Gabriela Sabatini celebrates her 50th birthday. The former tennis star now resides in Switzerland – primarily because it is wonderfully peaceful there. In a newspaper report, she also shares her thoughts on her relationship with Steffi Graf.
She was among the world’s top tennis players for a decade, and then she retired: Gabriela Sabatini turns 50 years old today, on May 16. Will she
receive birthday wishes from Steffi Graf (50)? It’s possible. The two former longtime rivals are said to have become friends. “When we stopped, I felt that we were friends,” quotes “Bild” the Argentine. However, on the tennis court, the two ladies didn’t give each other any quarter for a long time…
Steffi Graf’s perennial rival
Between the mid-’80s and mid-’90s, Sabatini frequently challenged Steffi Graf: they faced each other a total of 40 times in various tournaments, with Graf winning 29 matches and Sabatini 11. Although the Argentine often lived in the shadow of her German rival, she managed to win 27 titles in the course of her career. The highlight was her victory at the 1990 US Open, where she defeated Graf in the final. Occasionally, the two competitors even teamed up on the court, winning Wimbledon in doubles in 1988.
Early start, early retirement
Gabriela Sabatini bid farewell to professional tennis in 1996 at the age of 26. She later explained that she was “very tired.” As early as 14 years old, she was battling the giants of the tennis world, and in 1985, at just 15 years and three weeks old, she became the youngest player at that time to reach the French Open semifinals, although she lost to Chris Evert (65) in that match. In the same year, Sabatini celebrated her first tournament victory on the WTA Tour in Tokyo.
It seems she had early struggles with the side effects of fame. She once revealed to the Argentine newspaper “La Nación” that she deliberately lost games in her youth to avoid reporters, saying, “When I was younger, I thought I had to say something after winning a tournament, so I often lost in the semifinals so I wouldn’t have to.” Her shyness was a significant hurdle for Sabatini.
Second pillar
Nevertheless, she was successful. Sabatini reportedly earned around eight million US dollars in prize money during her sports career. Since the late ’80s, she also had a second lucrative source of income: her own line of perfumes. Her agent, Patricio Apey, told “sportsbusinessdaily.com” that it had always been the plan to continue this business field after Sabatini’s professional career. Her fragrances sold best in Germany for a long time, but Brazil now leads the way.
Chosen Home: Switzerland
The former tennis star now resides in Switzerland. Sabatini very rarely appears in public, and very little is known about her private life. When she was awarded the Philippe Chatrier Award in Paris last year for her years of dedication to tennis and charitable work, she shared a bit about her life. She spends most of her time in Switzerland but also travels to Miami and Buenos Aires, where she owns houses, according to media reports. In addition to her work with her international perfume line, she enjoys traveling.
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Regarding her chosen home, Sabatini said, for which a rose variety is even named, according to “bluewin.ch”: “Switzerland is a beautiful country, and I like the peaceful atmosphere. You can do a lot of sports; I like to ride my bike. I live very freely; it’s really very pleasant.” In Argentina, she supports charity organizations and advocates for cancer prevention. However, she doesn’t make a big fuss about it. And so, Gabriela Sabatini is likely to continue enjoying her future in tranquility.
