One Match, One Legend. The Steffi Graf Story That Still Gives Goosebumps

Born in 1980, Martina Hingis’ mother Melanie Molitor named her after tennis champion Martina Navratilova. Taught by her mum, she soon became a real prodigy, winning the junior event at Roland-Garros at the age of 12. She had started competing on the tour at 14, but she had been allowed to attend only 15 tournaments before the age of 16, a rule she protested against: “How can I enter the top 10 like that?”. Her game relied on an extraordinary hand-eye coordination, great tactics, amazing touch, and great anticipation. In her early career, she was still said to lack power and a decent second serve.

Every day, Tennis Majors takes you back in time to relive a tennis event which happened on this specific day. On May 25, 1983, 13-year-old Steffi Graf created a record that stands to date and is unlikely to ever be broken.

On May 25, 1983, 13-year-old Steffi Graf became the youngest player in tennis history to win a match in a Grand Slam tournament. The young German, aged 13 years, 11 months and 10 days, defeated Carina Karlsson (6-4, 6-1) in the first round of Roland-Garros, a tournament which she would go on to win six times during her Hall-of-Fame career.

The youngest player to ever win match at the Australian Open in 1995, she was already No 20 in the world in May 1996. Her best performance so far was in 1995, when she finished runner-up in Hamburg, edging two top 10 players; Jana Novotna, No 5, and Amanda Coetzer, No 7, before losing to Conchita Martinez, the No 3. But this time she was to face a very different challenge: Steffi Graf.

Before facing Steffi Graf that day, Martina Hingis had already beaten some top 10 players, but the German was no regular player. She represented the ultimate challenge. An 18-time Grand Slam champion, she had not been defeated on clay since the Roland-Garros semi-finals in 1994 (defeated by Mary Pierce 6-2, 6-2).

In the final set, Graf continued to make numerous mistakes, helping the Swiss Miss to take advantage 3-1. The German did not intend to be defeated by a teenager and broke back, but she eventually sealed her own fate by double-faulting on a break point at 3/4 while the youngster was taking her chances. A few minutes later, it was all over. After Steffi Graf had missed a last forehand, Martina Hingis claimed the victory. She had given the German her first defeat in 1996.