"Steffi Graf tends to be a negative person" - When German's coach lamented she stopped 'believing in herself' after hostile media spotlight

Steffi Graf endured one of the most challenging periods of her life in 1990, as her father's paternity scandal took a heavy toll on her on-court performances. The German's coach, Pavel Slozil, also disclosed how the ordeal had a negative impact on Graf.

That year, Graf's life was turned upside down by shocking reports that her father Peter had an affair with model Nicole Meissner, who claimed thata he was the father of her child. The German was devastated by how the scandal played out in the public eye, accusing the press of "wanting to destroy her family" simply to boost newspaper sales.

The controversy impacted Steffi Graf's performance on the court, as she suffered back-to-back losses to Monica Seles in the German Open and French Open finals. Her struggles continued at Wimbledon, with a shock semi-final loss to Zina Garrison that was followed by a respiratory illness that required emergency treatment. The German then suffered a straight-set loss to Gabriela Sabatini in the US Open final, as well as the semi-finals of the year-end championships.

In a 1990 interview with the New York Times after concluding her season, Graf admitted that the unrelenting media scrutiny over the course of the year made her want to escape from everything, including tennis.

"For the longest time, all I wanted to do was get away from everything and everyone, including tennis," Steffi Graf said.

The German's coach of four years, Pavel Slozil, revealed that Graf's tendency to be negative and self-critical made it difficult for her to find positives in her season. Slozil emphasized that even her victories in Montreal and San Diego didn't help because she had "stopped believing in herself."

"She tends to be a negative person, anyway, and a perfectionist so getting her to find anything positive about this year was difficult. Even winning tournaments didn't always help because for a time she had stopped believing in herself, and this is a girl who needs to believe in herself," Slozil said.

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"Slowly Steffi Graf has become more independent; it's something she did plenty of thinking about during the year" - German's coach Pavel Slozil

Steffi Graf - Source: Getty

During the same interview, Steffi Graf's coach, Pavel Slozil, highlighted that the German had undergone a change amid the ordeal of her father's paternity scandal, emphasizing that she had grown more independent after taking time for introspection.

Slozil also disclosed that Graf had shifted her focus to begin playing for herself rather than her father and learned to be in charge of her own decisions.

"She has the last word on most things now and, yes, for her that is different. Slowly she has become more independent; it's something she did plenty of thinking about during the year. When she was younger she probably was playing for her father; now she is playing only for herself, and against herself," Slozil said.

Steffi Graf herself reflected on her positive shift in mindset, taking comfort in the knowledge that while she had won only one Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, she had also only lost four matches during the tumultuous season.