Gabriela Sabatini facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Gabriela Sabatini

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 (76.98%)
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 Representing  Argentina Women's tennis Olympic Games Silver 1988 Seoul Singles

Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini (born May 16, 1970) is a famous former professional tennis player from Argentina. She was one of the top players from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. Gabriela reached world No. 3 in both singles and doubles tennis. She won 41 titles during her career.

In singles, Gabriela won the US Open in 1990. She also won the WTA Finals twice, in 1988 and 1994. She was a runner-up at Wimbledon in 1991 and the US Open in 1988. At the 1988 Olympics, she won a silver medal. In doubles, Gabriela won Wimbledon in 1988 with her partner Steffi Graf. She also reached three French Open finals in doubles.

Gabriela Sabatini is known for having many wins against players ranked world No. 1. In 2006, she was honored by being added to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Growing Up and Junior Tennis Career

Gabriela Sabatini was born on May 16, 1970, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her parents are Osvaldo and Beatriz Garofalo Sabatini. Her father worked as an executive for General Motors. Gabriela's older brother, Osvaldo, is an actor and producer.

Gabriela started playing tennis when she was six years old. She won her very first tournament at the age of eight. In 1983, when she was 13, she became the youngest player ever to win the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. The next year, in 1984, she won the girls' singles title at the French Open. She also won the US Open girls' doubles with her fellow Argentinian player, Mercedes Paz. That year, Gabriela reached world No. 1 in the junior rankings. The International Tennis Federation named her the 1984 Junior World Champion.

Gabriela once shared that she sometimes lost matches on purpose when she was young. She did this to avoid having to do interviews on the court. She said she was very shy and thought she had to speak to the media after playing in a final. So, she would sometimes lose in the semifinals instead.

Professional Tennis Career

Starting Out in Tennis

In 1985, at just 15 years old, Gabriela Sabatini made it to the semifinals of the French Open. She was one of the youngest players to do so. She later won her first singles title on the WTA Tour in Tokyo that same year. By September 1985, she entered the world's top ten players. She finished the year ranked No. 12 and received the WTA Newcomer of the Year award.

In 1986, Gabriela reached the semifinals of Wimbledon. She then won her second WTA title in Buenos Aires. She stayed in the world's top ten for 508 weeks in a row, until May 1996.

Gabriela reached the semifinals of the 1987 French Open. She also made it to the final of the 1987 WTA Tour Championships. She won three WTA titles that year, including a big win over world No. 4, Pam Shriver.

1988: Big Finals and a Wimbledon Win

In February 1988, Gabriela Sabatini entered the top five in the world rankings. She stayed there until August 1993. After reaching her third French Open semifinal, she played in her first Grand Slam singles final at the US Open. She lost a close match to Steffi Graf.

Gabriela represented Argentina at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. She was chosen to carry her country's flag at the opening ceremony. She went on to win the silver medal in women's singles, again losing to Steffi Graf in the final. That same year, Gabriela teamed up with Steffi Graf to win the women's doubles title at Wimbledon. At the end of 1988, Gabriela won her first WTA Tour Championships. She won this tournament without losing a single set.

1989: Winning More Titles

In 1989, Gabriela Sabatini reached seven tournament finals and won four titles. This included the Miami Open, where she beat Chris Evert in the final. She also won the Amelia Island title by defeating world No. 2, Martina Navratilova, and world No. 1, Steffi Graf. This made her one of only five players in the Open Era to beat both the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked players in the same tournament. She also reached the semifinals of the Australian Open and US Open Grand Slam tournaments.

1990: US Open Champion!

At the Australian Open in 1990, Gabriela sprained her ankle during a match. She had to leave the court in a wheelchair. She was out of play for six weeks because of the injury. When she returned to the tour in March, she won her first tournament back, the Virginia Slims of Florida, without losing a set.

She reached the semifinals of Wimbledon, where she lost to Martina Navratilova.

At the US Open, Gabriela reached her second Grand Slam final. There, she defeated world No. 1 Steffi Graf in straight sets (6–2, 7–6) to win the title! She saved two set points in the second set. Gabriela said her win came from being more aggressive and moving to the net more often. Later that year, she also beat Graf in the semifinals of the WTA Championships. She lost in the final to Monica Seles in a very long five-set match. This was the first five-set match in women's tennis since 1901.

1991: Almost World No. 1

Gabriela won five tournaments in the first half of 1991. She beat three top-five players (Graf, Navratilova, and Fernandez) to win the title in Tokyo. She also beat Graf three more times in other tournaments. In the Italian Open final, Gabriela defeated world No. 1 Monica Seles easily. She reached the semifinals at the French Open. Then, she played in her third Grand Slam singles final at Wimbledon. She lost to Graf in a very close match (4–6, 6–3, 6–8), even though she had served for the match twice.

Gabriela came very close to becoming the world No. 1 player in 1991. However, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles just barely kept ahead of her. Her great year ended with her receiving the WTA Most Improved Player of the Year award.

Sabatini practicing in the early 1990s

1992: More Titles and Semifinals

In 1992, Gabriela reached eight finals and won five titles. This included her fourth Italian Open (where she beat world No. 1 Seles again). She also won at Amelia Island (defeating Graf) and Hilton Head. She reached the semifinal stage at three of the four Grand Slams: the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon. She also made it to the quarterfinals at the US Open.

1993: Tough Matches

At the Australian Open, Gabriela reached the semifinals. She saved three match points in her quarterfinal match against Mary Pierce before winning. She then lost to Monica Seles, who went on to win the tournament. Gabriela reached two finals in a row at the Italian Open and German Open. At the French Open in June, Gabriela lost a very long quarterfinal match to Mary Jo Fernandez. It was one of the longest matches in Open Era tennis history at the time. She also reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the US Open, where she lost to Graf.

1994: Second WTA Finals Win

In 1994, Gabriela reached the finals of Amelia Island and Strasbourg. She also made it to the semifinals of both the Australian Open and US Open. For 15 Grand Slam events in a row, from Wimbledon 1990 to the Australian Open 1994, she always reached at least the quarterfinals. This is the third longest streak ever in women's tennis. In November, Gabriela defeated Lindsay Davenport in the final of the WTA Championships in New York. This was her second time winning that tournament. In the first round, she beat world No. 6, Martina Navratilova, in Navratilova's last match before retiring.

1995: Strong Performance

Gabriela won the title at the Sydney International in 1995, beating Lindsay Davenport in the final. She also reached a record seventh final at the Amelia Island Championships and her third final at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. She made it to the quarterfinals of both the French Open and Wimbledon. At the US Open, she reached the semifinals, where she lost to Steffi Graf. This was the 40th and final match between Gabriela and Graf. Gabriela's 11 wins against Graf mean she defeated Graf more times than any other player.

1996: Injury and Retirement

Gabriela missed several months of the 1996 season due to a stomach muscle injury. In October, in New York, she announced that she was retiring from professional tennis. At the end of the year, she received the WTA Diamond Aces Award. This award is given to the player who has done the most to promote tennis both on and off the court.

From 1986 until her injury in 1996, Gabriela spent 508 weeks in a row in the world's top 10. This is the fourth longest top-10 streak in WTA history. She spent 312 of those weeks in the world's top five. She finished six years in a row with a top-5 ranking. Gabriela reached the semifinal stage or better in Grand Slam singles tournaments 18 times. She reached at least one Grand Slam singles semifinal for 11 years in a row. She defeated the reigning world No. 1 player ten times in her career.

Gabriela Sabatini received the Diamond Konex Award in 2000. This award recognized her as the most distinguished "Sportsperson of the Decade" in Argentina. In July 2006, she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Personal Life and Interests

Sabatini with her perfume in 2006

In the late 1980s, Gabriela Sabatini started her own line of perfumes. She partnered with a German perfume company called Mülhens. Her first perfume came out in 1989. Even after retiring from tennis, she has continued to promote her perfume lines.

In 1992, Gabriela became the first tennis player to have a rose named after her. It was an orange-red rose.

The Great American Doll Company created a doll that looked like Gabriela in 1994. The doll was dressed in tennis clothes. That same year, Gabriela published a book called My Story, which was meant to inspire people.

In 2003, she became an Italian citizen. This was because her great-grandfather, David Sabatini, was born in Italy and moved to Argentina in the late 1800s.

A statue of Gabriela Sabatini was revealed in central Buenos Aires in 2014. It stands alongside statues of other famous Argentinian sports stars like Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona.

Gabriela was given the International Club's special Jean Borotra Sportsmanship Award in 2017. This award recognized her fair play during her career and her charity work after retiring. She received the award from tennis legend Rod Laver at Wimbledon in 2018.

In 2019, the ITF gave Gabriela its highest honor, the Philippe Chatrier Award. This was for her achievements in tennis and her charity work after retirement. She has worked with organizations like UNICEF, UNESCO, and the Special Olympics. She also served as an 'Athlete Role Model' at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.

Gabriela's brother, Osvaldo, is married to Venezuelan actress Catherine Fulop. Her niece is the Argentinian singer and actress Oriana Sabatini, who is married to famous Argentinian footballer Paulo Dybala. Gabriela lives in Buenos Aires, Boca Raton (Florida), and Pfäffikon in Switzerland.

Grand Slam Performance Timelines

Singles

Doubles

See also

In Spanish: Gabriela Sabatini para niños

• Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final
• Open Era tennis records – women's singles
• Graf–Sabatini rivalry
• Tweener (tennis)
• List of rose cultivars named after people