Travel back to the pivotal months of early 1988, when women’s tennis was on the brink of transformation. Still only 18, Steffi Graf was on the verge of rewriting the record books, while a teen prodigy named Monica Seles was about to explode onto the scene. Gabriela Sabatini was about to make a major breakthrough as legends like Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert watched the rise of a new generation. The game itself was changing—new surfaces, new rivalries, and new expectations.

In this episode, we dive into Steffi Graf’s historic triumph at the 1988 Australian Open—a tournament that redefined the sport, crowned Graf as Germany’s first singles champion in Melbourne, and set the stage for her legendary Golden Slam. We explore the drama on and off the court, the new era of Australian tennis, and the shifting rivalries that marked the end of one dynasty and the rise of another.

In 1987, women’s tennis was transformed as Steffi Graf dethroned legends, seized the No. 1 ranking, and ignited a fierce season-long debate: Does greatness mean dominating all year, or winning the biggest titles? As Martina Navratilova fights to defend her crown, a generational showdown unfolds—culminating in one of the sport’s most dramatic years and the ultimate question: Who really deserves to be number one?

In Paris, 1987, Steffi Graf arrives as the rising No. 2 seed—crushing early rounds, surviving a tense semifinal with Gabriela Sabatini, and stepping into a final that feels like a referendum on the sport’s future. Across the net is Martina Navratilova, the reigning No. 1, brilliant but visibly under pressure to hold off the new era. In the deciding set, Martina surges to a lead and serves for the championship—only for the match to swing on free points, nerves, and a closing stretch where Graf stays steady and capitalizes. The result is a French Open final that doesn’t just crown a champion—it signals a changing of the guard.

In March 1987, tennis fans are introduced to 13-year-old Monica Seles not through match footage, but through a hype machine. Nick Bollettieri brands her “the Baltic Basher,” calls her the best young player he’s ever seen, and frames her family’s ambition as singular: nothing less than No. 1. In this episode we learn the truth about Monica's first few months at the Bollettieri Academy, the price she paid for a tennis education that seemed too good to be true, and the Seles family that rallied not to make Monica No. 1, but to make her happy.

When Martina Navratilova loses in Rome in 1987, she doesn’t just brush it off—she bristles at the idea that the world is already rehearsing her dethroning. She stays on the clay to grind, watches 17-year-old Steffi Graf’s surge, and admits the chase is real. Then comes the detail that says everything: Martina starts experimenting with the exact Dunlop model Graf uses—trying a Max 200G in Rome, and arriving in Paris with a black-painted version that fools no one. This bonus episode is a tense prologue to Roland Garros 1987: the reigning queen feeling the heat, rewriting her own habits, and reaching for the future’s weapon, just to try and hold onto the present.

Steffi Graf arrives at the 1987 Lipton as “the future” and leaves having crushed both queens of the game. In this episode, we pick up after her heartbreaking 1986 US Open semi vs Martina Navratilova, track her rise to No. 2 over Chris Evert, and then walk through 1987 Key Biscayne: the windy beatdown of Navratilova in the semis and the 6–1, 6–2 dismantling of Evert in her home state. Was this the week women’s tennis unofficially changed hands?

From basement drills in Brühl to center court at Amelia Island, Steffi Graf’s rise wasn’t a solo act—and it definitely wasn’t quiet. In this episode, we zoom in on Peter Graf: the restless figure pacing the stands, flashing “support” signals, arguing with officials, and clashing with the press long before tax scandals and tabloid headlines.

We follow Peter and his growing friction with journalists, and the way his courtside behavior finally spills over at Amelia Island, where Steffi faces Claudia Kohde-Kilsch for the title.

If you’re interested in the line between devoted tennis parent and disruptive sideline presence, this is the episode where we put Peter in the spotlight.