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Steffi Graf’s Biggest Career Regret Sets the Stage for an Important Motivation Revelation From Serena Williams’ Former Coach

Published 02/23/2024, 7:25 AM EST

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During her illustrious journey, Steffi Graf amassed 22 singles Grand Slam titles, while she also had a stronghold on the world No. 1 ranking for a considerable period. However, despite having won the second-most major titles in women’s singles since the start of the Open Era, the German former tennis player still has one big ‘regret’ about her competitive journey.

Serena Williams‘ former coach, Rennae Stubbs, was recently singing the praises of Graf’s remarkable on-court accolades. Meanwhile, the Australian tennis veteran also brought to light the Hall of Famer’s only regret, which also sets the stage for an important motivation.

From the Australian Open to Wimbledon, the German tennis legend Steffi Graf had 22 major titles under her name at the age of 29. Even though she had a long list of achievements, the Hall of Famer couldn’t really ‘enjoy’ her remarkable wins on the court, according to Rennae Stubbs’ recent disclosures.

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In the latest episode of Racquet’s Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast show, the 52-year-old tennis coach revealed that Steffi Graf once confessed to her the only regret she had during her retirement. She said, “One of the stories that I always tell about Steffi is that Steffi told me in retirement she wished she had, the only thing she regrets about her career is not enjoying the wins more. And I said, Yeah, but you know, that you probably wouldn’t have been as great as you were when she was 22 Grand Slams by the age of 29.”

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Rennae Stubbs talks about the fine line between being content and not wanting to progress further

However, the Australian tennis veteran also asserted that regret can set the stage for motivation as she opened up about how happiness leads to complacency. Stubbs said, “Yeah. So I’m like, I think that if, if you are happy, and this is the issue, now, if you are happy with it, and you get complacent, and then you don’t have the desire to want to put yourself on the line anymore, because it is so stressful to win a Grand Slam. You’ve got to want to have the desire to go through that pain and not be satisfied and not be content, I think is the word. If you’re content with wedding one, you probably won’t win two.”

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What do you think of the German tennis legend’s only regret about her illustrious competitive journey on the tour? Let us know in the comments section.

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Written by:

Anurag Gusain

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Anurag Gusain is a Tennis Writer at EssentiallySports, who blends his innate talent for journalism with a solid foundation in English, earned during his undergraduate years. With more than two years of content creation under his belt, Anurag seamlessly translates his passion for tennis into captivating articles. At ES, he is the go-to voice for all things Serena Williams, skillfully covering both her on-court legacy and off-court endeavors.
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Edited by:

Shudh Mukherjee