Having turned pro in 1982, one of the greatest players to ever pick a racquet, Steffi Graf, retired early at the age of just 30 in 1999.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion, who has remained away from the public eye for the majority of her post-retirement period, was featured on the cover of Vogue magazine’s June edition in Germany.
Journalist Jon Wertheim recently joined 137th-ranked Christopher Eubanks on the Tennis Channel to discuss Graf’s rare public appearance. Wertheim stated that, unlike other athletes, the German has succeeded in keeping a low profile since her retirement.
“22-time Grand Slam champion, it’s been over 23 years since she played her last match and since then, she has really kept a low profile, like subterranean low. So the fact that she would pose for Vogue is interesting. You know so many athletes, when they’re done playing sports, they say, ‘You know what? That’s it, I’m done. I want my privacy.’ Very few of them are able to follow it the way Steffi Graf has. But it’s good to see her smiling and she’s a woman who has stuck with her conviction. We don’t get a lot of her,” Wertheim said.
