Editing Steffi Graf (section)

===Grand Slam: 1988===
[[File:Seoul women's tennis results.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|Seoul women's tennis results]]
Graf started 1988 by winning the Australian Open, defeating Chris Evert in the final 6–1, 7–6. Graf did not lose a set during the tournament and lost a total of only 29 games.

Graf lost twice to Sabatini during the spring, once on hardcourts in Boca Raton, Florida, and once on clay at [[Bausch & Lomb Championships|Amelia Island, Florida]]. Graf, however, won the tournament in San Antonio, Texas, and retained her title in Miami, where she once again defeated Evert in the final. Graf then won the tournament in [[Qatar Telecom German Open|Berlin]], losing only twelve games in five matches.

At the [[1988 French Open – Women's singles|French Open]], Graf successfully defended her title by defeating [[Natasha Zvereva]] 6–0, 6–0 in a 34-minute final.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-07-02-8801120571-story.html | title=Graf wastes no time reaching another final | date=2 July 1988 | first=Phil | last=Hersh | work=Chicago Tribune | access-date=25 May 2019 | archive-date=14 May 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514212919/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-07-02-8801120571-story.html | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rolandgarros.com/fr_FR/about/history/past_tournaments/1988.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325101912/http://www.rolandgarros.com/fr_FR/about/history/past_tournaments/1988.html|archive-date=25 March 2015|title=Roland-Garros – the 2021 Roland-Garros Tournament official site}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=1988 : Steffi Graf était pressée.|url=http://www.rolandgarros.com/fr_FR/content/default/1987_1999_steffi_et_le_temps_des_spcialistes.html|website=www.rolandgarros.com|publisher=[[Fédération Française de Tennis]] (FFT)|language=fr|access-date=3 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822224621/http://www.rolandgarros.com/fr_FR/content/default/1987_1999_steffi_et_le_temps_des_spcialistes.html|archive-date=22 August 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxT19Jhgy64|title=French Open 1988 Final – Steffi Graf vs Natallja Zvereva|date=26 November 2014|work=YouTube|access-date=4 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713073704/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxT19Jhgy64|archive-date=13 July 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The official time of the match given on the scoresheet was 34 minutes; however, just 32 minutes of that was spent on the court, as a rain break split the match into two periods of play, of nine and 23 minutes.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/that-1980s-sports-blog/2014/may/27/french-open-1988-steffi-graf-andre-agassi-mats-wilander|title=The 1988 French Open: how Agassi arrived, Graf ruled and Wilander won|first=Steven|last=Pye|work=The Guardian|date=27 May 2014|access-date=24 May 2019|archive-date=14 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514212910/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/that-1980s-sports-blog/2014/may/27/french-open-1988-steffi-graf-andre-agassi-mats-wilander|url-status=live}}</ref> That was the shortest-ever and most one-sided Grand Slam final ever and the only [[double bagel]] in a Major final since 1911.<ref name="French double bagel"/> Zvereva, who had eliminated [[Martina Navratilova]] in the fourth round, won only thirteen points in the match.<ref name="French double bagel">{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE4DD1138F936A35755C0A96E948260&n=Top%2FReference%2FTimes%20Topics%2FPeople%2FG%2FGraf%2C%20Steffi |title=TENNIS; Graf Shuts Out Zvereva to Gain French Open Title |work=The New York Times |date=5 June 1988 |access-date=17 May 2011 |first=Robin |last=Herman |archive-date=30 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030230821/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/05/sports/tennis-graf-shuts-out-zvereva-to-gain-french-open-title.html?n=Top%2FReference%2FTimes+Topics%2FPeople%2FG%2FGraf%2C+Steffi |url-status=live }}</ref>

Next came Wimbledon, where Martina Navratilova had won six straight titles. Graf was trailing Martina Navratilova in the final 7–5, 2–0 before winning the match 5–7, 6–2, 6–1.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Peter Alfano|title=Wimbledon; An Era Ends as Graf Beats Navratilova|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/03/sports/wimbledon-an-era-ends-as-graf-beats-navratilova.html|website=[[The New York Times]]|date=3 July 1988|access-date=12 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130092346/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/03/sports/wimbledon-an-era-ends-as-graf-beats-navratilova.html|archive-date=30 January 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> She then won tournaments in [[Hamburg Masters|Hamburg]] and [[United Jersey Bank Classic|Mahwah]] (where she lost only eight games all tournament).

At the US Open, Graf beat Sabatini in a three-set final, 6–3, 3–6, 6–1, to win the [[Grand Slam (tennis)|Grand Slam]], a feat previously performed by only two other women, [[Maureen Connolly Brinker]] in 1953 and [[Margaret Court]] in 1970. Graf's 1988 Grand Slam remains the only one in history completed on three surfaces (grass, clay, hard court), as all other Grand Slams in tennis history were achieved prior to the introduction of hard court at the US Open in 1978.<ref name="Bleacher Report">{{cite news|url=http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1536384-forget-calendar-slam-surface-slam-almost-as-rare|title=Forget Calendar Slam, "Surface Slam" Almost as Rare|work=Bleacher Report|date=20 February 2013|access-date=15 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721160101/http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1536384-forget-calendar-slam-surface-slam-almost-as-rare|archive-date=21 July 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

In reaching and winning all four Grand Slam finals, Graf became the first player in history to contest and win 28 Grand Slam singles matches in a single year; albeit including the unplayed walkover against Evert in the US Open. Even discounting that result, no other player had played and won 27 Grand Slam matches in a single year before. Since then, five players managed a 27–1 win–loss record, meaning all of them failed to win the Grand Slam: Graf in 1989 and 1993, [[Monica Seles]] in 1992, [[Martina Hingis]] in 1997, [[Roger Federer]] in 2006, and [[Novak Djokovic]] in 2015, 2021 and 2023.

Graf then defeated Sabatini 6–3, 6–3 in the gold medal match at the [[tennis at the 1988 Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]] in [[Seoul]] and achieved what the media had dubbed the "Golden Slam",  the first tennis player to do this.<ref>{{cite web |title=How Steffi Graf became tennis' first Golden Slam winner |url=https://olympics.com/en/news/tennis-golden-slam-steffi-graf-1988-olympics-gold |website=Olympics.com |access-date=14 December 2024}}</ref><ref name="Steffi Graf Interview The Guardian">{{cite news |last=Greenstreet |first=Rosanna |title=Q&A: Steffi Graf |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/22/steffi-graf-interview |url-status=live |work=The Guardian |date=22 June 2013 |access-date=24 June 2013 |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140112112428/http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/22/steffi-graf-interview |archive-date=12 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-10-01-sp-4214-story.html |title=THE SEOUL GAMES : Women's Tennis : Graf Turns Her Slam Into a Golden One |work=Los Angeles Times |date=1 October 1988 |first=Bill |last=Dwyre |access-date=18 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703022331/http://articles.latimes.com/1988-10-01/sports/sp-4214_1_steffi-graf |archive-date=3 July 2015 |url-status=live  }}</ref> Graf also won her only Grand Slam doubles title that year—at Wimbledon partnering Sabatini—and picked up a women's doubles Olympic bronze medal. Graf was the first tennis player to achieve this.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}

At the year-ending [[WTA Tour Championships|Virginia Slims Championships]], Graf was upset by [[Pam Shriver]], only her third loss of the year. The loss deprived her of the Golden Super Slam. She was named the 1988 [[BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality|BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year]].

At the end of the year, the municipality of Brühl, her hometown, gave her the title of honorary citizen.