Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Steffi Graf?s Legacies Continue to Inspire as 37-Year-Old Former Player Lists Her Tennis Idols

Be it an upcoming player or a retired professional in tennis, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal inspire them alike. The archrivals seem to have competition off the court, too, on who inspires players the most. While Andrey Rublev, Iga Swiatek, Carlos Alcaraz, etc., idolize Rafa, Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev, Matteo Berrittini, etc., idolize Federer. Luxembourg’s former professional player, Mandy Minella, evened the score by stating both the legends as her idol.

Minella was the recipient of? ‘Civil and Military Merit of Adolphe de Nassau,’ an honor she received from the Grand Duke of Luxembourg for her meritious services in sports. She stated that besides Rafa and Federer, she also idolizes a legendary WTA tennis professional.

Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer exert their dominance off the court

Minella started her career around 2001, a period during which ‘King Roger’ and the ‘King of Clay’ started to dominate. ‘The Big 3’ have shared the top-3 position among themselves for 19 long years, a record streak that Alcaraz ended. The Fedal rivalry is the most witnessed and anticipated starting from the early 2000s and ended only with the retirement of the Swiss legend.

When Luxembourg’s most famous tennis professional was asked about her idols, she chose the Swiss and Spanish legends. The former 66th seed did a Q&A session on Instagram, in which she named her favorites. She replied “Roger Rafa and Stefi Grap ?“. Roger Federer and Nadal were peers of Minella as they played around the same time.

At the beginning of the decade, only two names echoed in tennis when it came to winning any tournament. The two legends even named each other as their toughest opponents.

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The tales of Federer and Rafa inspiring people have become so common. It was only natural that Minella considered them her idols. However, she also named another WTA legend who dominated the game like no other.

The former Luxembourg professional names Steffi Graf as her idol

Minella was asked to choose three idols, including both ATP ad WTA players. While she named two ATP players and only one WTA player, the German has enough records to her name to compensate for both ATP players. Graf is the only player, male or female, to achieve all 4 Slams at least 4 times. According to the official website of the ‘Tennis Hall of Fame,’ Chris Evert hailed the Golden Girl as the best all-around player.

Evert said that while she dominated on slow courts and Martina Navratilova on fast courts, Graf dominated regardless of the surface, player, and tournament. The only player to win a Golden Slam retired at her peak in 1999 as WTA 3rd seed and as the Wimbledon championships runner-up. She was the best in tennis while Minella was growing up.

The Luxembourg star retired in 2022 after playing her last match in Wimbledon while she was 4 and a half months pregnant. She is the most successful player in the history of Luxembourg despite not reaching even the quarter-final of a Slam, let alone winning one. Minella is an inspiration to her country and, upon her retirement, received royal honor.

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