Radio Profile | On November 18, 1996 Gabriela Sabatini retired from professional tennis.

He began to play at the age of six at the River Plate Club, trying to follow in the footsteps of his older brother, Osvaldo. At the age of eight she won her first international tournament, at the age of 13 she made her professional debut at the ITF in Miami and later became a junior champion at Roland Garros. The following year, Sabatini became the youngest tennis player to participate in an individual semifinal of a Grand Slam tournament, qualifying for that round in the traditional French tournament under the tutelage of her coach Daniel Fidalgo.

His first professional title was achieved in October 85, by defeating American Linda Gates at Ariake Forest Park in Tokyo. After ten defeats suffered against the German Steffi Graf, her classic rival, in March 88 she was able to beat her for the first time in the Boca Raton final.

In a shocking upward career, Sabatini reached the Top Ten, where he would not leave until his retirement. In 89, he reached his best position in the ranking, number three, after reaching a semi-final in Australia and reaching the quarter-finals in Tokyo. The following year, she won the United States Open in singles, being the only Argentine tennis player to do so, in addition to two WTA Tour Championships.

The Argentine tennis player was also a finalist in the 1991 Wimbledon and 1988 US Open tournaments, the year in which she would win the silver medal at the Seoul Olympic Games.

In 92, Sabatini defeated, in the final of the Italian Open, number one Mónica Seles, thus obtaining her twenty-fifth title and playing at her best level. From that moment on, his professional performance went into a gradual decline. In ’93 and ’94 he did not obtain any title for what many thought was the end of his career.

However, the Argentine tennis player surprised once again by winning the Masters for the second time, defeating Lindsay Davenport in the final. Soon after, he won his last professional title in Sydney. In October 96, Sabatini was defeated by American Jennifer Capriati in her debut at the European Open, which marked the end of her career. He was 26 years old. Nine days later, he announced his retirement at Madison Square Garden in New York, the city of his greatest triumphs, receiving the affection of the public and the unconditional support of his parents.

During his 14 years as a professional, Sabatini won 39 titles; 27 in singles and 12 in doubles. In 2000 she received the Konex Brilliant Award for the best athlete of the decade and six years later, she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Screenplay by Javier Pasaragua and voice over by Pita Fortín.

by Radio Profile