 1989, Sabatini reached seven tournament finals and won four titles, including theMiami Open (defeating Evert in the final). In defeating world No. 2,Martina Navratilova, and No. 1, Steffi Graf, to obtain theAmelia Island title, she became only the fifth player inOpen Era history to defeat both the No. 1 and 2 ranked players at the same tournament.[10] She also reached the semifinals of the Australian Open and US Open Grand Slam tournaments.
At theAustralian Open, Sabatini sprained her ankle during a third-round match while one set up, and had to be taken off Centre Court in a wheelchair. 80 minutes later, in the following match,Mark Woodforde also sprained his ankle on the same court and was forced to retire by wheelchair too.[11] Multiple players had complained of the dangers of playing on theRebound Ace hard court surface used at the tournament, which they claimed became very sticky – and therefore potentially dangerous – in very hot conditions.[12] Sabatini was sidelined for six weeks by the injury, returning to the tour in mid-March and winning her first tournament back – theVirginia Slims of Florida – without the loss of a set.
She reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon, losing to eventual championMartina Navratilova, in straight sets.
At the US Open, Sabatini progressed to her second Grand Slam final where she defeated world No. 1 Graf in straight sets 6–2, 7–6 to win the title, having saved two set points against her while 5-6 down in the second set. She credited her win with being more aggressive and coming to the net whenever she could to attack Graf's shorter balls. Sabatini also beat Graf in the semifinals of theWTA Championships inMadison Square Garden later that year, losing in the final toMonica Seles, 6–4, 5–7, 3–6, 6–4, 6–2. It was the first five-set match to be played on the women's tour since 1901.[13]
Sabatini won five tournaments in the first half of the year. She beat three top five players (Graf, Navratilova and Fernandez) on her way to winning the title inTokyo, and beat Graf on three further occasions inBoca Raton,Key Biscayne andAmelia Island. In theItalian Open final, Sabatini defeated world no. 1 Seles for the loss of just five games. She reached the semifinals at Roland Garros (saving two match points in defeatingJana Novotná in the quarter-finals) and then her third Grand Slam singles final atWimbledon, where she lost to Graf 4–6, 6–3, 6–8 (having served for the match twice). Sabatini came close to attaining the world No. 1 ranking in 1991, but was narrowly denied by Graf and then Monica Seles. All three players' rankings were within a few points of each other for much of the year. Her year was capped by receiving theWTA Most Improved Player of the Year award.
Sabatini reached eight finals and won five titles, including her fourthItalian Open (where she beat world No. 1 Seles in the final again),Amelia Island (defeating Graf in the final) andHilton Head. She also reached the semifinal stage at three of the four grand slams: the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon; and a quarterfinal at the US Open.
At the Australian Open, Sabatini reached the semifinals, saving three match points in the quarterfinals againstMary Pierce to defeat her 4–6, 7–6, 6–0, before losing to eventual champion, Seles. She reached consecutive finals at theItalian Open andGerman Open during the clay-court season. At the French Open in June, Sabatini lost toMary Jo Fernandez in the quarterfinals 8–10 in the final set, in what was – at the time – the third longest match inOpen Era tennis, having led 5–1 in the second set.[14] Sabatini also reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, and at the US Open where she lost to Graf in three sets.
That year in May, following thestabbing attack of Monica Seles in theWTA Hamburg tournament, a vote among the top players was held by the tour organisers to decide whether Seles should be allowed to have her world no. 1 ranking protected while recovering from the knife attack. Of the 17 players voting, all players voted against protecting Seles' ranking, apart from Sabatini (who abstained).[15][16] Despite the vote result, Seles was eventually granted a joint No. 1 ranking (with Graf) upon her return to the tour two years later.[17]
In 1994, Sabatini reached the finals ofAmelia Island andStrasbourg, and the semifinals of both theAustralian Open andUS Open. Across 15 consecutive Grand Slam events from Wimbledon 1990 to Australian Open 1994, she did not lose before the quarterfinal stage; this was the4th longest streak of consecutive quarterfinal Grand Slam appearances in women's tennis ever (behind Graf and Navratilova tied on 19, and Chris Evert with 32 straight.) In November, Sabatini defeatedLindsay Davenport in the final of theWTA Championships in New York to win her second title at that tournament. In the first round, she beat world No. 6, Martina Navratilova, in what was Navratilova's last match before retirement.
Sabatini won the title at theSydney International, defeating Davenport in the final in straight sets. As well as the reaching a record seventh final in theAmelia Island Championships and her third final at thePorsche Tennis Grand Prix, she also reached the quarterfinals of both the French Open and Wimbledon, and the semifinals of theUS Open (where she lost to eventual champion Graf 4–6, 6–7). Their semifinal was the 40th and final match between the pair, in which Graf led 29–11. Sabatini's 11 wins meant she had defeated Grafmore times than any other player ever managed to defeat her.
Sabatini missed several months of the season due to a pulled stomach muscle injury. In New York in October, she announced her retirement from professional tennis.[18][19] At the end of the year, she received theWTA Diamond Aces Award (given to the player considered to have done the most to promote tennis both on and off the court).
From 1986 until her five-month injury absence in 1996, Sabatini spent 508 consecutive weeks within the world's top 10. This remains the fourth longest top-10 streak among any player in WTA-tour history.[20] She spent 312 of those weeks in the world's top five, and finished six consecutive seasons with a top-5 ranking.[9] Sabatini reached the semifinal stage or better in Grand Slam championships on 18 occasions in singles and 14 times in doubles, and reached at least one Grand Slam singles semifinal for 11 consecutive years. She defeated the reigning world No. 1 on ten occasions (Graf seven times, Seles twice and Navratilova once) during her career.[21]
Sabatini won theDiamond Konex Award in 2000 as the most distinguished "Sportsperson of the Decade" in Argentina, and in July 2006 she was inducted into theInternational Tennis Hall of Fame.
In the late 1980s, Sabatini launched a line of fragrances after partnering with the German perfume company Mülhens. Her signature scent debuted in 1989. Since retiring, she has continued to promote her lines of perfumes.
In 1992, Sabatini became the first ever tennis player to have a rose named after her, an orange-red bloom.[22][23]
Great American Doll Company created a doll in Sabatini's likeness in 1994, dressed in tennis attire.[24] That same year, Sabatini published a motivational book entitledMy Story.
In 2003, she obtained Italian citizenship "jus sanguinis" through her paternal great-grandfather – David Sabatini – who was born inPotenza Picena in Central Italy, and immigrated to Argentina at the end of the 19th century with his wife Rosa Vivani.[25]
A statue of Sabatini was unveiled in centralBuenos Aires byMauricio Macri in 2014. Within weeks of its unveiling, however, the bronze-coloured racket was stolen from the statue's grip.[26][27] The statue is placed alongside memorials to other Argentinian sports stars includingLionel Messi,Diego Maradona,Guillermo Vilas andRoberto de Vicenzo.
Sabatini was awarded the International Club's prestigiousJean Borotra Sportsmanship Award in 2017 in recognition of both the sportsmanship she demonstrated throughout her career, and for her charitable projects post-retirement. She received the award fromRod Laver at the 2018 Wimbledon Championships.[28]
In 2019, theITF presented Sabatini with its highest accolade, thePhilippe Chatrier Award, for her achievements both during her tennis career and post-retirement charity work, specifically her work involvingUNICEF,UNESCO, theSpecial Olympics, and as an 'Athlete Role Model' at the 2018Youth Olympic Games.[29]
Sabatini resides inBuenos Aires,Boca Raton (Florida) andPfäffikon in Switzerland.[30]
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | SR | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | NH | A | A | SF | 3R | QF | SF | SF | SF | 1R | 4R | 0 / 8 | 29–8 |
| French Open | A | SF | 4R | SF | SF | 4R | 4R | SF | SF | QF | 1R | QF | A | 0 / 11 | 42–11 |
| Wimbledon | A | 3R | SF | QF | 4R | 2R | SF | F | SF | QF | 4R | QF | A | 0 / 11 | 42–11 |
| US Open | 3R | 1R | 4R | QF | F | SF | W | QF | QF | QF | SF | SF | 3R | 1 / 13 | 51–12 |
| Win–loss | 2–1 | 7–3 | 11–3 | 13–3 | 14–3 | 14–4 | 17–3 | 19–4 | 19–4 | 17–4 | 13–4 | 13–4 | 5–2 | 1 / 43 | 164–42 |
| Year-end ranking | 74 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 56 |
| Tournament | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | Career SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | NH | A | A | SF | 2R | 3R | A | A | A | 2R | QF | 0 / 5 |
| French Open | A | 1R | F | F | SF | F | A | SF | A | A | 3R | 3R | A | 0 / 8 |
| Wimbledon | A | 2R | A | 3R | W | QF | QF | A | A | A | 1R | SF | A | 1 / 7 |
| US Open | A | 1R | SF | SF | SF | SF | 3R | A | A | A | SF | 2R | SF | 0 / 9 |
| Grand Slam SR | 0 / 0 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 3 | 1 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 2 | 1 / 29 |
| Year-end ranking | 128 | 54 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 19 | 29 | 55 | NR | NR | 14 | 13 | NR |
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Olimpia de Oro 1987–1988 | Succeeded by |
| Olympic Games | ||
| Preceded by | Flagbearer for Argentina Seoul 1988 | Succeeded by |
| Sporting positions | ||
| Preceded by | Orange Bowl Girls' Singles Champion Category: 18 and under 1984 | Succeeded by |
