ITF

Throughout her life, Sabatini has transformed her fame into a springboard to giving back, which is always a top priority. She has had roles with UNICEF, UNESCO, the Special Olympics, as an Athlete Role Model at the 2018 Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games, and as an ambassador for an Argentinian Breast Cancer charity that emphasises early detection via routine checkups. Privately, she also offers considerable financial assistance in relation to education – money for school supplies, transportation to school, food etc – for children in "very humble places" in Argentina because "I want to help". Nowadays, Sabatini considers a community close to Zurich, Switzerland home, but she still maintains a place in Buenos Aires and in Key Biscayne. A self-declared fan of travel, she selected Switzerland as the ideal locale five years ago. "I went there for 10 years and would stay for a few months at a time, one day saying, 'I would like to be here a little bit more'," Sabatini said of the move. "I like the quiet, how organised it is in Switzerland, and it's in the middle of everywhere in Europe so in one hour you are wherever you want to be. I really like that." Sabatini, who undoubtedly could have had a career as a top model, was tapped for her own line of perfumes when she was playing. The beauty brand Coty now owns the line and she remains hands-on, continuing to select scents and approving bottles and packaging. There are currently around 19 different perfumes in her collection, including a couple for men, and the original Gabriela Sabatini signature fragrance remains a bestseller. Interestingly, when Sabatini stopped playing she contemplated pursuing another passion – singing – and spent two years taking voice training from a well-known Argentinian teacher. She performed on stage a number of times – fans can check YouTube for a sampling – but in the end she decided not to pursue it. "I always loved to sing and I said when I retired I have to find out what I want to do with this," she said. "I discovered I didn't want to go through the same sacrifice. I was tired of that so I left it. I will always sing – I can sing anywhere – but to dedicate my life as a career it's too demanding and I felt I wasn't ready for that." It was not a surprising decision considering Sabatini dedicated her life to tennis for so long that she was seeking freedom and not another demanding livelihood. She was introduced to tennis as a six-year-old when her parents – dad, Osvaldo, was a General Motors executive – joined the Club Atletico River Plate – home ground for the famous Argentinian soccer club of the same name. From the minute she picked up a racquet it was apparent her athletic skill was matched to the right challenge. "The first day I tried tennis, just hitting a few balls, I fell in love with it," Sabatini recalls. "I had a talent because people would watch me and ask, 'did you play before?' and I said 'no'. Then immediately everybody was saying, 'you have to take your daughter to a teacher and start developing what she has because it's pretty good'." From that day forward, Sabatini barely put down her racquet, playing on the courts at the club, hitting against a wall at home. Eventually she would become the No. 1 junior in the world, which translated to her attending the ITF World Champions Dinner after being named the 1984 junior girls' champion. Sabatini clearly possessed all the talent and athleticism necessary to be a success. Besides winning the 1990 US Open, she reached two additional finals and 17 semifinals at the Grand Slams. Nevertheless, prior to reigning over that US Open she was struggling to find her form in matches. Practice would go well, but the effort failed to translate into results. G A B R I E L A S A B AT I N I BELOW: Sabatini claimed silver in the women's singles at the 1988 Olympic Games Having first played in 1984, Sabatini chalked up 15 Fed Cup ties for Argentina ➝ 08

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