Editing Steffi Graf (section)

====1996====
Graf again missed the [[1996 Australian Open|Australian Open]] after undergoing surgery in December 1995 to remove bone splinters from her left foot.<ref>{{cite news|title=Foot Surgery Sidelines Graf|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1995/12/16/foot-surgery-sidelines-graf/|work=Chicago Tribune|date=16 December 1995|access-date=4 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160803123505/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1995-12-16/sports/9512160035_1_grand-slam-events-miss-monica-seles|archive-date=3 August 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Graf came back to the tour in March, winning back to back titles in [[1999 Evert Cup – Singles|Indian Wells]] and [[1996 Lipton Championships – Women's singles|Miami]], followed by a record ninth title at the [[1996 German Open (tennis)|German Open]] in May and a quarterfinal defeat in [[1996 Italian Open – Women's singles|Rome]] against Martina Hingis. She then successfully defended the three Grand Slam titles she won the year before. In a close [[1996 French Open|French Open]] final, Graf again overcame Sánchez Vicario, taking the third set 10–8.<ref>{{cite news|author1=Robin Finn|title=Graf Wins Wrenching French Epic|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/09/sports/tennis-graf-wins-wrenching-french-epic.html?pagewanted=all|work=The New York Times|date=9 June 1996|access-date=13 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816152621/http://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/09/sports/tennis-graf-wins-wrenching-french-epic.html?pagewanted=all|archive-date=16 August 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Graf had led 4–1 in the second set tiebreak, only to lose six points in a row and force a decider. Twice in the third set Sánchez Vicario served for the championship but was broken each time by Graf. It was the longest French Open women's singles final in history, both in terms of time (3 hours and 3 minutes) and number of games played (40).<ref name=collins>{{cite book|last=Collins|first=Bud|author-link=Bud Collins|title=The Bud Collins History of Tennis|year=2010|publisher=New Chapter Press|location=[New York]|isbn=978-0942257700|page=408|edition=2nd}}</ref> Graf then had a straight-sets win against Sánchez Vicario in the [[1996 Wimbledon Championships|Wimbledon]] final. That was the last competitive match Graf and Sánchez Vicario would ever play against one another. In July, a left knee injury forced Graf to withdraw from the [[tennis at the 1996 Summer Olympics|Summer Olympics]] in [[Atlanta]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C00E1DE1F39F934A25754C0A960958260 |title=OLYMPICS;Injuries Force Sampras and Graf to Skip Games |work=The New York Times |date=17 July 1996 |access-date=17 May 2011 |first=Robin |last=Finn |archive-date=30 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030231315/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/17/sports/olympics-injuries-force-sampras-and-graf-to-skip-games.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Graf played only one warm-up event ahead of the US Open, the [[1996 Acura Classic – Singles|Acura Classic]] in [[Manhattan Beach, California]], where she lost to Lindsay Davenport in the semifinals. She then successfully defended her title at the [[1996 US Open (tennis)|US Open]], defeating Monica Seles in the final. Her toughest battle came against rising star Martina Hingis in the semifinal, with Hingis unable to convert on five set points. Graf did not lose a set the whole tournament. She also won her fifth and final [[WTA Tour Championships]] title with a five set win over Martina Hingis, with Hingis cramping up in the fifth set.<ref name=wta40/>
In 1988, Graf became only the second tennis player in history to win a Slam on hardcourt, clay, and grass all in the same season. She repeated the feat in 1993, 1995, and 1996.