Reflecting on the Legacy of Gabriela Sabatini: A Journey Through Time
Sabatini was born on May 16, 1970, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Osvaldo and Beatriz Garofalo Sabatino. Her father was a General Motors executive. Her older brother, Osvaldo, is an actor and producer.Sabatini began playing tennis at age six and won her first competition at eight. In 1983, at the age of 13, she became the youngest player to win the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. She won the French Open girls’ singles in 1984, as well as the US Open girls’ doubles with fellow Argentine Mercedes Paz. Sabatini rose to world number one in the junior rankings that year, and the International Tennis Federation proclaimed her the 1984 Junior World Champion.
Sabatini revealed that she intentionally lost matches in her youth to avoid having to give on-court interviews and so avoid media attention. She stated that her shyness had been a huge issue, and she believed she had to speak on-court after playing in a tournament final; as a result, she lost in the quarterfinals.
Sabatini became one of the youngest players to reach the French Open semifinals in 1985, losing to Chris Evert at the age of 15 years and three weeks. She won her first WTA Tour singles championship later that year, in Tokyo. She first entered the world’s top ten in September 1985 and finished the year ranked 12th. She got the WTA Newcomer of the Year award.
Sabatini reached the semifinals of Wimbledon in 1986, losing to Martina Navratilova, and won her second WTA championship in Buenos Aires. She re-entered the world’s top ten in September 1986 and remained there for 508 weeks straight until May 1996.
Sabatini made it to the semifinals of the French Open and the final of the 1987 WTA Tour Championships, but lost to Steffi Graf in both. She also won three WTA titles, notably upsetting world number four Pam Shriver in Brighton.
She made it to the Wimbledon semi-finals, but lost to eventual champion Martina Navratilova in straight sets.
Sabatini advanced to her second Grand Slam final at the US Open, defeating world No. 1 Graf in straight sets, 6-2, 7-6, after saving two set points against her while down 5-6 in the second set. She credited her victory to being more aggressive and coming to the net whenever possible to attack Graf’s shorter balls. Sabatini also defeated Graf in the semifinals of the WTA Championships in Madison Square Garden later that year before falling in the final to Monica Seles, 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. This was the first five-set match on the women’s tour since 1901.
About The Author
