Editing Steffi Graf (section)

====1990====
Graf defeated [[Mary Joe Fernández]] in the final of the Australian Open, which was her eighth Grand Slam singles title in the last nine she contested. She survived an intense three-set battle with Helena Sukova in the semis, breaking in the tenth and final game to win the third set 6–4. Her winning streak (unbeaten since the 1989 French Open loss to Arantxa Sánchez) continued with victories in [[Toray Pan Pacific Open|Tokyo]], [[Bausch & Lomb Championships|Amelia Island]], and [[Hamburg Masters|Hamburg]]. Shortly after winning in Tokyo, Graf injured her right thumb while cross-country skiing in Switzerland and subsequently withdrew from the [[Virginia Slims of Florida]] and the [[1990 Lipton Championships|Lipton Championships]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Finn |first=Robin |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/02/09/sports/graf-is-injured-skiing.html |title=Graf Is Injured Skiing |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=9 February 1990 |access-date=15 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180116010009/http://www.nytimes.com/1990/02/09/sports/graf-is-injured-skiing.html |archive-date=16 January 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> In [[WTA German Open|Berlin]], she extended her unbeaten streak to 66 matches (second in [[Women's Tennis Association|WTA]] history to Navratilova's 74) before losing the final to Monica Seles, 4–6, 3–6.

While the Berlin tournament was being played, the largest-circulation German tabloid, ''[[Bild]]'', ran a story about an alleged scandal involving Graf's father. The difficulty of answering questions about the matter came to a head at a Wimbledon press conference, where Graf broke down in tears. Wimbledon authorities then threatened to immediately shut down any subsequent press conferences where questions about the issue were asked. Whether this scandal affected Graf's form is open to debate. In an interview with ''Stern'' magazine in July 1990, Graf stated, "I could not fight as usual."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE7DE163BF930A25754C0A966958260 |title=Tennis; Graf's Toughest Foe: the Press |work=The New York Times |date=13 July 1990 |access-date=17 May 2011 |first=Ferdinand |last=Protzman |archive-date=30 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030230830/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/13/sports/tennis-graf-s-toughest-foe-the-press.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Graf again lost to Monica Seles in the final of the French Open 6–7, 4–6. Seles was behind 2–6 in the first-set tiebreaker, but then came back to win six points in a row and take the set. At Wimbledon, Graf lost in the semifinals to [[Zina Garrison]], who with this victory broke Graf's string of 13 consecutive major finals. This was a major upset as Garrison had to save a match point to defeat Monica Seles in the quarterfinal, and was expected to easily fall to Graf, whom she had not beaten in four years. After victories in [[Canada Masters|Montreal]] and [[Acura Classic|San Diego]], Graf reached the US Open final, where she lost in straight sets to Sabatini. Graf won four indoor tournaments after the US Open, including a pair of straight-set wins over Sabatini in the finals of [[Zurich Open|Zürich]] and [[Virginia Slims of New England|Worcester]]. Although Sabatini got the best of Graf in the semifinals of the season-ending Virginia Slims Championships, Graf still finished the year as the top-ranked player.