Background and career
Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini (Spanish pronunciation: [gaˈβɾjela saβaˈtini]; born 16 May 1970) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. A former world No. 3 in both singles and doubles, Sabatini was one of the leading players from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, amassing 41 titles across both disciplines. In singles, Sabatini won the 1990 US Open, the WTA Finals in 1988 and 1994, and was runner-up at Wimbledon 1991, the 1988 US Open, and the silver medalist at the 1988 Olympics. In doubles, she won Wimbledon in 1988 partnering with Steffi Graf, and reached three French Open finals. Among Open Era players who did not reach the world No. 1 ranking, Sabatini has the most wins over reigning No. 1 players. In 2006, she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and in 2018, Tennis Magazine ranked her as the 20th-greatest female player of the preceding 50 years.
Sabatini was born 16 May 1970 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Osvaldo and Beatriz Garofalo Sabatini. Her father was an executive in General Motors. Her elder brother, Osvaldo, is an actor and producer. Sabatini started playing tennis at the age of six, and won her first tournament at eight. In 1983, age 13, she became the youngest player ever to win the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. She won the girls' singles at the 1984 French Open and the US Open girls' doubles with fellow Argentinian Mercedes Paz. Sabatini reached world No. 1 in the junior rankings that year and was named 1984 Junior World Champion by the International Tennis Federation. Sabatini stated that she deliberately lost matches in her youth to avoid having to do on-court interviews and therefore avoid media attention. She said that her shyness had been a major problem, and she thought she had to speak on-court after playing in the final of a tournament; so, she would lose in the semifinals.
In 1985, aged 15 years and three weeks, Sabatini became one of the youngest-ever players to reach the semifinals of the French Open, where she lost to Chris Evert. She won her first WTA Tour singles title later that year in Tokyo. She first entered the world's top ten (at #10) in September 1985, and ended the year ranked number 12. She received the WTA Newcomer of the Year award. Sabatini reached the semifinals of Wimbledon in 1986, losing to Martina Navratilova, before winning her second WTA title in Buenos Aires, She re-entered the world's top ten in September 1986 and would remain there for 508 consecutive weeks until May 1996. Sabatini reached the semifinals of the 1987 French Open, and reached the final of the 1987 WTA Tour Championships, losing to Steffi Graf both times. She also won three WTA titles, including defeating world No. 4, Pam Shriver in Brighton.
In February 1988, Sabatini entered the top five in rankings, and would remain there uninterrupted until August 1993. Having reached her third French Open semifinal, she then reached her first Grand Slam singles final at the US Open, where she lost to Graf in three sets. Sabatini represented Argentina in the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul and was selected to carry her country's flag in the opening ceremony. She went on to win the silver medal in the women's singles competition, losing to Graf in the final. Sabatini teamed-up with Graf to win the women's doubles title at Wimbledon that year. At the end of 1988, Sabatini won her first WTA Tour Championships, without dropping a set.
In 1989, Sabatini reached seven tournament finals and won four titles, including the Miami Open (defeating Evert in the final). In defeating world No. 2, Martina Navratilova, and No. 1, Steffi Graf, to obtain the Amelia Island title, she became only the fifth player in Open Era history to defeat both the No. 1 and 2 ranked players at the same tournament. She also reached the semifinals of the Australian Open and US Open Grand Slam tournaments.
At the Australian Open, Sabatini sprained her ankle during a third-round match while one set up, and had to be taken off Centre Court in a wheelchair. 80 minutes later, in the following match, Mark Woodforde also sprained his ankle on the same court and was forced to retire by wheelchair too. Multiple players had complained of the dangers of playing on the Rebound Ace hard court surface used at the tournament, which they claimed became very sticky – and therefore potentially dangerous – in very hot conditions. Sabatini was sidelined for six weeks by the injury, returning to the tour in mid-March and winning her first tournament back – the Virginia Slims of Florida – without the loss of a set. She reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon, losing to eventual champion Martina Navratilova, in straight sets. At the US Open, Sabatini progressed to her second Grand Slam final where she defeated world No. 1 Graf in straight sets 6–2, 7–6 to win the title, having saved two set points against her while 5-6 down in the second set. She credited her win with being more aggressive and coming to the net whenever she could to attack Graf's shorter balls. Sabatini also beat Graf in the semifinals of the WTA Championships in Madison Square Garden later that year, losing in the final to Monica Seles, 6–4, 5–7, 3–6, 6–4, 6–2. It was the first five-set match to be played on the women's tour since 1901.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
