There are many women who have made a huge impact in the world of tennis and Gabriela Sabatini is one of them. The former Argentinian professional tennis player made leaps and bounds in her career and was one of the best players of the late 80s and early 90s. Her excellent athletic skills earned her several titles of the Grand Slam during his career. Furthermore, she also won a silver medal in the 1988 Olympics and also won two WTA championships in 1988 and 1994 respectively.
Apart from tennis, Gabriela is also an entrepreneur, and she owns a perfume brand which she runs in partnership with a German perfume company called Muelhens. For her outstanding contributions to women’s tennis, she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in July 2006. Check out the former tennis star below.
Gabriela Sabatini Biography
The former tennis star was born as GabrielaBeatriz Sabatini on May 16, 1970 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is the daughter of Beatriz Sabatini and her husband, Osvaldo, who worked as an executive at General Motors. She spent her early years in Buenos Aires, where she grew up with her older brother.
There is not much information about her education, including the schools she attended. However, it is already known that she started playing tennis at the age of 6 and won her first title at the age of 8. When she turned 13, Gabriela became the youngest player to win the Orange Bowl contest. This happened after she won the tournament held in Miami, Florida in 1983. She went on to win six major international junior championships; becoming the world’s No. 1 junior player in 1984.
Professional career
Turning professional in 1988, the women’s tennis prodigy featured in her first Grand Slam single that year at a tournament held in the United States. Although she reached the final of the competition, she lost to Germany’s Steffi Graf in three sets. She would then team up with Steffi to win the Wimbledon doubles later that same year.
Gabriela Sabatini also represented Argentina at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. After an impressive performance, she placed second, thus winning the silver medal. She ended the year by winning the WTA Tour Championship.
The talented tennis player won her first Grand Slam single after beating Seffi Graf at the 1990 US Open in New York. She then reached her third singles final at Wimbledon the following year, but was beaten by Steffi in three rounds. Back then, she became a serious contender for world No. 1 alongside Graf and Monica Seles. In 1992, Gabriela was able to win five tournaments. Nevertheless, she did not participate in the Grand Slam finals.
In the mid-1990s, the tennis player experienced waning performances which prepared her for retirement in 1996. After playing her last singles match against Jennifer Capriati at the European Indoors, Gabriela successfully lost in 1996.
At her peak, she reached world no. 3 in 1989 and her impressive career earned her 27 singles and 14 doubles titles. Five years after her retirement, Gabriela Sabatini received the Diamond Konex award for her role as the most important athlete of the decade.
Private life
While Gabriela Sabatini has made her mark in the international tennis competitions, the athlete has the same success in her personal life. She’s had her share of romantic relationships; Nevertheless, she never made it down the aisle.
She previously had a brief relationship with Guillermo Roldan in the late 80s. After their breakup, she dated Donald Trump in 1989 and Frank Unkelbach until early 1990. In 1991, she had a short-lived affair with Michael Bolton and the following year, she dated Ricky Martin. She also reportedly dated other celebrities, including Howard Carpendale, Leo Montero and Mickey Rourke; However, these speculations have never been verified.
Gabriela has been keeping a low profile lately and there has been no news of her further relationships to date. What we do know is that she is still single and has no children at the moment.
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Other interesting facts you need to know
1. Gabriela Sabatini became an Italian citizen in 2003. Her paternal great-grandfather was originally from Italy, but emigrated to Argentina in the 19th century.
2. She reached the highest level of her professional career in 1988 when she became the third tennis player in the world.
3. She is also a philanthropist and has supported various charities for poor children.
4. Sabatini currently splits his time between Buenos Aires (Argentina), Boca Raton (USA) and Pfäffikon, Schwyz (Switzerland).