On 50th anniversary of Billie Jean King's 'Battle of the Sexes' win, a push to honor her in Congress

Stefanie Graf approached everything with exceptional urgency. As a competitor, her movements were swift, be it during rallies, in-between points or even on changeovers. The joke that wasn’t a joke was that Graf conducted tennis business so rapidly you’d think she was double-parked.

The same premise held true with the arc of her career. At 13, in 1982, Graf turned pro and was already being touted by the likes of Billie Jean King as a future champion. At 15, she won the Olympic test event. At 16, Graf reached her first Grand Slam singles semifinal. At 17, she earned her first of 22 singles majors, beating Martina Navratilova in the 1987 Roland Garros final.

Now, in the summer of ‘87, barely two months after turning 18, Graf closed in on the pinnacle: the world number one ranking. On this week in August, Graf arrived in Los Angeles to compete at the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles tournament. Her only loss that year had come in the Wimbledon finals to Navratilova.

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I can’t stop smiling...It feels great. We were talking about it yesterday with my father after Chris [Evert] won, about the chances if I win today, if I would be No. 1 or not. He said, ‘No, it’s not possible.’ So, after I won today, I went to my father and he said, ‘You’re No. 1 now.’ I was very surprised. Stefanie Graf

As was often the case for Graf, she flew through the opening rounds. Four opponents were beaten without the loss of a set, including a 6-0, 6-0 third round victory over Pascale Paradis and a 7-5, 7-5 win in the semis versus Graf’s fellow teen prodigy, Gabriela Sabatini.

Navratilova, at the time, was ranked No. 1. If she reached the final, Navratilova would remain at the top. But Navratilova was beaten in the semis by Chrissie Evert, which meant that Graf could take over the number one ranking by winning the tournament.

Though Evert had beaten Graf the first six times they’d played one another, Graf had won their two most recent matches. And on this day, she’d win yet again, beating Evert, 6-3, 6-4.

Graf had become the first woman besides Evert or Navratilova told the number one ranking since 1980, when Tracy Austin had taken over the top spot.

“About every five or 10 years, one younger player comes along who is real special and real unique,” Evert said. “I was in those shoes, Martina was in those shoes. I think Steffi is one of those players.”

“I can’t stop smiling,” said Graf, according to the Los Angeles Times. “It feels great. We were talking about it yesterday with my father after Chris won, about the chances if I win today, if I would be No. 1 or not. He said, ‘No, it’s not possible.’ So, after I won today, I went to my father and he said, ‘You’re No. 1 now.’ I was very surprised.”

Though the next month Graf would lose the US Open final to Navratilova, that only briefly halted the lightning-like speed of her career. The next year she’d win all four majors, as well as the Olympics, to cap off what was dubbed the “Golden Slam.”

All told, Graf would hold the number one ranking for 377 weeks—a record that still stands.

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