Editing Steffi Graf (section)

====1993====
Graf began 1993 with four losses in her first six tournaments of the year: two to Sánchez Vicario and one each to Seles and the 36-year-old Martina Navratilova. Seles defeated Graf at the Australian Open 4–6, 6–3, 6–2. She struggled at the [[Qatar Telecom German Open|German Open]] in Berlin where she lost a 6–0 set to the unheralded [[Sabine Hack]] before defeating [[Mary Joe Fernández]] and Sabatini in three-set matches to claim her seventh title there in eight years.

During a quarterfinal match between Seles and [[Magdalena Maleeva]] in Hamburg, 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, during a players meeting at the [[1993 Italian Open (tennis)|Italian Open]] in Rome, 17 of the world's top 25 WTA members voted against preserving Seles' world No. 1 ranking while she was sidelined. Since Graf skipped the Italian Open, she did not take part in the vote.<ref>{{cite news |last=Finn |first=Robin |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/30/sports/tennis-seles-struggles-with-injury-and-wta-decision.html |title=TENNIS – Seles Struggles With Injury and W.T.A. Decision |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=30 May 1993 |access-date=15 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180116004531/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/30/sports/tennis-seles-struggles-with-injury-and-wta-decision.html |archive-date=16 January 2018 |url-status=live  }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Finn |first=Robin |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/27/sports/tennis-for-seles-the-wound-still-hurts.html?pagewanted=all |title=TENNIS – For Seles, the Wound Still Hurts |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=27 August 1993 |access-date=15 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180116081043/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/27/sports/tennis-for-seles-the-wound-still-hurts.html?pagewanted=all |archive-date=16 January 2018 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

During Seles's absence, Graf won 65 of 67 matches,<ref>{{cite news|title=Troubled WTA Tour limps through '94 season|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/html/cd/1994/199403/19940305/19940305007_2.html|work=[[China Daily]]|date=5 March 1994|access-date=1 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150202012137/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/html/cd/1994/199403/19940305/19940305007_2.html|archive-date=2 February 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> 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 Fernández in the final. Fernandez had two break points to take a 3–0 and double break lead in the third set. 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, Novotná 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 a bone splinter in her right foot during this tournament (and for the next few months), finally resulting in surgery on 4 October.<ref>{{cite news |author=John Roberts |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis-graf-footloose-and-pain-free-germanys-world-no-1-in-intimidating-form-at-the-australian-open-1408464.html |title=Tennis: Graf footloose and pain-free: Germany's world No 1 in intimidating form at the Australian Open |work=[[The Independent]] |date=22 January 1994 |access-date=15 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180116081051/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis-graf-footloose-and-pain-free-germanys-world-no-1-in-intimidating-form-at-the-australian-open-1408464.html |archive-date=16 January 2018 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

In the meantime, she lost surprisingly to [[Nicole Bradtke]] of Australia in a [[Fed Cup]] match on clay before winning the [[Acura Classic]] in San Diego and the [[Rogers Cup|Canadian Open]] in Toronto in preparation for the US Open. She won there, comfortably beating Helena Suková in the final after needing three sets to eliminate Gabriela Sabatini and [[Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere]] in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively. In the fall, Graf won the [[1993 Volkswagen Card Cup|Volkswagen Card Cup]] in Leipzig a day before her foot operation, losing only two games to Jana Novotná in the final. Graf lost to Conchita Martínez in her comeback tournament a month later in [[Advanta Championships Philadelphia|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.