Boris Becker Revealed How His Ice-Cold ‘Comrade’ Steffi Graf’s Devastating Personal Moment Led to Her Retirement

Even after having a marvelous career in tennis, Steffi Graf left a void in her fans’ hearts when she retired. She left the tennis arena at the age of 30 back in 1999 and never looked back towards the sport. While her fans might not be aware of the reason behind why she took this huge step at such a young age, his childhood friend Boris Becker knows it all.

The 56-year-old German tennis star goes into great detail in his book on how, for one simple reason, the girl who used to fight day and night to succeed on the court left everything behind. Let’s take a look at the reasons why Steffi Graf took that huge career step in 1999.

The truth behind Steffi Graf’s early retirement

Becker, in his autobiography, ‘The Player’, talked in detail about his childhood friend, who has also won 22 Grand Slam championships on the WTA tour. He said, “Even as a child, Steffi was focused and introverted and sometimes trained like a robot. Steffi was too determined for some people’s liking—too correct, too cool, too ‘Made in Germany’.”

Not only did he talk about the 54-year-old tennis legend’s nature towards the sport, but at the same time, he also detailed how her father’s tax scandals took a toll on her. While Graf was a perfectionist by nature, at the same time she was extremely sensitive and a compassionate person, as she was someone who couldn’t really live out her emotions in the best way possible.

Even though tennis was the most important part of her life, there was a time when other things also mattered more to her. Becker highlighted what the 22-time Grand Slam champion might be thinking regarding what she wants to do after lifting her eighth Wimbledon title. “She probably told herself: To hell with my feelings, what I want now is to win Wimbledon for the eighth time.”