Steffi Graf vs. Kathy Rinaldi Mahwah 1985 F

sweet sixteen collection
Steffi, age 16 - in the process of being the Goddess.
And the only reason Steffi lost was cramping. The umpire did not allow a trainer on the court, and Rinaldi had some words to say on that matter, but Steffi bravely got back and finished the game. Anyway, Steffi played exciting tennis at 16 years old.
Steffi ❤
Enjoy!

[@sebbyknight]

V pleased this one is back. Loved rewatching it. Yes I need a life I know don’t at me.

[@HB-sr8sn]

Haha Same for me! For some reason, the long rallies and the sound of the ball are such a delight

[@corgeousgeorge]

I dont know much about Kathy Rinaldi aside from the fact she is the current Fed Cup captain and had a stalker at some point in her younger days. That being said, she has a very modern looking game for the time back then with a top spin forehand and flatter shots as opposed to the almost straight arm undercut forehands of the day, she moved very well and seemed to have a solid serve. What was her Kryptonite? Serve and Volleyers? Chris Evert on the baseline? Injuries? Anyone know?

[@TheTopspin77]

This is 1985 and not 1975 so the game had evolved quite a bit. There were not as many women hitting "undercut forehands". In addition to Evert, Martina, and Steffi you had Gabby Sabatini, the Maleeva sisters and others who had very modern games. Not everyone hit like Pam Shriver.

[@torbenm2375]

16 years of age and it was all there. She just needed to grow into it.

[@francinezane4076]

Exactly at 16 taking Rinaldi to 3 sets i believe and older Steffi would have won.

[@mima167]

Rinaldi played PERFECTLY and DESERVED the victory

[@恒男高山]

Right after this, Steffi made SF, at the OPEN! 1985

[@mima167]

and LOST BADLY

[@matthewa8713]

I've noticed steffi frequently held a ball in her left hand during play on serve.

[@tabscoobrealestate6061]

Muy agradable juego de Steffi. Pudo ganar este partido

[@mima167]

no, actually she couldn't, because she cramped up

[@francinezane4076]

Rinaldi beat a teen Steffi. Steffi in her 20s in my humble opinion would have beaten her. 😊😊

[@mima167]

a 14 year old Jennifer Capriati made it to the French Semis, so being a teen is no excuse for the loss.

[@ericlopez8622]

Wow!! Even at such a young age...Steffi was so FREAKIN GOOD!!! 😱

[@mima167]

actually the "good one" in this match was Rinaldi, she played Graf perfectly

[@lenwelch2195]

Rinaldi didn’t have the cross court short angles due to arriving to her shots a bit late. You have to move great to open up your shotvselection.

[@carrerau7138]

Saw only the last rallies. The little dancer didn‘t have the power yet. But so cute (and already quite sexy!) she was! 😍😍

[@mima167]

power wasn't the problem, it was unforced errors and conditioning that cost her this match

[@tomloft2000]

Could have been watching Mary Jo Fernandez and gotten the same effect.

[@kaejaediaz4754]

But unlike Mary Jo, Rinaldi actually beat Graf

[@mima167]

@@kaejaediaz4754 yeah I can only think of one match (93 French Open) where MaryJo even took a set off graf!

[@kaejaediaz4754]

@@mima167 exactly - She actually had a bad win loss record against the top women back then vs Graf- 0-17 - 3 times gone to 3 sets vs Seles 1-15 5 times gone to 3 sets vs Navratilova 0-8 2 times to 3 sets vs Evert 0-7 - 1 time to 3 sets

[@mima167]

Fernandez had a losing record to everyone in the top 10