What Is Steffi Graf’s Net Worth?

Steffi Graf, a former World No. 1 tennis player from Germany, has a net worth of $145 million. This figure includes her combined wealth with her husband of over 20 years, fellow retired professional tennis player Andre Agassi. During her illustrious career, Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, the third most in history, and was ranked world number one for a record 377 total weeks by the Women’s Tennis Association. For comparison, Serena Williams holds the second position with 319 total weeks. Graf remains the only tennis player to have won each Grand Slam tournament at least four times, accumulating 107 singles titles overall.

Steffi Graf Salary

Throughout her career, Steffi Graf earned $21 million in tournament prizes, equivalent to around $40 million today. Additionally, she made tens of millions more through endorsements.

Tax Issues

In 1995, Graf faced accusations of tax evasion by German authorities. Her father, who managed her finances, was arrested for failing to pay taxes on $25-35 million of her earnings. This amount constituted nearly all of her professional tennis earnings up to that point. The authorities also accused the Grafs of writing off $700,000 in legal and other expenses allegedly used to cover up an extramarital affair involving her father. Graf placed the blame entirely on her father, who was convicted and served 25 months of a 45-month prison sentence. Steffi was required to pay 1.3 million Deutsche Marks in penalties and fines. During a particularly low point in July 1996, while playing a Wimbledon match, a fan humorously proposed to her from the stands, to which Graf wittily responded, “How much money do you have?”

Early Life

Stefanie Maria Graf was born on June 14, 1969, in Mannheim, West Germany, to Heidi Schalk and Peter Graf. Her father, an aspiring tennis coach, introduced her to the sport at the age of three. By four, she was practicing on the court, and at five, she entered her first tournament. She quickly became a dominant force in junior tournaments.

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In 1982, Graf participated in her first professional tournament, losing her first-round match to US Open champion Tracy Austin. The following year, at age 13, she began her first full professional year, ranked world number 124. Although she didn’t win any titles over the next three years, her ranking steadily climbed, reaching world number six by 1985. In April 1986, Graf won her first Women’s Tennis Association tournament. The following year, she amassed six tournament victories and claimed the world number one ranking from Martina Navratilova, holding it for 186 consecutive weeks.

Grand Slam and Golden Slam

Graf began 1988 by defeating Chris Evert to win the Australian Open without losing a single set. She continued her winning streak by claiming titles at the Berlin tournament, the French Open, Wimbledon, and finally, the US Open, achieving a Grand Slam—the only such title in history completed across three surfaces: clay, hard court, and grass. Graf’s historic year culminated at the Summer Olympics in Seoul, where she won the gold medal match against Gabriela Sabatini, becoming the first and only Golden Slam winner in history.

New Dominance, Injuries, and Final Tour Years

After a series of injuries and losses, Graf returned to dominance in 1993, winning three of the four Grand Slam events and the Virginia Slims championships. She won her first French Open since 1988 and conquered Wimbledon by defeating Jana Novotná. In 1994, she won the Australian Open and various global tournaments. However, while competing in San Diego, Graf aggravated a long-time back injury and developed a bone spur at the base of her spine. From 1994 to 1996, numerous injuries and surgeries disrupted her career, causing her to withdraw from the Australian Open twice. Despite these setbacks, Graf continued to win titles, including Wimbledon in 1995. The final of that championship is considered one of the most exciting in women’s major finals history, with a dramatic 16-minute long, 13-deuce game in the third set.

Graf’s final tour years from 1997 to 1999 were marked by 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 securing several high-profile wins, Graf announced her retirement from the women’s tour in 1999, citing a loss of motivation.

Exhibition Matches

As part of her farewell tour in 1999 and 2000, Graf played a series of global exhibition matches against past competitors, including Amanda Coetzer in South Africa, Jelena Dokic in New Zealand, and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in Spain—their first head-to-head since 1996. Graf later participated in other exhibitions in cities such as Tokyo, Berlin, and Washington, DC.

Personal Life

Throughout her career, Graf lived in Brühl, Germany; Boca Raton, Florida; and the SoHo neighborhood of New York City, where she owned a penthouse in the former Police Headquarters Building. Graf dated racing driver Michael Bartels from 1992 to 1999, then fellow professional tennis player Andre Agassi, whom she married in 2001. The couple has two children and resides in the Summerlin community in the Las Vegas Valley. Graf is also the founder and chairperson of Children for Tomorrow, a non-profit foundation supporting traumatized children.

Legacy and Honors

In 1999, a panel of experts at the Associated Press named Graf the greatest female tennis player of the 20th century. In 2012, Tennis Channel ranked her as the greatest female tennis player of all time, a distinction echoed by a Tennis.com reader poll in 2018. Graf has received numerous honors, including seven years as International Tennis Federation World Champion, eight years as Women’s Tennis Association Player of the Year, and five years as German Sportsperson of the Year. In 2004, she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and in 2008, into the German Sports Hall of Fame.

Steffi Graf Net Worth

Steffi Graf net worth is $145 million.