New Dominance, Injuries, and Final Tour Years
After dealing with a series of injuries and losses in the intervening years, Graf came back on top in 1993, winning three of four Grand Slam events in addition to the Virginia Slims championships. She won her first French Open since 1988, and conquered Wimbledon by defeating Jana Novotná. The next year, she won the Australian Open and an assortment of tournaments across the globe. However, while competing (and winning) in San Diego, Graf aggravated a long-time back injury, and developed a bone spur at the base of her spine due to a congenital condition. From 1994 to 1996, various ailments and surgeries disrupted her career, causing her to withdraw twice from the Australian Open. Despite the setbacks, Graf still managed to win a number of titles, including Wimbledon in 1995. The final of that championship is widely recognized as one of the most exciting in women's major finals history, with a dramatic third set that involved a 16-minute long, 13-deuce game.
Graf's final tour years from 1997 to 1999 were plagued with further injuries to her knees and back, causing her to lose her world number one ranking and, for the first time in a decade, the Grand Slam title. After racking up a handful of high-profile wins, Graf finally announced her retirement from the women's tour in 1999, attributing the decision to a loss of motivation.
Steffi Graf Net Worth
Category: Richest Athletes › Tennis Players Net Worth: $145 Million Birthdate: Jun 14, 1969 (54 years old) Birthplace: Mannheim Gender: Female Height: 5 ft 9 in (1.76 m) Profession: Tennis player Nationality: West Germany 💰 Compare Steffi Graf's Net Worth
- Career Earnings
- Tax Issues
- Early Life and Career Beginnings
- Grand Slam and Golden Slam
- New Dominance, Injuries, and Final Tour Years
- Exhibition Matches
- Personal Life
- Legacy and Honors
Career Earnings
During her career Steffi earned $21 million in tournament prizes. That's the same as around $40 million in today's dollars. She earned tens of millions more from endorsements.
In 1995 Steffi was accused of tax evasion by German tax authorities. Authorities actually went so far as to arrest Steffi's father, a former used car salesman who managed her finances, for failing to pay income on $25-35 million of her earnings. That constituted roughly every penny she had earned up to that point playing tennis professionally. The Grafs were also accused of writing off $700,000 worth of legal and other expenses that were allegedly used to cover up an extramarital affair conducted by Peter.
Steffi was questioned but placed the blame entirely on her father, who was eventually convicted and sentenced to 45 months in prison. He served 25 months. Steffi had to pay 1.3 million Deutsche Marks in penalties and fines.
At a particularly low point during the saga, July 1996, Steffi was playing in a Wimbledon match when a fan yelled out "Steffi, will you marry me?!" After attempting to gather herself and holding back a laugh for a bit, Steffi finally replied "how much money do you have?!" much to the audience's delight: