The women’s tennis of the late eighties and the early nineties was a lot about the intense rivalry between Gabriela Sabatini and Steffi Graf. The stats will tell you that Steffi Graf won 22 Grand Slam titles compared to Sabatini’s solitary Slam, but this rivalry was much more than the wins or losses. When the two of them played, it never seemed as if one player had a clear edge over the other on the court, even though the eventual results went in Graf’s favor most of the time.

Despite all odds, Gabriela Sabatini was widely tipped as the player who could stop the Graf juggernaut in 1988. That year, the duo played two high-profile finals – one was the US Open final and the other one later in the year was the Olympic gold medal match. Graf had already won three Slam titles coming into the US Open and was looking to complete the Golden Slam by winning the US Open and the Olympics. And her famed rival seemed no match for her.

Gabriela Sabatini’s best was not good enough for Steffi Graf

Sabatini recently sat with Chris Bowers on the “Tennis Worthy” podcast and candidly talked about her career and life. It wasn’t a surprise that Graf found a mention in the podcast. The host Chris Bowers asked Sabatini specifically about her rivalry with Graf in the summer of 1988. Sabatini lost both finals to Graf and Chris Bowers wanted to know if the pressure of playing Graf got the better of Sabatini.

“I felt pressure but I knew Steffi had this opportunity and she was gonna go for it. But I tried to take it away from her and play, you know, my best tennis but you know, on the other side was Steffi. And she was always tough. So yeah, it was it was a three-set match. I remember the US Open. And then I remember after that we play the Olympics in Seoul, which again, we play another final, which she won again,” Sabatini told Bowers.

In total, Sabatini had managed 11 wins out of the 40 times they met. In fact, after a loss to the Argentinian in March 1991, Graf lost her No. 1 spot for the first time since August 1987. It was a mind-blowing 186-week reign that ended in the Virginia Slims of Florida final, a remarkable feat from Sabatini.

The former Argentine player did also eventually manage to best the German in a big final. She had her moments against Graf which she reflected on, as her conversation with Bowers went ahead.

Sabatini got her revenge in 1990, but was it a satisfactory payback?

Gabriela Sabatini got one back on Graf in the US Open final a couple of years later in 1990 when she beat Graf in straight sets and won her first Grand Slam title. Recalling that famous victory, Sabatini acknowledged the role of her former coach Carlos Kirmayr as she said Kirmayr’s encouragement and positive attitude towards her took the pressure off her.

“Carlos Kirmayr was very important in my tennis career. One thing that was very crucial was if I had a dream or if I wanted to achieve something in my personal life, he always encouraged me to do it and by doing that, he took the pressure from tennis,” Sabatini said on the podcast.

However, despite beating Graf in the US Open in 1990, the tide didn’t turn for Sabatini. It remained the only Grand Slam title that Sabatini ever won. It was also the only Grand Slam match Graf ever lost to Sabatini. Moving forward, Sabatini lost her last 8 matches against Graf before announcing her retirement in 1996. Graf went on to play for three more years before hanging up her racquet in 1999.

Even after their respective retirements, the two legends faced each other in a couple of exhibition matches in 2004-05 and Graf emerged victorious beating Sabatini in straight sets in those exhibition matches as well.