Editing Steffi Graf (section)

===Final years on the tour: 1997–99===
[[File:Steffi Graf 2005.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|Graf in 2005]]
The last few years of Graf's career were beset by injuries, particularly to her knees and back. She lost the world No. 1 ranking to Martina Hingis and failed to win a Grand Slam title for the first time in ten years in 1997. That year Graf lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open in straight sets to [[Amanda Coetzer]].<ref name="amandacoetzer.tripod.com">{{cite web |url=http://amandacoetzer.tripod.com/sked97.htm |title=Untitled Normal Page |publisher=Amandacoetzer.tripod.com |date=18 August 1997 |access-date=17 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040627103445/http://amandacoetzer.tripod.com/sked97.htm |archive-date=27 June 2004 |url-status=live  }}</ref>
She subsequently withdrew from the [[1997 Toray Pan Pacific Open|Pan Pacific Open]] and had [[arthroscopic surgery]] performed on her left knee. After several months injury lay off, Graf returned to play in the German Open in Berlin in front of a home crowd and had the worst defeat of her career in the quarterfinal, when Amanda Coetzer beat her in just 56 minutes 6–0, 6–1.<ref name="amandacoetzer.tripod.com"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.quotesquotations.com/biography/amanda-coetzer-biography/ |title=Amanda Coetzer Biography |date=6 December 2009 |publisher=Quotesquotations.com |access-date=17 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520030819/http://www.quotesquotations.com/biography/amanda-coetzer-biography/ |archive-date=20 May 2011 |url-status=live  }}</ref> In the French Open Graf was again beaten by Amanda Coetzer in straight sets, 6–1, 6–4.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sporting-heroes.net/tennis-heroes/displayhero.asp?HeroID=1940 |title=Amanda Coetzer - Tennis Player from South Africa - Tennis-Heroes.net |publisher=Sporting-heroes.net |access-date=17 May 2011 |archive-date=30 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030231322/http://www.sporting-heroes.net/tennis/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Only one week later, she underwent reconstructive knee surgery in [[Vienna]] and subsequently missed the 1997 Wimbledon and US Open championships. The treatment was for a fracture of the cartilage as well as a shortening and partial rupture of the patellar tendon of her left knee.<ref name="Icons of Women's Sport">{{cite book |last=Overman |first=Steven |title=Icons of Women's Sport| volume=1 |year=2012 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |location=Santa Barbara |isbn= 978-0313385490 |page=181}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Surgery on Graf's Knee Requires a Long Layoff|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/11/sports/surgery-on-graf-s-knee-requires-a-long-layoff.html|work=The New York Times|date=11 June 1997|access-date=13 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816153109/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/11/sports/surgery-on-graf-s-knee-requires-a-long-layoff.html|archive-date=16 August 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
After missing almost half of the tour in 1998, Graf lost in the third round at [[1998 Wimbledon Championships|Wimbledon]] and in the fourth round at the [[1998 US Open (tennis)|US Open]]. Shortly after the US Open, she underwent surgery to remove a bone spur in her right wrist.<ref>{{cite news |author=Ronald Atkin |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/wimbledon-99-the-steffi-graf-interview-time-for-a-golden-goodbye-1101143.html |title=Wimbledon '99: The Steffi Graf Interview: Time for a golden goodbye? |work=[[The Independent]] |access-date=15 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115184656/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/wimbledon-99-the-steffi-graf-interview-time-for-a-golden-goodbye-1101143.html |archive-date=15 January 2018 |url-status=live  }}</ref> Upon her return Graf defeated world No. 2 Hingis and world No. 1 [[Lindsay Davenport]] en route to the [[Advanta Championships Philadelphia|Philadelphia]] title. At the first round of the season-ending [[1998 Chase Championships|Chase Championships]], Graf defeated world No. 3, Jana Novotná, before losing in the semifinal to first-seeded Davenport.

At the beginning of 1999 Graf played the warm up event to the [[1999 Australian Open|Australian Open]] in Sydney; she defeated Serena Williams in the second round and Venus in the quarterfinals before losing to Lindsay Davenport in the semifinal. Graf then went on to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open before losing to Monica Seles in two sets. In Indian Wells Graf lost to Serena Williams in three sets.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wtatennis.com/headtohead/steffi-graf_2255881_2718/0,,12781~2718~9044,00.html|title=Head to Head|work=WTA Tennis |access-date=24 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024114643/http://www.wtatennis.com/headtohead/steffi-graf_2255881_2718/0,,12781~2718~9044,00.html|archive-date=24 October 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

At the [[1999 French Open|French Open]], Graf reached her first Grand Slam final in three years and fought back from a set and twice from a break down in the second set to defeat the top ranked Hingis in three sets for a memorable victory. Graf became the first player in the [[Tennis open era|open era]] to defeat the first, second, and third ranked players in the same Grand Slam tournament by beating second-ranked Davenport in the quarterfinals and third-ranked Seles in the semifinals. Graf said after the final that it would be her last French Open, fueling speculation about her retirement.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/tennis/1999/french_open/news/1999/06/05/hingis_graf |title=Graf edges Hingis, captures sixth and 'last' French title |magazine=Sports Illustrated |date=16 August 1999 |access-date=17 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120122162850/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/tennis/1999/french_open/news/1999/06/05/hingis_graf/ |archive-date=22 January 2012 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

Graf then reached her ninth [[1999 Wimbledon Championships|Wimbledon]] singles final, losing to third-seeded Davenport in straight sets. She had to overcome three difficult three set matches en route to this final, against [[Mariaan De Swardt]] in the second round, Venus Williams in the quarterfinals and [[Mirjana Lučić-Baroni|Mirjana Lučić]] in the semifinals.

On 13 August 1999, shortly after retiring with a strained hamstring from a second round match against [[Amy Frazier]] in [[1999 TIG Classic|San Diego]], Graf announced her retirement from the women's tour at age 30.<ref>{{cite news|author1=John Roberts|title=Highs and lows of Graf the great|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis/highs-and-lows-of-graf-the-great-741802.html|work=[[The Independent]]|date=14 August 1999|access-date=15 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115184710/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis/highs-and-lows-of-graf-the-great-741802.html|archive-date=15 January 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Graf bows out|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sport/tennis/419376.stm|work=[[BBC Sport]]|date=13 August 1999|access-date=4 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808102928/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sport/tennis/419376.stm|archive-date=8 August 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> She was ranked No. 3 at that time and said, "I have done everything I wanted to do in tennis. I feel I have nothing left to accomplish. The weeks following Wimbledon [in 1999] weren't easy for me. I was not having fun anymore. After Wimbledon, for the first time in my career, I didn't feel like going to a tournament. My motivation wasn't what it was in the past."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.canoe.ca/SlamTennisGrafRetires/aug13_retires.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120721145731/http://www.canoe.ca/SlamTennisGrafRetires/aug13_retires.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=21 July 2012 |title=Steffi Graf announces retirement |publisher=Canoe.ca |access-date=17 May 2011 }}</ref>