Alexandru Buligan (n. 22 aprilie 1960, Drobeta Turnu-Severin) este un handbalist român, care a făcut parte din lotul echipei naționale de handbal a României, medaliată cu bronz olimpic la Los Angeles 1984.

Biografie[modificare | modificare sursă]

A absolvit Facultatea de Electrotehnică din Timișoara. A debutat în prima ligă de handbal la Politehnica Timișoara în septembrie 1976, iar în echipa națională la30 noiembrie 1975. Prin întreaga sa activitate a generat un palmares impresionant:

• medalie olimpică de bronz la JO de la Los Angeles – 1984
• medalie de bronz la Campionatul Mondial din Cehoslovacia – 1990
• cel mai bun portar al CM din Cehoslovacia – 1990
• Campion mondial universitar în anii 1981, 1985 și 1987
• Supercupa Campionilor Mondiali și Olimpici – 1983
• Are 230 de selecții în echipa României
• A câștigat Cupa României, cu Politehnica Timișoara, în anul 1986
• După 1990 s-a transferat în Spania unde a jucat la echipele Arrate, Lagun Aro și Portland San Antonio
• Campion al Spaniei cu Portland San Antonio
• Campion mondial cu Spania (ca antrenor) în anul 2005

Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise în 2008
Nume la naștere	Thomas Cruise Mapother IV
Născut	3 iulie 1962 (53 de ani) Syracuse, New York, SUA
Alma mater	Henry Munro Middle School[*]
Înălțime	1,72 m
Ocupație	actor[1], actor de film[*], producător de film, scriitor, director[*]
Căsătorit cu	Mimi Rogers (1987–1990) Nicole Kidman (1990–2001) Katie Holmes (2006-)
Copii	Suri Cruise[*]
Cetățenie	Statele Unite ale Americii
Site oficial	www.tomcruise.com/#/whatsnew
Premii Oscar
3 nominalizări
Premii Globul de Aur
Cel mai bun actor – Dramă 1990 Born on the Fourth of July Cel mai bun actor – Muzical/Comedie 1997 Jerry Maguire Cel mai bun actor în rol secundar 2000 Magnolia
modifică

Tom Cruise (n. 3 iulie 1962) este un actor american, nominalizat la premiul Oscar pentru rolul din filmul Jerry Maguire.

Biografie[modificare | modificare sursă]

Revista Forbes l-a denumit ca cea mai puternică celebritate din lume în 2006. El a fost nominalizat la trei premii Oscar și a câștigat trei Premii Globul de Aur. Primul său rol principal a fost 1983 în filmul Risky Business, care a fost descris ca fiind "un clasic al Generației X", precum și o "promovare în carieră" pentru actor. După ce a jucat rolul unui pilot eroic din popularul și financiarul, de succes, Top Gun (1986), Cruise a continuat în acestă parte, jucând un agent secret într-o serie din Mission: Impossible filme de acțiune în anii 1990 și anii 2000. În plus, față de aceste roluri eroice, el a jucat alte roluri cum ar fi guru misoginist de sex masculin înMagnolia (1999) și un rece și calculat criminal plătit, sociopat, în thriller-ul lui Michael Mann - Collateral (2004).

În 2005, jurnalistul la Hollywood Edward Jay Epstein a susținut că Cruise este unul dintre puținii producători (ceilalți fiind George Lucas, Steven Spielberg și Jerry Bruckheimer) care sunt în măsură să garanteze succesul unui film de miliarde de dolari. Începând cu anul 2005, Cruise și Paula Wagner au fost responsabili de studioul de film United Artists, cu Cruise ca producător și vedetă, iar Wagner ca director executiv. Cruise este, de asemenea, cunoscut pentru sprijinul controversat și aderarea la Biserica Scientologică.

Filmografie[modificare | modificare sursă]

Ca actor[modificare | modificare sursă]

Ca producător[modificare | modificare sursă]

Alina Alexandra Dumitru (n. 30 august 1982, Ploiești,^[1] România) este o judoka română, medaliată cu aur la Jocurile Olimpice de la Beijing 2008, la categoria 48 kg,^[2] multiplă campioană europeană^[3] și medaliată cu bronz la campionatele mondiale.

În 9 august 2008, Dumitru devenea prima campioană olimpică din istoria judo-ului românesc,^[4] învingând-o în semifinală pe dubla campioană olimpică en-titre Ryoko Tani (Japonia) și, în finală, pe Yanet Bermoy(Cuba) prin waza-ari și ippon, în doar 80 de secunde. Performanța lui Dumitru este memorabilă și pentru că era prima oară când Dumitru reușea să o învingă pe marea sa rivală Ryoko Tani, de altfel neînvinsă într-o competiție oficială din 1996,^[5] și o ocazie ideală pentru a-și lua revanșa împotriva celei care o învinsese in 2005, la Campionatul Mondial - Yanet Bermoy.^[6]

În aprilie 2011 a cucerit medalia de aur la Campionatul European de judo de la Istanbul^[7].

Distincții[modificare | modificare sursă]

• Ordinul “Meritul Sportiv” clasa I (27 august 2008)^[8]

Richard Dean Anderson
Anderson at an event with Air Force personnel. (2004)
Born	January 23, 1950 (age 65) Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, producer, composer
Years active	1976–present
Partner(s)	Apryl Prose (?-2002)
Children	Wylie Quinn Annarose Anderson (b. 1998)
Parent(s)	Stuart Jay Anderson (father) Jocelyn Rhae Carter (mother)
Website	Officially endorsed fan website

Richard Dean Anderson (born January 23, 1950) is an American television and film actor, television producer and composer. He began his television career in 1976, playing Dr. Jeff Webber in the American soap-operaseries General Hospital, then rose to prominence as the lead actor in the television series MacGyver (1985–1992). Anderson later appeared in films, including Through the Eyes of a Killer (1992), Pandora's Clock (1996) and Firehouse (1997).

In 1997 Anderson returned to television as the lead actor of the series Stargate SG-1, a spin-off of the 1994 film Stargate. He played the lead from 1997 to 2005 and had a recurring role from 2005 to 2007. Since 1997 Anderson has starred in only one film: Stargate: Continuum, released in 2008 as a spin-off film after the Stargate SG-1 series finale in 2007. He appears in the follow-up Stargate series Stargate: Atlantis and Stargate: Universe (as Brigadier General Jack O'Neill).

Early life[edit]

Anderson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Stuart Jay Anderson and Jocelyn Rhae Carter, and was the oldest of four brothers.^[1] He is of Scottish, Swedish, Norwegian and Mohawk descent.^[2] He grew up inRoseville, Minnesota and attended Alexander Ramsey High School.^[3] As a child, Anderson's dream of becoming a professional hockey player ended when he broke both his arms. Anderson developed an early interest in music, art and acting. For a short time he tried to become a jazz musician.^[1]

Career[edit]

Anderson studied to become an actor at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota and then at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, but later dropped out before he received his degree because he felt "listless". Right after his junior year in college, Anderson participated with friends in a cross-country bicycle ride from Minnesota to Alaska. (Per Mr. Anderson on 3/28/2014, he took this trip at age 17.^{[citation needed]}) He then moved to North Hollywood along with his friend Ricky V. and girlfriend Dianne, then to New York, then moved permanently to Los Angeles. At the start he worked as a whale handler in a marine mammal show, a musician in medieval dinner theater, and as a street mime and juggler.^[4] Anderson has stated that this period was "the happiest of my life" and has expressed an interest in teaching juggling, clowning and other circus arts to disadvantaged youths.^[1][5]

Anderson's first role was in the American soap opera, General Hospital as Dr. Jeff Webber from 1976 to 1981. In 1982–1983 He starred as Adam in the CBS television series Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (based very loosely on the movie of the same name). In the 1983–1984 season, he played Lieutenant Simon Adams on the 22-week Dennis Weaver series Emerald Point N.A.S. on CBS, stealing away Celia Warren (Susan Dey), the wife of naval lawyer Jack Warren (Charles Frank).^[4] Anderson then played Tony Kaiser in the acclaimed TV movie Ordinary Heroes, which aired in 1986.^[6]

MacGyver[edit]

Anderson came to fame in the lead role of Angus MacGyver in the hit television series MacGyver, which lasted from 1985 to 1992 and was highly successful throughout its seven-year run.^[7] The character Angus MacGyver, known as just MacGyver or Mac until the final season, was an optimistic action hero that was notable for using a Swiss Army knife instead of a firearm as his tool of choice.

Anderson would go on to produce two follow-up movies to MacGyver, in 1994.^[1] After the cancellation of MacGyver, Anderson stated "MacGyver was seven years of being in virtually every frame that was shot and having absolutely no life at all."^[8]

Later career[edit]

In 1995 he co-starred with John de Lancie in Legend, a comic series of only twelve episodes about a dime novel writer within the Wild West who against his will has to play the role of his own fictional character. Originally written as a TV movie, with the decision to make Legend a series, the original teleplay became the two-hour pilot episode. Anderson was applauded for his roles as Ernest Pratt and Nicodemus Legend by many critics, most notably John O'Connor from The New York Times.^[9]

From 1997 to 2005, Anderson starred as Jack O'Neill in Stargate SG-1, based on the movie Stargate starring Kurt Russell and James Spader.^[10] John Symes president of Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer (MGM) called Anderson himself and asked him if he wanted a part in the series. Anderson watched the Stargate film over and over again and came to the conclusion that the film had "great potential" and signed a contract with the Stargate producers.^[5] Anderson agreed to become involved with the project if his character was allowed significantly more comedic leeway than Kurt Russell's character in the feature film. He also requested Stargate SG-1 to be more of an ensemble show, so that he would not be carrying the plot alone as on MacGyver.^[11] In season eight, he chose to have his character "promoted" to base commander on Don S. Davis's advice.^[12] This enabled the late Davis to retire from acting due to his ailing health, and Anderson to take over the smaller role which involved far less on-location shooting so that he could spend more time with his young daughter.^[13] The following season, Anderson terminated his status as star and producer of Stargate SG-1 opting to make several guest appearances per season instead, allowing his sizable role to be filled by veteran actors Ben Browder (replacing Anderson as field commander), Claudia Black (replacing Anderson as the comic relief) and Emmy nominee Beau Bridges (replacing Anderson as Base commander).

At the Air Force Association's 57th Annual Air Force Anniversary Dinner in Washington, D.C., on September 14, 2004, then-Air Force Chief-of-Staff, General John P. Jumper,^[14] presented Anderson with an award because of his role as star and executive producer ofStargate SG-1, a series which portrayed the Air Force in a positive light from its premiere.^[15] Anderson was also made an honorary Air Force brigadier general.^[16]

A great fan of the television show The Simpsons, which he had continually referenced during his time on SG-1, Anderson was invited in 2005 to guest star on the show. He voiced himself in the episode "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore" in which the actor was kidnapped by Selma and Patty Bouvier, Marge Simpson's sisters, his MacGyver character having been their longstanding heartthrob.^[7] Dan Castellaneta, the voice actor who portrays Homer Simpson (among other characters), made a guest appearance on Stargate SG-1("Citizen Joe") and, in describing his unnatural ability to see the life events of Jack O'Neill, made reference to O'Neill's fondness for The Simpsons.^[17][18]

Anderson briefly reprised his role as Angus MacGyver in 2006 when he appeared in a MasterCard commercial during Super Bowl XL. While the plot follows the "MacGyver Formula", it is somewhat satirical of the series, showing unlikely if not impossible solutions to the obstacles faced by Anderson's character (in one shot, he cuts through a thick rope with a pine-scented air freshener).^[19] The official MasterCard website for the commercial refers to it as "the Return of MacGyver".

Lee David Zlotoff the creator of MacGyver, announced on May 3, 2008, that a MacGyver film was in production.^[20] Anderson has expressed interest in revisiting his role; however, there is no word on who will be playing the role of MacGyver in the film.^[21][22]

Anderson cameoed as MacGyver in what seemed to be a Saturday Night Live advertisement parody featuring the show's recurring character MacGruber (portrayed by Will Forte), but was rather a real commercial for both Saturday Night Live and Pepsi, in which the titular character becomes obsessed with the soft drink. This aired three times during the January 31, 2009 SNL broadcast, and the second part aired again during Super Bowl XLIII on the following day.^[23][24]

Anderson has also played the role of General Jack O'Neill in Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe which first aired in October 2009.

Anderson joined the cast of Fairly Legal on USA Network in Fall 2010 in the recurring role of David Smith, appearing in three episodes.^[25]

Producer and composer[edit]

Anderson has served as an executive producer in six shows in which he has acted himself: MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis, MacGyver: Trail to Doomsday, Legend, Stargate SG-1, Firehouse and From Stargate to Atlantis: Sci Fi Lowdown.

Anderson composed the song "Eau d'Leo" for the MacGyver episode "The Negotiator".^[26]

Together with Michael Greenburg, Anderson created the Gekko Film Corporation. The company was involved with Stargate SG-1, producing every episode from 1997–2007 with the exception of 2006. The company itself has served as Anderson's backing agency.^[27]

Personal life[edit]

Anderson has divided his time among Vancouver, Los Angeles, and northern Minnesota.^[4] Never married, Anderson has one child with Apryl Prose, who gave birth to their daughter Wylie Quinn Annarose Anderson, on August 2, 1998. (He and Prose later split in 2002, sharing custody of Wylie)^{[citation needed]}

Anderson left Stargate SG-1 because he wanted to spend more time with his daughter:

Being a father, well, I don't know if this is a change, but it makes me want to get out of here faster. Get off the clock. Just 'cause the baby is my reason for living, my reason for coming to work.^[26]

Anderson has supported Waterkeeper Alliance, an organization trying to stop water pollution.^[28] Anderson is a member of the Board of Trustees for Challengers Boys and Girls Club, a youth organization established in 1968 with the help of MacGyver producer Stephen Downing, and featured in an episode from season 4 of the show. He received the 1995 Celebrity Award from the Make-a-Wish Foundation because of his commitment to the foundation. He is also a supporter for various Sclerosis Society non-profit organizations and has done several public service announcements to show his support for the various organizations. Anderson is an avid supporter of the Special Olympics and was one of many speakers at the 1991 opening ceremonies. In recent years, he has helped several environmental organizations around the world. He is a member of Board of Advisors of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has worked with the members of Earth Rivers Expeditions to Produce River Project.^[29][30]

Awards[edit]

Filmography[edit]

Steffi Graf

Steffi Graf in 2010
Country (sports)	Germany[1]
Residence	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Born	14 June 1969 (age 46) Mannheim, West Germany
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Turned pro	18 October 1982
Retired	13 August 1999
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Coach(es)	Peter Graf Pavel Složil (1986–1991) Heinz Günthardt (1992–1999)
Prize money	US$ 21,891,306[2]
Int. Tennis HoF	2004 (member page)
Singles
Career record	900–115 (88.67%)
Career titles	107 (3rd all-time)
Highest ranking	No. 1 (17 August 1987)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	W (1988, 1989, 1990, 1994)
French Open	W (1987, 1988, 1993, 1995,1996, 1999)
Wimbledon	W (1988, 1989, 1991, 1992,1993, 1995, 1996)
US Open	W (1988, 1989, 1993, 1995,1996)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	W (1987, 1989, 1993, 1995,1996)
Doubles
Career record	173–72 (70.6%)
Career titles	11
Highest ranking	No. 3 (3 March 1987)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	SF (1988, 1989)
French Open	F (1986, 1987, 1989)
Wimbledon	W (1988)
US Open	SF (1986, 1987, 1988, 1989)
Other doubles tournaments
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian Open	2R (1991)
French Open	2R (1994)
Wimbledon	SF (1999)
US Open	1R (1984)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	W (1987, 1992)
Hopman Cup	W (1993)
Medal record[hide] Competitor for  West Germany 1988 Seoul Singles 1988 Seoul Doubles Competitor for  Germany 1992 Barcelona Singles

Stefanie Maria "Steffi" Graf (German pronunciation: [ˈʃtɛfɪ ˈgʁa:f]; born 14 June 1969) is a German former world No. 1 tennis player.

Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles.^[3] Her 22 singles titles is second all-time behind Margaret Court (24), and marks the record for most Major wins by a tennis player (male or female) since the introduction of the Open Era in 1968. In 1988, she became the first and only tennis player (male or female) to achieve the Golden Slam by winning all four Grand Slam singles titles and the Olympic gold medal in the same calendar year,^[4] furthermore, she is the only tennis player to have won each Grand Slam event at least 4 times.

Graf was ranked World No. 1 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for a record 377 total weeks—the longest period for which any player, male or female, has held the number-one ranking since the WTA and the Association of Tennis Professionals began issuing rankings.^[5] She won 107 singles titles, which ranks her third on the WTA's all-time list after Martina Navratilova (167 titles) and Chris Evert (157 titles). She and Margaret Court are the only players, male or female, to win 3 grand slams in a calendar year 5 times (1988, 1989, 1993, 1995 and 1996).

A notable feature of Graf's game was her versatility across all playing surfaces, having won each of the four Majors at least four times, the only player to do so, and she is best known for her great footwork and for her powerful forehand drive.^[6] Graf won six French Open singles titles (second to Evert), seven Wimbledon singles titles, and five U.S. Open singles titles. She is the only singles player (male or female) to have achieved a Grand Slam since hard court was introduced as a surface at the US Open in 1978. Consequently, Graf's Grand Slam was achieved on grass, clay, and hard court while the previous five Grand Slams were decided on only grass and clay. Graf reached thirteen consecutive Grand Slam singles finals, from the 1987 French Open through to the 1990 French Open, winning nine of them. She won 5 consecutive Majors (1988 Australian Open to 1989 Australian Open), and 7 Majors out of 8, in 2 calendar years (1988 Australian Open to 1989 US Open, except 1989 French Open). She reached a total of 31 Grand Slam singles finals.

Graf is regarded by some to be the greatest female tennis player of all time. Navratilova included Graf on her list of great players. In 1999 Billie Jean King said "Steffi is definitely the greatest women's tennis player of all time".^[7] In December 1999, Graf was named the greatest female tennis player of the 20th century by a panel of experts assembled by the Associated Press.^[8] Tennis writer Steve Flink, in his book The Greatest Tennis Matches of the Twentieth Century, named her as the best female player of the 20th century.^[9] In March 2012, Tennis Channel picked Graf as the greatest female tennis player ever in their list of 100 greatest tennis players of all time.^[10]

Graf retired in 1999 while she was ranked World No. 3. She married former World No. 1 men's tennis player Andre Agassi in October 2001. The couple have two children – Jaden Gil and Jaz Elle. Graf was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2004.

Early life[edit]

Stefanie Graf was born on 14 June 1969, in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany, to Heidi Schalk and Peter Graf (18 June 1938 − 30 November 2013), a car and insurance salesman. She has a younger brother Michael. ^[11] Graf was introduced to tennis by her father, an aspiring tennis coach, who taught his three-year-old daughter how to swing a wooden racket in the family's living room.^[12] She began practicing on a court at the age of four and played in her first tournament at five. She soon began winning junior tournaments with regularity, and in 1982 she won the European Championships 12s and 18s.

Career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Graf played in her first professional tournament in October 1982 at Stuttgart, Germany. She lost her first round match 6–4, 6–0 to Tracy Austin, a two-time US Open champion and former World No. 1 player. (Twelve years later, Graf defeated Austin 6–0, 6–0 during a second round match at the Evert Cup in Indian Wells, California, which was their second and last match against each other.)

At the start of her first full professional year in 1983, Steffi was 13 years old and ranked World No. 124. She won no titles during the next three years, but her ranking climbed steadily to World No. 98 in 1983, No. 22 in 1984, and No. 6 in 1985. In 1984, she first gained international attention when she almost upset the tenth seed, Jo Durie of the United Kingdom, in a fourth round Centre Court match at Wimbledon. In August as a 15-year-old (and youngest entrant) representing West Germany, she won the tennis demonstration event at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. No medals were awarded as this was not an official Olympic event.^[13]

Graf's schedule was closely controlled by her father, who limited her play so that she would not burn out.^[14] In 1985, for instance, she played only 10 events leading up to the US Open, whereas another up-and-coming star, Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina, who was a year younger than Graf, played 21. Peter also kept a tight rein on Steffi's personal life. Social invitations on the tour were often declined as Graf's focus was kept on practicing and match play. Working with her father and then-coach Pavel Složil, Graf typically practiced for up to four hours a day, often heading straight from airports to practice courts. This narrow focus meant that Graf, already shy and retiring by nature,^[14] made few friends on the tour in her early years, but it led to a steady improvement in her play.

In 1985 and early 1986, Graf emerged as the top challenger to the dominance of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert.^[15] During that period, she lost six times to Evert and three times to Navratilova, all in straight sets. She did not win a tournament but consistently reached tournament finals and semifinals, with the highlight being her semifinal loss to Navratilova at the US Open.

On 13 April 1986, Graf won her first WTA tournament and beat Evert for the first time in the final of the Family Circle Cup in Hilton Head, South Carolina. (She never lost to Evert again, beating her a further seven times over the next three and a half years.) Graf then won her next three tournaments at Amelia Island, Charleston, and Berlin, culminating in a 6–2, 6–3 defeat of Navratilova in the final of the latter. Illness caused her to miss Wimbledon,^[16] and an accident where she broke a toe several weeks later also curtailed her play. She returned to win a small tournament at Mahwah just before the US Open where, in one of the most anticipated matches of the year, she encountered Navratilova in a semifinal. The match was played over two days with Navratilova finally winning after saving three match points 6–1, 6–7, 7–6. Graf then won three consecutive indoor titles at Tokyo, Zürich, and Brighton, before once again contending with Navratilova at the season-ending Virginia Slims Championships in New York City. This time, Navratilova beat Graf 7–6, 6–3, 6–2.

Breakthrough year: 1987[edit]

Graf's Grand Slam tournament breakthrough came in 1987. She started the year strongly, with six tournament victories heading into the French Open, the highlight being at the tournament in Miami, where she defeated Martina Navratilova in a semifinal and Chris Evert in the final and conceded only 20 games in the seven rounds of the tournament. In the French Open final, Graf defeated Martina, who was the World No. 1, 6–4, 4–6, 8–6 after beating Sabatini in a three-set semifinal.

Graf then lost to Navratilova 7–5, 6–3 in the Wimbledon final, her first loss of the year. However, in the Federation Cup final in Vancouver, Canada, three weeks later, she defeated Evert easily 6–2, 6–1. The US Open ended anti-climactically as Navratilova defeated Graf in the final 7–6, 6–1.

Unprecedented Golden Slam: 1988[edit]

 

Seoul women's tennis results

Graf started 1988 by winning the Australian Open, defeating Chris Evert in the final 6–1, 7–6. Graf did not lose a set during the tournament and lost a total of only 29 games.

Graf lost twice to Sabatini during the spring, once on hardcourts in Boca Raton, Florida, and once on clay at Amelia Island, Florida. Graf, however, won the tournament in San Antonio, Texas and retained her title in Miami, where she once again defeated Evert in the final. Graf then won the tournament in Berlin, losing only twelve games in five matches.

At the French Open, Graf successfully defended her title by defeating Natasha Zvereva 6–0, 6–0 in a 32-minute final.^[17][18][19] That was the shortest-ever and most one-sided Grand Slam final ever and the only double bagel in a Major final since 1911.^[20] Zvereva, who had eliminated Martina Navratilova in the fourth round, won only thirteen points in the match.^[20]

Next came Wimbledon, where Martina Navratilova had won six straight titles. Graf was trailing Martina Navratilova in the final 7–5, 2–0 before winning the match 5–7, 6–2, 6–1. She then won tournaments in Hamburg and Mahwah (where she lost only eight games all tournament).

At the US Open, Graf beat Sabatini in a three-set final to win the Grand Slam, a feat previously performed by only two other women, Maureen Connolly Brinker in 1953 and Margaret Court in 1970. Graf's 1988 Grand Slam remains the only one in history completed on three surfaces (grass, clay, hard court), as all other Grand Slams in tennis history were achieved prior to the introduction of hard court at the US Open in 1978.^[21]

Graf then defeated Sabatini 6–3, 6–3 in the gold medal match at the Olympic Games in Seoul and achieved what the media had dubbed the "Golden Slam".^[22] The feat has only been achieved by Graf to date.

Graf also won her only Grand Slam doubles title that year—at Wimbledon partnering Sabatini—and picked up a women's doubles Olympic bronze medal.

At the year-ending Virginia Slims Championships, Graf was upset by Pam Shriver, only her third loss of the year. She was named the 1988 BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year.

New challengers and personal challenges[edit]

 

Steffi Graf backhand

1989[edit]

Speculation was rife at the beginning of 1989 about the possibility of Graf winning another Grand Slam. Some noted observers, such as Margaret Court, suggested that Graf could achieve the feat a couple more times. And the year began as expected, with Graf extending her Grand Slam tournament winning streak to five events at the Australian Open, defeating Helena Suková in the final. Her 6–3, 6–0 defeat of Argentina's Gabriela Sabatini in a semifinal was described by veteran observer Ted Tinling as "probably the best tennis I've seen".^[23] He went on to add, "Then I saw what Steffi did to Sabatini at the Australian Open this year, and that was it. She is better than them all." ^[24]

Graf followed this with easy victories in her next four tournaments at Washington, D.C., San Antonio, Texas, Boca Raton, Florida, and Hilton Head, South Carolina. The Washington, D.C. tournament was notable because Graf won the first twenty points of the final against Zina Garrison.^[25] In the Boca Raton final, Graf lost the only set she conceded to Chris Evert in their final seven matches.^[26]

In the subsequent Amelia Island final on clay, Graf lost her first match of the year to Sabatini but returned to European clay with easy victories at Hamburg and Berlin.

Graf's Grand Slam tournament winning streak ended at the French Open, where 17-year-old Spaniard Arantxa Sánchez Vicario beat Graf in three sets. Graf served for the match at 5–3 in the third set but lost the game and won only three more points in the match. She had struggled to beat Monica Seles in their semifinal 6–3, 3–6, 6–3. Graf, however, recovered to defeat Martina Navratilova 6–2, 6–7, 6–1 in the Wimbledon final after defeating Monica Seles 6–0, 6–1 in a fourth round match, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in a quarterfinal, and Chris Evert in a semifinal.

Graf warmed up for the US Open with easy tournament victories in San Diego and Mahwah. In her semifinal match at the US Open, Graf defeated Sabatini 3–6, 6–4, 6–2. In the final, Martina Navratilova led 6–3, 4–2 before Graf rallied to win 3–6, 7–5, 6–1 for her third Grand Slam singles title of the year.

Victories at Zürich and Brighton preceded the Virginia Slims Championships, where Graf cemented her top-ranked status by beating Navratilova in the final 6–4, 7–5, 2–6, 6–2. Graf ended 1989 with an 86–2 match record and the loss of only twelve sets.

1990[edit]

Graf defeated Mary Joe Fernandez in the final of the Australian Open, which was her eighth Grand Slam singles title in the last nine she contested. Her winning streak (unbeaten since the 1989 French Open loss toArantxa Sánchez Vicario) continued with victories in Tokyo, Amelia Island, and Hamburg. In Berlin, she extended her unbeaten streak to 66 matches (second in WTA history to Martina Navratilova's 74) before losing the final to Monica Seles, 6–4, 6–3.

While the Berlin tournament was being played, the largest-circulation German tabloid, Bild, ran a story about an alleged scandal involving Graf's father. The difficulty of answering questions about the matter came to a head at a Wimbledon press conference, where Graf broke down in tears. Wimbledon authorities then threatened to immediately shut down any subsequent press conferences where questions about the issue were asked. Whether this scandal affected Graf's form is open to debate. In an interview with Stern magazine in July 1990, Graf stated, "I could not fight as usual."^[27]

Graf again lost to Monica Seles in the final of the French Open 7–6, 6–4. Seles was behind 2–6 in the first set tiebreaker, but then came back to win six points in a row and take the set. At Wimbledon, Graf lost in the semifinals to Zina Garrison, who with this victory broke Graf's string of 13 consecutive Major finals. After victories in Montreal and San Diego, Graf reached the US Open final, where she lost in straight sets to Sabatini. Graf won four indoor tournaments after the US Open, including a pair of straight set wins over Sabatini in the finals of Zürich and Worcester. Although Sabatini got the best of Graf in the semifinals of the season-ending Virginia Slims Championships, Graf still finished the year as the top ranked player.

1991[edit]

A mixture of injury problems, personal difficulties, and loss of form made 1991 a tough year for Graf. Seles established herself as the new dominant player on the women's tour, winning the Australian Open, French Open, and US Open and, in March, ending Graf's record 186 consecutive-weeks hold on the World No. 1 ranking. Graf briefly regained the top ranking after winning at Wimbledon but lost it again after her loss to Navratilova at the US Open.

Graf lost an Australian Open quarterfinal to Jana Novotná, the first time she did not reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam singles tournament since the 1986 French Open. She then lost to Sabatini in her next three tournaments before winning the U.S. Hardcourt Championships in San Antonio, beating Monica Seles in the final. After losing a fifth straight time to Sabatini in Amelia Island, Florida, Graf again defeated Seles in theHamburg final. Following her tournament victory in Berlin, Graf suffered one of the worst defeats of her career in a French Open semifinal where she won only two games against Arantxa Sánchez Vicario and lost her first 6–0 set since 1984. At Wimbledon, however, Graf captured her third women's crown, this time at Sabatini's expense. Sabatini served for the match twice, and was two points away from her first Wimbledon title. After breaking Sabatini's serve to even the third set at 6–6, Graf got rid of Sabatini by winning the next two games to take the match 6–4, 3–6, 8–6. Martina Navratilova then defeated Graf 7–6, 6–7, 6–4 in a US Open semifinal, the first time she had beaten Graf in four years. Graf then won in Leipzig, with her 500th career victory coming in a quarterfinal against Judith Wiesner. After winning two more indoor tournaments atZürich and Brighton, she failed once again in the Virginia Slims Championships, losing her quarterfinal to Novotná. Soon after, she split with her long-time coach, Pavel Složil.

1992[edit]

A bout of rubella forced Graf to miss the first major event of 1992, the Australian Open. Her year continued indifferently with losses in three of her first four tournaments, including a semifinal loss to Jana Novotná inChicago. It was Graf's second consecutive loss to Jana, and dating back to their 1991 Australian Open quarterfinal match, Jana had won three of their last five meetings. At Boca Raton, Florida, Graf reached her first final of the year, where she faced Conchita Martínez for the title. In their five previous head-to-head matches, Graf had defeated Martínez each time. Even though Conchita won the opening set, Graf went on to prevail 3–6, 6–2, 6–0. She lost twice to Sabatini in the early spring at the Lipton International and the Bausch & Lomb Championships; however, the Bausch & Lomb loss would be Graf's final loss to Sabatini, winning her next, and last, 8 matches against Sabatini.^[28]

Victories at Hamburg and Berlin (beating Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in the finals of both) prepared her for the French Open, where she defeated Sánchez Vicario in the semifinals after losing the first set 6–0. Graf then renewed her rivalry with Monica Seles in the final, which Monica Seles won 10–8 in the third set. Monica won the match on her 5th match point; Graf came within 2 points of winning the match a few games earlier. At Wimbledon, after struggling through early-round three-setters against lowly ranked Mariaan de Swardt and Patty Fendick, she easily defeated Natasha Zvereva in a quarterfinal, Sabatini in a semifinal, and Monica Seles in the final 6–2, 6–1, with Monica playing in almost complete silence because of widespread media and player criticism of her grunting. Graf then won all five of her Fed Cup matches, helping Germany defeat Spain in the final by defeating Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 6–4, 6–2. At the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Graf lost to Jennifer Capriati in the final and claimed the silver medal. At the US Open, Graf was upset in a quarterfinal by Sánchez Vicario 7–6, 6–3. Four consecutive indoor tournament victories in the autumn improved her year, but for the third consecutive year, she failed to win the Virginia Slims Championships, where she lost in the first round to Lori McNeil.

Second period of dominance[edit]

1993[edit]

Graf began 1993 with four losses in her first six tournaments of the year: two to Arantxa Sánchez Vicario and one each to Seles and the 36-year-old Martina Navratilova. She struggled at the tournament in Berlinwhere she lost a 6–0 set to the unheralded Sabine Hack before defeating Mary Joe Fernandez and Sabatini in three-set matches to claim her seventh title there in eight years.

Monica Seles beat Graf in three sets in the final of the Australian Open 4–6, 6–3, 6–2. This cemented Seles as the dominant #1 player in the world, having won 5 of the previous 6, 7 of the previous 9, and 8 of the previous 12 major singles titles. In that timespan of 12 majors, Graf had won twice (1991 and 1992 Wimbledon) in comparison.

During a quarterfinal match between Seles and Magdalena Maleeva in Hamburg (Graf's home country), Seles was stabbed between the shoulder blades by a mentally ill German fan of Graf, Günter Parche. He claimed that he committed the attack to help Graf reclaim the World No. 1 ranking. More than two years elapsed before Seles competed again. Shortly after the stabbing, Graf and 24 of the world's top 25 WTA members voted against preserving Seles' world #1 ranking while she was sidelined (only Sabatini abstained from this vote).^[29][30]

Following the absence of Seles, Graf won 65 of 67 matches,^[31] three of four Grand Slam events and the year-end Virginia Slims championships. She won her first French Open title since 1988 with a three-set victory over Mary Joe Fernandez in the final. The win elevated Graf to the World No. 1 ranking for the first time in 22 months. At Wimbledon, Graf defeated Jana Novotná to win her third consecutive, and fifth overall, ladies' title. In the third and deciding set, Jana had a point to go up 5–1 on her serve. After breaking Novotná's serve, Graf won the next four games to take the match 7–6, 1–6, 6–4. Graf had an injured right foot during this tournament (and for the next few months), finally resulting in surgery on 4 October.

In the meantime, she lost surprisingly to Nicole Bradtke of Australia in a Fed Cup match on clay before winning the tournament in San Diego and the tournament in Toronto in preparation for the US Open. She won there, beating Helena Suková comfortably in the final after eliminating Sabatini in a three-set quarterfinal. She won the tournament in Leipzig yet again the day before her foot operation, losing only two games to Jana Novotná in the final. Graf lost to Conchita Martínez in her return tournament a month later in Philadelphia. However, she finished her year with a highlight, winning her first Virginia Slims Championships since 1989 by beating Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in the final despite needing painkillers for a back injury.

1994[edit]

Seemingly free of injury for the first time in years, Graf began the year by winning the Australian Open, where she defeated Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in the final with the loss of only two games. She then won her next four tournaments easily. In the Miami final, she lost her first set of the year—to Natasha Zvereva—after winning 54 consecutive sets. In the Hamburg final, she lost for the first time in 1994 after 36 consecutive match victories, losing to Sánchez Vicario in three sets. She then won her eighth German Open, but there were signs that her form was worsening as she almost lost to Julie Halard in a quarterfinal.Back-to-back losses followed; Graf lost to Mary Pierce in a French Open semifinal, 6–2, 6–2, and followed that with a first-round straight-sets loss at Wimbledon to Lori McNeil, her first loss in a first round Grand Slam tournament in ten years. Graf still managed to win San Diego the following month but aggravated a long-time back injury in beating Sánchez Vicario in the final. She then began to wear a back brace and was unsure about playing the US Open but elected to play while receiving treatment and stretching for two hours before each match. She made it to the final and took the first set there against Sánchez Vicario—Sanchez Vicario's last victory over Graf. She lost the next two sets. She took the following nine weeks off, returning only for the Virginia Slims Championships where she lost to Pierce in a quarterfinal.

1995[edit]

Injury kept Graf out of the Australian Open. She came back to beat Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in the finals of both the French Open and Wimbledon. The US Open was Monica Seles's first Grand Slam event since the 1993 attack. Seles and Graf met in the final, with Graf winning 7–6, 0–6, 6–3. Graf then capped the year by beating countrywoman Anke Huber in a five-set final at the season-ending (6–1, 2–6, 6–1, 4–6, 6–3) in 2 hours 46 minutes. WTA Tour Championships.

In personal terms, 1995 was a difficult year for Graf, as she was accused by German authorities of tax evasion in the early years of her career. In her defense, she stated that her father Peter was her financial manager, and all financial matters relating to her earnings at the time had been under his control. As a result, Peter was sentenced to 45 months in jail.^[32] He was eventually released after serving 25 months. Prosecutors dropped their case against Graf in 1997, when she agreed to pay a fine of 1.3 million Deutsche Marks to the government and an unspecified charity.

1996[edit]

Graf again missed the Australian Open because of injury and then successfully defended the three Grand Slam titles she won the year before. In a close French Open final, Graf again overcame Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, taking the third-set 10–8. Graf then had straight-sets wins against Arantxa in the Wimbledon final and Monica Seles in the US Open final. Graf also won her fifth and final Chase Championships title with a five set win over Martina Hingis. She was unable to participate in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta because of an injured left knee.^[33]

In 1988 Graf became only the second tennis player in history to win a Slam on hard court, clay, and grass all in the same season. She repeated the feat in 1993, 1995, and 1996.

Final years on the tour: 1997–99[edit]

The last few years of Graf's career were beset by injuries, particularly to her knees and back. She lost the World No. 1 ranking to Martina Hingis and failed to win a Grand Slam title for the first time in ten years in 1997. That year Graf lost in the fourth round of Australian Open in straight sets to Amanda Coetzer.^[34] After several months injury lay off, Graf returned to play in the German Open in Berlin in front of a home crowd and had the worst defeat of her career in the quarter final, when Amanda Coetzer beat her in just 56 minutes 6–0, 6–1.^[34][35] In the French Open Graf was again beaten by Amanda Coetzer in straight sets 6–1, 6–4.^[36] Graf then underwent knee surgery^[37] and subsequently missed the 1997 Wimbledon and US Open championships. The treatment was for a fracture of the cartilage as well as a shortening and partial rupture of the patellar tendon of her left knee.

After missing almost half of the tour in 1998, Graf defeated World No. 2 Hingis and World No. 1 Lindsay Davenport en route to the Philadelphia title. At the first round of the season-ending Chase Championships, Graf defeated World No. 3 Jana Novotná.

At the beginning of 1999 Graf played the warm up event to the Australian Open in Sydney; she defeated Serena Williams in the 2nd round and Venus Williams in the quarter-finals before losing to Lindsay Davenport in the semi-final. Graf then went on to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open before losing to Monica Seles 7–5, 6–1. In Indian Wells, 1999 Graf lost to Serena Williams in three sets.^[38]

At the 1999 French Open, Graf reached her first Grand Slam final in three years and fought back from a set and twice from a break down in the second set to defeat the top ranked Hingis in three sets for a memorable victory. Graf also became the first player in the open era to defeat the first, second, and third ranked players in the same Grand Slam tournament by defeating second ranked Davenport in the quarter-finals and third ranked Monica Seles in the semifinals. Graf said after the final that it would be her last French Open,^[39] fueling speculation about her retirement.

Graf then reached her ninth Wimbledon singles final, losing to Davenport 6–4, 7–5. In mixed doubles at Wimbledon, Graf partnered with John McEnroe, but she withdrew at the semi-final stage to protect her knee in advance of the singles final.^[40]

In August 1999, after retiring from a match in San Diego, Graf announced her retirement from the women's tour. She was ranked World No. 3 at that time. Graf said, "I have done everything I wanted to do in tennis. I feel I have nothing left to accomplish. The weeks following Wimbledon [in 1999] weren't easy for me. I was not having fun anymore. After Wimbledon, for the first time in my career, I didn't feel like going to a tournament. My motivation wasn't what it was in the past."^[41]

Post-career exhibition matches[edit]

 

Steffi Graf (Wimbledon 2009)

As part of her Farewell Tour, Graf defeated her former rival Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in an exhibition match played in Zaragoza, Spain in 1999. It was their first head-to-head meeting since the 1996 Wimbledon Ladies Final, where Graf defeated Sánchez Vicario in straight sets. In February 2000, Graf played an exhibition match against Kimiko Dateat Nagoya Rainbow Hall in Tokyo. It was held as part of her "Farewell World Tour", with Graf defeating Date in three sets. In September 2004, Graf dispatched her former doubles partner Gabriela Sabatini in straight sets, in an exhibition match played in Berlin, Germany. She was also in Berlin to host a charity gala, as well as inaugurating a tennis stadium renamed the "Steffi Graf Stadion". Proceeds from her match against Sabatini went to Graf's foundation, "Children for tomorrow".

In July 2005, Graf competed in one tie of World Team Tennis on the Houston Wranglers team. She was beaten in two out of three matches, with each match being one set. Graf lost her singles match to Elena Likhovtseva 5–4. She teamed with Ansley Cargill in women's doubles against Anna Kournikova and Likhovtseva but lost 5–2. She was successful in the mixed doubles match, however. Graf completely ruled out a return to professional tennis. "It was a lot of fun. It was not as I expected it to be."^{[citation needed]} In October, Graf played Sabatini in an exhibition match in Mannheim, Germany, beating Sabatini in two sets. Like the exhibition match the previous year against Sabatini, proceeds went to Graf's foundation "Children for tomorrow".

 

Steffi Graf at a charity tennis tournament for Rexona

In 2008 Graf lost an exhibition match against Kimiko Date at Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo. As part of the event, billed as "Dream Match 2008", she defeated Martina Navratilovain a one-set affair 8-7, with Graf winning a tiebreaker 10-5. It was the first time in 14 years Graf had played Navratilova. Graf played a singles exhibition match against Kim Clijsters and a mixed doubles exhibition alongside husband Andre Agassi against Tim Henman and Clijsters as part of a test event and celebration for the newly installed roof over Wimbledon's Centre Court in 2009. She lost a lengthy one-set singles match to Clijsters and also the mixed doubles.

In 2010 Graf participated in the World Team Tennis Smash Hits exhibition in Washington, D.C., to support The Elton John AIDS Foundation. She and her husband, Andre Agassi, were on Team Elton John who competed against Team Billie Jean King. Graf played in the celebrity doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles before straining her left calf muscle and being replaced by Anna Kournikova.

Summary of career[edit]

Graf won seven singles titles at Wimbledon, six singles titles at the French Open, five singles titles at the US Open, and four singles titles at the Australian Open. Her overall record in 56 Grand Slam events was 282–34 (89 percent) (87–10 at the French Open, 75–8 at Wimbledon, 73–10 at the US Open, and 47–6 at the Australian Open). Her career prize-money earnings totalled US$21,895,277 (a record until Lindsay Davenport surpassed this amount in January 2008). Her singles win-loss record was 900–115 (88.7 percent).^[42] She was ranked World No. 1 for 186 consecutive weeks (from August 1987 to March 1991, still the record in the women's game) and a record total 377 weeks overall.^[43] Graf also won 11 doubles titles.

Career statistics[edit]

Key

Won tournament; or reached Final; Semifinal; Quarter-final; Round 4, 3, 2, 1; competed at a Round Robin stage; lost in Qualification Round; absent from tournament event; played in a Davis Cup - / Fed Cup Zonal Group (with its number indication) or Play-off; won a bronze, silver (F or S) or gold medal at the Olympics; a downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament (Not a Masters Series); or a tournament that was Not Held in a given year.

To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated either at the conclusion of a tournament, or when the player's participation in the tournament has ended.

	West Germany									Germany
Tournament	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	SR	W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open	1R	3R	A	NH	A	W	W	W	QF	A	F	W	A	A	4R	A	QF	4 / 10	47–6
French Open	2R	3R	4R	QF	W	W	F	F	SF	F	W	SF	W	W	QF	A	W	6 / 16	87–10
Wimbledon	LQ	4R	4R	A	F	W	W	SF	W	W	W	1R	W	W	A	3R	F	7 / 15	75–8
US Open	LQ	1R	SF	SF	F	W	W	F	SF	QF	W	F	W	W	A	4R	A	5 / 15	73–10
Win–Loss	5–4	7–4	11–3	9–2	19–2	27–0	27–1	24–3	21–3	17–2	26–1	18–3	21–0	21–0	7–2	5–2	17–2	22 / 56	282–34

Records[edit]

• These records were attained in Open Era of tennis.
• Records in bold indicate peer-less achievements.

 

Steffi Graf Farewell World Tour 2000

Playing style[edit]

The main weapons in Graf's game were her powerful inside-out forehand drive, which earned her the moniker Fräulein Forehand, and her intricate footwork.^[44] She often positioned herself in her backhand corner, and although this left her forehand wide open and vulnerable to attack, her court speed meant that only the most accurate shots wide to her forehand caused any trouble.

Graf also had a powerful backhand drive but over the course of her career tended to use this less frequently, opting more often for her very effective backhand slice. In baseline rallies, she used the slice almost exclusively. Her accuracy with the slice, both cross-court and down the line, and her ability to skid the ball and keep it low, enabled her to use it as an offensive weapon to set the ball up for her forehand put-aways.

She built her powerful and accurate serve up to 180 km/h (110 mph), making it one of the fastest serves in women's tennis, and was a capable volleyer.

Equipment and endorsements[edit]

Graf wore Adidas apparel and sneakers during her tennis career. She had an adidas sneakers line known as the St. Graf Pro line.^[45] Early in her career, she used Dunlop Max 200G racquet^{[46][47][48][49]} before switching to Wilson from 1994 to 1999.^[50] In 2006, she signed an endorsement deal with Head.^[51][52][53] In 2010, Graf and Agassi collaborated with Head and developed the new line of Star Series tennis racquets.^[54]

Graf has signed many endorsement deals throughout the years including a ten-year endorsement deal with car manufacturer Opel in 1985,^[55] and Rexona from 1994 to 1998.^[50][56] She has appeared in many advertisements and television commercials with Andre Agassi including Canon Inc.^[57] and Longines in 2008 (Agassi became Longines ambassador in 2007).^[58][59] In 2015, she has been appointed as the brand ambassador of Kerala tourism, for promoting Ayurveda in North America and Europe.^[60]

Personal life[edit]

In the 1990s, she briefly dated fellow German tennis player Alexander Mronz^[61][62] and had a long term relationship with racing car driver Michael Bartels.^[63]

In 1997, she left the Roman Catholic church due to "personal reasons".^[64]

She married Andre Agassi on 22 October 2001, with only their mothers as witnesses.^[65] They have two children: son Jaden Gil (born 26 October 2001, six weeks prematurely) and daughter Jaz Elle (born 3 October 2003).^{[citation needed]} The Graf-Agassi family resides in Summerlin, a community in the Las Vegas Valley.^[66] Graf's mother and her brother, Michael Graf, with his four children also live there.^[67]

In 1991, the Steffi Graf Youth Tennis Center in Leipzig was dedicated.^[68] She is the founder and chairperson of "Children for Tomorrow", a non-profit foundation for implementing and developing projects to support children who have been traumatized by war or other crises.^[68]

Diana Bulimar
— Gymnast —
Diana Bulimar
Personal information
Full name	Diana Laura Bulimar
Nickname(s)	Didi
Country represented	Romania
Born	August 22, 1995 (age 20) Timişoara, Romania
Residence	Bucharest, Romania
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Level	Senior International Elite
Years on national team	2008-present
Club	CS Dinamo Bucharest
Head coach(es)	Octavian Bellu, Mariana Bitang
Assistant coach(es)	Lucian Sandu, Mircea Vintila, Raluca Bugner
Former coach(es)	Cristian Moldovan,Lacramioara Moldovan
Choreographer	Mariana Ristea
Music	2011-2013:"Areg" by Samvel Yervinyan 2013-2014:"Butterfly Dance" by HANA
Eponymous skills	Floor Exercise
Medal record[hide] Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 0 0 1 European Championships 2 1 1 Youth Olympic Games 0 1 0 Total 2 2 2 Competitor for  Romania Olympic Games 2012 London Team European Championships 2012 Brussels Team 2014 Sofia Team 2013 Moscow Balance Beam 2013 Moscow Floor Exercise Youth Olympic Games 2010 Singapore Floor Exercise World Cup 2013 Anadia Floor 2013 Doha Floor 2015 Doha Uneven Bars 2014 Doha Floor 2013 La Roche-sur-Yon Floor 2012 Doha Floor 2012 Ghent Beam 2015 Doha Beam 2013 Anadia Beam 2012 Ghent Floor

Diana Laura Bulimar (Romanian pronunciation: [diˈana buliˈmar]; born August 22, 1995) is a Romanian artistic gymnast and a 2-time European Champion with Romania. She was part of the Romanian team at the 2012 Summer Olympics that won the bronze medal.^[1]

Junior career[edit]

2010[edit]

In April, Bulimar competed at the 2010 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Birmingham, United Kingdom. She contributed an all around score of 54.525 toward the Romanian team's second-place finish.^[2] Individually, she placed fourth in the all around final with a score of 54.175.^[3] In event finals, she placed third on uneven bars scoring 13.575 and fourth on floor scoring 14.175.^[4]

In August, Bulimar competed at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. She placed sixth in the all around competition with a score of 53.950.^[5] In event finals, she placed seventh on vault scoring 13.412, seventh on uneven bars scoring 12.525, and second on floor scoring 14.325.^[6][7]

In September, Bulimar competed at the Romanian National Championships in Resita, Romania. She placed second in the all around competition with a score of 54.750.^[8]

Senior career[edit]

2011[edit]

In August, Bulimar competed at the Romanian National Championships in Onesti, Romania. She placed fourth in the all around with a score of 56.375.^[9]

In September, Bulimar at an international meet against Germany and Switzerland in Erzingen, Germany. She helped Romania to win the team competition and individually she placed third in the all around with a score of 56.350.^[10]

In October, Bulimar competed at the 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Tokyo, Japan. She contributed a floor score of 14.266 toward the Romanian team's fourth-place finish.^[11]

2012[edit]

In March, Bulimar competed at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup event in Doha, Qatar. She placed fifth on uneven bars with a score of 14.275 and second on floor with a score of 14.725.^[12]

In April, Bulimar competed at an international meet against France in Cholet, France. She helped Romania to win the team competition with scores of 13.550 on uneven bars, 14.900 on balance beam, and 14.400 on floor.^[13]

Later in April, Bulimar competed at an international meet against Germany and the United Kingdom in Ulm, Germany. She helped Romania to win the team competition with scores of 13.950 on uneven bars, 14.550 on balance beam, and 14.450 on floor.^[14]

In May, Bulimar competed at the 2012 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Brussels, Belgium. She contributed scores of 13.933 on uneven bars, 14.733 on balance beam, and 14.633 on floor towards the Romanian team's first-place finish.^[15]

In June, Bulimar competed at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup event in Ghent, Belgium. She placed second on balance beam with a score of 14.625 and first on floor with a score of 14.375.^[16]

At the beginning of July, Bulimar competed at an international meet against France, Germany, and Italy in Bucharest, Romania. She helped Romania to win the team competition with scores of 14.100 on uneven bars, 15.400 on balance beam, and 14.500 on floor.^[17]

London Olympics[edit]

 

Bulimar (center) with the 2012 Olympic Romanian team.

At the end of July, Bulimar competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. She helped the Romanian team qualify in fourth place to the team final^[18] and individually she qualified to the balance beam final with a score of 14.866.^[19] In the team final, she contributed scores of 14.066 on uneven bars, 14.533 on balance beam, and 14.700 on floor towards the Romanian team's third-place finish.^[20] However, it was decided that Larisa Iordache would take place in the balance beam final instead of Bulimar.^[21]

2013[edit]

At the 2013 La Roche-sur-Yon World Cup, Bulimar placed second on floor.^[22]

At the 6th Doha FIG World Challenge Cup in Qatar, Bulimar placed fifth on the uneven bars final on 28 March 2013.^[23] On 29 March, she placed fourth on the balance beam final and first on the floor exercise final ahead of compatriot Larisa Iordache with a score of 14.625.^[24]

At the 2013 European Championships in Moscow, Russia, Bulimar placed second in the all-around qualification, sixth on individual vault, twenty-sixth on the uneven bars qualification, second on balance beam qualification and fifth on floor exercise qualification on 18 April.^[25] On 19 April, she tied with Giulia Steingruber of Switzerland for fourth place in the all-around final with a score of 57.065.^[26]

In June she won gold on floor exercise (tied with teammate Larisa Iordache) and bronze on beam at the 2013 Anadia World Cup.^[27] Her last competition of the year was the Turnen Dames Interland where she won gold in the all-around, balance beam, and floor exercise, and a bronze on uneven bars. She was scheduled to compete at the Romanian National Championships, but she dislocated her kneecap during podium training and needed immediate surgery, taking her out for the rest of the season.^[28][29]

2014[edit]

Bulimar's first competition back was the Doha World Cup. She finished in fourth on beam with a 13.650,^[30] and she won silver on floor behind teammate Larisa Iordache with a 14.300.^[31] She competed at a friendly meet against Belgium and France where she won gold with the team and silver in the all-around.^[32][33]

Bulimar's last competition of the season was the European Championships. She contributed a 14.133 on bars, a 14.533 on beam, and a 14.225 on floor towards Romania's team gold medal.^[34] She qualified for the floor final where she tied with Marta Pihan-Kulesza for fourth.^[35] For the second year in a row, Bulimar had to miss Romanian Nationals and the World Championships due to a knee injury.^[36]

2015[edit]

Bulimar once again made her return at the Doha World Cup. She won a silver on bars with a 13.600 behind Youna Dufournet.^[37] She also won a bronze on beam with a 14.025 behind Phan Thị Hà Thanh and Giulia Steingruber.^[38]

In april she competed at the 2015 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships and placed 10th in the all-around.

In september Diana competed at a friendly meet between Romania and France where she helped romanian team win the first place.

Competitive History[edit]

 

Bulimar (left) at the 2014 European Championships with Larisa Iordache(centre) and Sandra Izbasa (right)

 

Bulimar at the 2012 Ghent World Cup

Eponymous Skills[edit]

Monika Seleš

Country (sports)	Yugoslavia (1988–1991)  Yugoslavia (1992–1994)  United States (1994–2008)
Residence	Sarasota, Florida, United States
Born	December 2, 1973 (age 41) Novi Sad, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Turned pro	1989
Retired	2008 (last match 2003)
Plays	Left-handed (two-handed both sides)
Prize money	US$ 14,891,762
Int. Tennis HoF	2009 (member page)
Singles
Career record	595–122 (82.98%)
Career titles	53
Highest ranking	No. 1 (March 11, 1991)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	W (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996)
French Open	W (1990, 1991, 1992)
Wimbledon	F (1992)
US Open	W (1991, 1992)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	W (1990, 1991, 1992)
Olympic Games	Bronze medal (2000)
Doubles
Career record	89–45
Career titles	6
Highest ranking	No. 16 (April 22, 1991)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	SF (1991, 2001)
French Open	3R (1990)
Wimbledon	QF (1999)
US Open	QF (1999)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	United States W (1996, 1999, 2000)
Hopman Cup	Yugoslavia W (1991)  United States F (2001, 2002)
Medal record[show]

Monica Seles (Hungarian: Szeles Mónika, Serbian: Моника Селеш, Monika Seleš, pronounced [sɛlɛʃ],^[1] born December 2, 1973) is a former Yugoslav world no. 1 professional tennis player and a member of theInternational Tennis Hall of Fame. An ethnic Hungarian, she was born and raised in Novi Sad, SFR Yugoslavia. She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1994 and also received Hungarian citizenship in June 2007.^[2][3] She won nine Grand Slam singles titles, eight of them while a citizen of Yugoslavia and one while a citizen of the United States.

In 1990, Seles became the youngest-ever French Open champion at the age of 16. She went on to win eight Grand Slam singles titles before her 20th birthday and was the year-end World No. 1 in 1991 and 1992. However, on April 30, 1993, she was the victim of an on-court attack, when a man stabbed her in the back with a 9-inch (23 cm) long knife.^[4] Seles did not return to tennis for over two years. Though she enjoyed some success after rejoining the tour in 1995, including a fourth Australian Open success in 1996, she was unable to consistently reproduce her best form. She played her last professional match at the 2003 French Open, but did not officially retire until February 2008.

In June 2011, Seles was named one of the "30 Legends of Women's Tennis: Past, Present and Future" by Time.^[5]

Early life and career[edit]

Seles was born in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia, current-day Serbia, into an ethnic Hungarian family. Her parents are Ester (Eszter) and Karolj (Károly)^[6] and she has an older brother, Zoltán. She began playing tennis at age five, coached by her father, a professional cartoonist employed for decades at the Dnevnik and Magyar Szó newspapers,^[7] who drew pictures for her to make her tennis more fun. He is responsible for developing her two-handed style for both the forehand and backhand.^[8] Later, her coach was Jelena Genčić. In 1985, at the age of 11, she won the Orange Bowl tournament in Miami, Florida, catching the attention of tennis coachNick Bollettieri. In 1986 the Seles family moved from Yugoslavia to the United States, and Seles enrolled at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, where she trained for two years.

Seles played her first professional tournament as an amateur in 1988 at age 14. The following year she turned professional on February 13, 1989, and joined the professional tour full-time, winning her first career title atHouston in May 1989, where she beat the soon-to-retire Chris Evert in the final. A month later, Seles reached the semifinals of her first Grand Slam singles tournament at the French Open, losing to then world no. 1Steffi Graf, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6. Seles finished her first year on the tour ranked world no. 6.

Tennis career[edit]

1990–92[edit]

After a slow start at the beginning of the season, Seles went on a 36-match winning streak and won 6 consecutive tournaments starting in Miami at the Lipton Player's Championships. During that winning streak she also won the U.S. Hard Court Championships (San Antonio, Texas), the Eckerd Open (Tampa, Florida), the Italian Open, and the Lufthansa Cup in Berlin, Germany (defeating Steffi Graf in the final in straight sets). Seles then won her first Grand Slam singles title at the 1990 French Open. Facing world no. 1 Steffi Graf in the final, Seles saved four set points in a first set tiebreaker, which she won 8–6, and went on to take the match in straight sets. In doing so, she became the youngest-ever French Open singles titlist at the age of 16 years, 6 months. Her winning streak was stopped by Zina Garrison at Wimbledon in the quarterfinals which went to 9-7 in the 3rd set. Seles then won the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles title against Martina Navratilova 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, and then defeated Navratilova again in winning the Oakland California tournament, in straight sets 6-3, 7-6. She also won the 1990 year-end Virginia Slims Championships, defeating Gabriela Sabatini in five sets (in the first five-set women's match since 1901 US National Championships), becoming the youngest to ever win the Season-Ending Championships. She finished the year ranked world no. 2.

1991 was the first of two years in which Seles dominated the women's tour. She started out by winning the Australian Open in January, beating Jana Novotná in the final. In March, she replaced Graf as the world no. 1. She then successfully defended her French Open title, beating the former youngest-ever winner, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, in the final. Unable to play at Wimbledon, suffering from shin splints, Seles took a six-week break. But she was back in time for the US Open, which she won by beating Martina Navratilova in the final, her third Grand Slam title of the year, to cement her position at the top of the world rankings. She also won the year-end Virginia Slims Championships for the second consecutive time, defeating Navratilova in four sets. At the end of season, Seles had won 10 out of the 16 tournaments she entered (reaching the final of every tournament that she entered that year). She ended the year as the #1 ranked player in the world.

1992 was an equally dominant year. Seles successfully defended her titles at the Australian Open, the French Open, and the US Open. She also reached her first-ever final at Wimbledon, but lost to Graf, 2–6, 1–6. In this final, she played in "mute mode" because some opponents and spectators strongly complained about her grunting during play.

From January 1991 through February 1993, Seles won 22 titles and reached 33 finals out of the 34 tournaments she played. She compiled a 159–12 win-loss record (92.9% winning percentage), including a 55–1 win-loss record (98%) in Grand Slam tournaments. In the broader context of her first four years on the circuit (1989–1992), Seles had a win-loss record of 231–25 (90.2%) and collected 30 titles. She once again ended the year as the #1 ranked player in the world.

Stabbing[edit]

Seles was the top women's player heading into 1993, having won the French Open three consecutive years and both the US Open and Australian Open in consecutive years. In January 1993, Seles defeated Graf in the final of the Australian Open, which to date was her third win in four Grand Slam finals against Graf. With eight Grand Slam singles titles before her 20th birthday on December 2, 1993, Seles holds the record for most Grand Slam singles titles won as a teenager in the Open Era. She then won the Virginia Slims of Chicago over Martina Navratilova in 3 sets. This was the last title that Seles won before the attack in Hamburg, Germany.

On April 30 during a quarterfinal match with Magdalena Maleeva in Hamburg in which Seles was leading 6–4, 4–3, Günter Parche, an obsessed fan of Steffi Graf, ran from the middle of the crowd to the edge of the court during a break between games and stabbed Seles with a boning knife between her shoulder blades, to a depth of 1.5 cm (0.59 inches). She was quickly rushed to a hospital. Although her physical injuries took only a few weeks to heal, she did not return to competitive tennis for more than two years. Initially, there was speculation that the attack may have been politically motivated because Seles was from Yugoslavia. She was known to have received death threats in relation to the ongoing conflict in her native Yugoslavia. However, German authorities were quick to rule this out, describing her attacker as confused and possibly mentally disturbed.^[4]

Parche was charged following the incident, but was not jailed because he was found to be psychologically abnormal, and was instead sentenced to two years' probation and psychological treatment. The incident prompted a significant increase in the level of security at tour events.^[4] At the French Open, held less than a month after the attack, the trophy presentation ceremony took place on the court, rather than in the stands amongst spectators, as it had been done previously. At that year's Wimbledon, the players seats were positioned with their backs to the umpire's chair, rather than the spectators. Seles, however, disputed the effectiveness of these measures. She was quoted in 2011 as saying "From the time I was stabbed, I think the security hasn't changed".^[9] Seles vowed never to play tennis in Germany again, disenchanted by the German legal system. "What people seem to be forgetting is that this man stabbed me intentionally and he did not serve any sort of punishment for it... I would not feel comfortable going back. I don't foresee that happening."^[10]

Young Elders, a band from Melbourne, Australia, sent their song called "Fly Monica Fly" to Seles while she was recuperating from the 1993 stabbing incident. She later said that the song provided inspiration to her at that time, and subsequently met the band (who later changed their name to the Monicas) following her victory at the Australian Open in 1996.^[11] The stabbing incident is the subject of Dan Bern's 1998 tribute to Seles, "Monica". Additionally, Detroit dreampop band Majesty Crush paid tribute with "Seles" from the 1993 album Love-15. Hugh Laurie wrote a parody song about the motivations of the attacker.

The WTA suggested that Seles' number one ranking be preserved during her absence, but did not do so.^[12] According to Seles' autobiography, all active tour players opposed the idea except Gabriela Sabatini, who abstained.^[13][14]

Comeback[edit]

Seles returned to the tour in August 1995. In the runup to her comeback, Martina Navratilova proposed that Seles be reinstated alongside Steffi Graf as joint number one.^[12] The WTA did so despite some opposition from players including Arantxa Sánchez Vicarioand Gigi Fernandez, whose tournament placements would suffer greatly by suddenly being placed behind Seles.^[12][15] Graf supported Seles' initial co-ranking, but not her protection from the twelve-tournament minimum as she felt it would give Seles an unfair advantage.^[12] Seles won her first comeback tournament, the Canadian Open, beating Amanda Coetzer in the final, 6–0, 6–1 and setting a tournament record for least number of games dropped by the champion throughout the tournament (14). The following month at the US Open, Seles reached the final defeating world No.10 Anke Huber, No.4 Jana Novotna, No.3 Conchita Martinez (all in straight sets), but lost to Graf in the final, 6–7, 6–0, 3–6.

In January 1996, Seles won her fourth Australian Open, beating Anke Huber in the final. Her pivotal match was the semifinal vs rising American star Chanda Rubin who led her 5-3 in the final set, and had 2 break points to lead 5-1. Seles came back from 2 points from defeat to triumph and reach the final. This was to be Seles' last Grand Slam title, as she struggled to recapture her best form on a consistent basis. Seles was the runner-up at the US Open to Steffi Graf again in 1996. Her last Grand Slam final came at the French Open in 1998. In the run to the final she had defeated world no. 3 Jana Novotná in three sets and world no. 1 Martina Hingis in straight sets, but lost to Sánchez Vicario in the three-set final.

While she did not reach another Grand Slam singles final, she did consistently reach the quarterfinal and semifinal stages in those tournaments and was a fixture in the WTA Tour's top 10. In 2002, her last full year on the tour, she finished the year ranked world no. 7, defeated Venus Williams, Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati, Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters, and Lindsay Davenport, and reached at least the quarterfinals at each Grand Slam tournament.

Monica Seles competed at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, where she beat Sabatini in a third round match before losing to Jana Novotná in the quarterfinals. Four years later, at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Seles captured her first Olympic medal, a bronze in singles. She defeated Jelena Dokic in the bronze medal match, after pushing eventual gold medalist Venus Williams to a tough 3 setter in the semis, losing 6-3 in the final set.

After becoming a U.S. citizen in 1994, Seles helped the U.S. team win the Fed Cup in 1996, 1999, and 2000.

Hiatus and coda[edit]

 

Seles in the 2007 exhibition against Martina Navratilova in New Orleans, Louisiana

In the spring of 2003, Seles sustained a foot injury. She was forced to withdraw during the second set of a match against Nadia Petrova at the Italian Open. Then, a couple of weeks later and still injured, she lost in straight sets to the same player in the first round of the 2003 French Open. It was the only time she ever lost a first-round match at a Grand Slam. She never again played an official tour match.^[16]

In February 2005, Seles played two exhibition matches in New Zealand against Navratilova. Despite losing both matches, she played competitively and announced that she could return to the game early in 2006; however, she did not do so. She played three exhibition matches against Navratilova in 2007. On April 5, she defeated Navratilova in Houston, Texas, on clay, 7–6 (1), 2–6, 10–1 (tiebreak).^[17] On September 14, Seles defeated Navratilova on an indoor court in New Orleans, Louisiana, 6–2, 6–4. On September 16, she beat her on clay in Bucharest, Romania, 3–6, 6–3, 10–7 (tiebreak).^[18]

In December 2007, Seles told the press that Lindsay Davenport's successful return to the tour had inspired her to consider her own limited comeback to play Grand Slam tournaments and the major warm-up events for those tournaments. However, on February 14, 2008, Seles announced her official retirement from professional tennis.^[19]

In January 2009, Seles was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.^[20]

Assessment[edit]

Seles was listed as the 13th greatest player of all time (men and women) by (U.S.) Tennis magazine and was also one of 15 women named by Australian Tennis magazine as the greatest champions of the last 30 years (players were listed chronologically).

In 2012, Tennis Channel created a list of the "100 Greatest Of All Time" tennis players. Seles was listed at #19.

Seles's career was affected by the stabbing incident; her trajectory was indicative of continuing future greatness. During the height of her career (1990 French Open through the 1993 Australian Open), she won 8 of the 11 Grand Slam singles tournaments she contested.

 

Seles' outfit at the Tennis Hall of Fame Museum at the Newport Casino, Newport, Rhode Island

Until her loss to Martina Hingis at the 1999 Australian Open, Seles had a perfect record at the event (33–0), which is the longest undefeated streak for this tournament (although Margaret Court won 38 consecutive matches there from 1960 to 1968 after losing a match in 1959). It also marked her first defeat in Australia, having won the Sydney tournament in 1996. Seles was the first female tennis player to win her first six Grand Slam singles finals: 1990 French Open, 1991 Australian Open, 1991 French Open, US Open, 1992 Australian Open, and 1992 French Open. Seles was also the first female player since Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling in 1937 to win the women's singles title three consecutive years at the French Open. (Chris Evert, however, won the title the four consecutive times she played the tournament: 1974, 1975, 1979, and 1980; in 2007, Justine Henin won her third consecutive French Open singles title.) With eight Grand Slam singles titles before her 20th birthday, Seles holds the record for most Grand Slam singles titles won as a teenager.

Shortly after her retirement, Sports Illustrated writer Jon Wertheim summed up her later career:

Yet, transformed from champion to tragedienne, Seles became far more popular than she was while winning all those titles. It became impossible to root against her. At first, out of sympathy. Then, because she revealed herself to be so thoroughly thoughtful, graceful, dignified. When she quietly announced her retirement last week at age 34, she exited as perhaps the most adored figure in the sport's history. As happy endings go, one could do worse.^[21]

Seles was a popular player, winning the inaugural Sanex Hero of the Year award in 2002. This award was voted by fans around the world. She was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009.^[22]

Equipment and endorsements[edit]

In the early 1990s, Seles signed a $4-million endorsement contract with Fila to promote its footwear and tennis apparel.^[23] She used Prince original graphite racquet on court.^[24] In August of the 1990 season, Seles switched to a Yonex racquet.

When she returned to the tour in 1995 after the stabbing sabbatical, Seles wore apparel by Nike and used a Yonex racquet on court.

In the 2000s, Seles wore apparel by Yonex and used Yonex SRQ Ti-800 Pro Long racquet on court.^[25]

Autobiography[edit]

On April 21, 2009, Seles released her memoir Getting A Grip: On My Body, My Mind, My Self which chronicles her bout with depression and food addiction after her stabbing, her father's cancer diagnosis and eventual death, her journey back to the game and a life beyond tennis.^[26]

Personal life[edit]

Since 2009, Seles has been dating billionaire Tom Golisano, some 32 years her senior.^[27][28] The two announced their engagement on June 5, 2014.^[29]

Entertainment[edit]

In 1996, Seles made a guest appearance in the TV sitcom The Nanny.^[30] She also appeared in 2008 in the TV series Dancing with the Stars as one of the contestants.^[31]

Career statistics[edit]

Grand Slam singles finals: 13 finals (9 titles, 4 runner-ups)[edit]

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1990	French Open	Clay	Steffi Graf	7–6(8–6), 6–4
Winner	1991	Australian Open	Hard	Jana Novotná	5–7, 6–3, 6–1
Winner	1991	French Open (2)	Clay	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	6–3, 6–4
Winner	1991	US Open	Hard	Martina Navrátilová	7–6(7–1), 6–1
Winner	1992	Australian Open (2)	Hard	Mary Joe Fernandez	6–2, 6–3
Winner	1992	French Open (3)	Clay	Steffi Graf	6–2, 3–6, 10–8
Runner-up	1992	Wimbledon	Grass	Steffi Graf	2–6, 1–6
Winner	1992	US Open (2)	Hard	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	6–3, 6–3
Winner	1993	Australian Open (3)	Hard	Steffi Graf	4–6, 6–3, 6–2
Runner-up	1995	US Open	Hard	Steffi Graf	6–7(6–8), 6–0, 3–6
Winner	1996	Australian Open (4)	Hard	Anke Huber	6–4, 6–1
Runner-up	1996	US Open	Hard	Steffi Graf	5–7, 4–6
Runner-up	1998	French Open	Clay	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	6–7(5–7), 6–0, 2–6

Singles performance timeline[edit]

Key

Won tournament; or reached Final; Semifinal; Quarter-final; Round 4, 3, 2, 1; competed at a Round Robin stage; lost in Qualification Round; absent from tournament event; played in a Davis Cup - / Fed Cup Zonal Group (with its number indication) or Play-off; won a bronze, silver (F or S) or gold medal at the Olympics; a downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament (Not a Masters Series); or a tournament that was Not Held in a given year.

To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated either at the conclusion of a tournament, or when the player's participation in the tournament has ended.

Records[edit]

• These records were attained in Open Era of tennis.
• Records in bold indicate peer-less achievements.