The tennis season was acclaimed as the best ever. All four Majors, an Olympic gold medal, and a Golden Grand Slam in one year. It was never seen before, and it never has been again. That was the allure of Steffi Graf and her remarkable 1988 season. When she began the season, she was only eighteen, and when she concluded it with the largest singles trophies, she was still a teenager.
She achieved the Grand Slam on this day, September 10, becoming just the third woman to win all four Majors in a single year. To do so, she defeated Gabriela Sabatini in the US Open championship match. The German adolescent’s name would be permanently etched in history as she proceeded to Seoul for the Olympics, a gold event.
Her dominance in Melbourne served as the springboard for an incredible season. Graf’s victory in the Australian Open kicked off 1988. Throughout the Slam, she only lost 29 games and won the tournament without dropping a set. At the age of just eighteen, she won her second career Major in the final, easily defeating Chris Evert 6-1, 7-6.
