Tennis legend who won 22 Grand Slam titles lands job at Lidl | Tennis | Sport
Tennis icon Steffi Graf, the winner of an astonishing 22 Grand Slam titles, has made a surprise comeback to the public eye by taking on a new role with budget supermarket chain Lidl. The 56-year-old German superstar, who retired from professional tennis in 1999 and has since led a relatively private life, has been named a brand ambassador for Lidl’s affordable sportswear label Crivit.
In her new position, Graf will front a major international marketing campaign promoting the brand’s latest clothing and activewear range. The campaign, launched in mid-February 2026, carries the motivational slogan “Find your move” and is rolling out across more than 30 countries. Graf, often hailed as one of the greatest female tennis players ever, holds several unbreakable records.
She is the only player in the Open Era to achieve the Calendar-Year Golden Slam – winning all four Grand Slam tournaments (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open) plus Olympic gold in the same year. She accomplished the unprecedented feat in 1988, a year widely regarded as one of the greatest in tennis history.
Graf also held the world No. 1 ranking for a record 377 weeks on the WTA Tour. With 22 major singles titles, she ranks as the third-most successful women’s singles player ever, surpassed only by Margaret Court (24) and Serena Williams (23).
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Between 1988 and 1996, Graf won 20 of the 36 Grand Slam tournaments contested. In addition to her four-title sweep in 1988, she claimed three of the four majors in 1989, 1993, 1995 and 1996 – an era-spanning supremacy comparable to the peak years of Novak Djokovic in the 2010s and Roger Federer in the 2000s.
Since stepping away from the court, Graf has largely avoided the spotlight, focusing on family life with her husband, fellow tennis legend Andre Agassi (an eight-time Grand Slam champion himself). The pair started dating in 1999 and tied the knot in 2001 later, shortly before Steffi gave birth to their son. Two years later, their daughter was born.
Agassi has been more visible in recent years through coaching, punditry and events like the Laver Cup, but he couldn’t hide his pride in his wife’s new venture. He shared on social media: “Beyond proud to see you as the new brand partner of @crivit” and praised her performance in the promo materials.
Graf joins a growing list of high-profile celebrities partnering with Lidl, including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Heidi Klum. The supermarket’s Crivit brand, which generates significant revenue and positions itself as a challenger in the affordable sports and outdoor market, sees the collaboration as a perfect fit.
