Will you visit this year`s US Open in New York?

I will be in New York during the US Open to visit the “Women Who Make a Difference Award” with my partner Longines and to attend some business meetings. But unfortunately I won’t have the time to go to the US Open, since I want to be back home in time for my son’s baseball match. However, I will definitely follow the tournament on TV with great interest.

Have you planned any tennis exhibition matches with your husband this year?

No, not yet, but I am very looking forward to visit Lynchburg, Virginia at the end of September to officially start the 10th annual Amazing Mile Children’s Run. The run will take place as part of the Virginia 10 Miler festivities and is sponsored by our partner Genworth Financial. If you happen to be close – come join us and run along!

Do you have a tip how to motivate yourself best to work out?

Often I set myself little goals in my workout program, such as riding the bike only 15 minutes or take a walk. Once you get started, the mood to continue and the motivation for regular training comes automatically. Then the body needs exercise and the overcoming is a lot easier. Try it out!

Which are your favorite sweets?

For me I don’t so much crave chocolate, but rather pastry, cookies and cake. I can hardly past a bakery without going in. But as long as eating sweet things is balanced with a healthy diet and exercise, I enjoy treating myself to sweets every day.

Which new sports would you like to try out?

Basically I am always very open to new sports. After my tennis career I started snowboarding and on occasion I would like to try windsurfing. Through my son, I have learned a lot about baseball. I even stood in the “batting cage” myself a couple of times. A while ago I even tried to skateboard, but some things are better left to younger people.

Do you prefer to work out in the morning or in the evening?

I am definitely a morning person when it comes to working out. Since the time difference between Germany and Las Vegas is 9 hours, I usually do my business calls in the early morning. Because of that, the days become very long and sometimes I lack the energy to work out in the afternoon. But if do workout in the morning, my body stays energized for the rest of the work day.

Which new projects are you working on with your foundation?

This May, Children for Tomorrow organized a five-day summer camp for refugee kids close to Soltau, Germany, who just have been living in Germany for a short time. Further we are working at full speed on the finishing and interior of the therapy center for refugee children in Hamburg. Outside of Germany we started our latest project in Uganda and it is developing very well. In summer of 2009, we started an ambulance service for war-traumatized children in Nulu, North Uganda. And by recently building traditional Ugandan round huts, we are able to offer the children therapy in a familiar and child-oriented environment.

What are you reading now?

Unfortunately I do not often take the time to read books, but last I read the book “Three Cups of Tea” by Greg Mortensen and David Oliver Relin and I highly recommend it. It is about Greg Mortensen, who after a failed attempt to reach the peak of K2 in Pakistan, finds his purpose in life to help people, and especially girls, in the remote areas of North-Pakistan and Afghanistan by building schools. This story has touched me personally and also strenghtened the awareness of how important the role of basic school education is for children’s futures.

Which education or studies would you have chosen if you had not been so focused on a tennis career?

My fields of interest are definitely History and Art, and I guess I would have chosen to study history of arts or general history. I also view photography as a kind of art, but it has always only been a hobby for me. I hope to take some more time for photography in the near future, because there is so much more to learn about it.

I heard that you are interested in art? Who is your favorite artist?

That is right, I enjoy visiting museums in my spare time and a great side effect of the travelling during my tennis career was to be able to visit many exhibitions in different cities.

It is difficult emphasize one artist, but I especially like Giovanni Giacometti and impressionism. What I like about art is that you always discover new artist and over the time you develop a better understanding of their work, thoughts and lives. Also, some artists with their unique combinations of colors provoke diverse emotions. During a visit to the museum or a gallery I let myself into the pictures and their stories completely.

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Its become something of a family tradition to travel with the kids to Germany each summer to visit friends and relatives. This year was no exception as we traveled to my homeland in June. I also used the opportunity to catch up with some of my business partners and my foundation. As usual, the time passed much too quickly but we managed to see and do a lot.

Right at the beginning of the trip was a reunion with my long-time partner Adidas in Herzogenaurach. At an event on “Women in Sports and Business,” I got a chance to catch up with a lot of people whom I have met in the long years of our cooperation. Of course everybody had World Cup fever around that time.

Our schedule for this trip pretty much revolved around when Germany played it matches in the World Cup. Every broadcast became a family event and we cheered through each match with whistles and flags. The German team has impressed us all and one can only congratulate the young players. Their presence and their refreshingly aggressive offensive caught the attention of football fans all over the world.  It was unfortunate that  their terrific effort didn’t result in the title.

I also traveled several times to Hamburg on this trip. First, I was able to get more directly involved in several of my foundation’s,  Children for Tomorrow’s, projects. In particular,  our new therapy center required a lot of preparation and coordination. We also had to spend some time finding appropriate interiors and furnishings for the center.

I also visited a company in Hamburg, Rexona, a division of Unilever,  with whom I was associated during my active career.  Ushering in the restart of my partnership with the brand, the company organized a small fundraiser tennis tournament with the employees of the company at its headquarters in Hamburg: It was a small court but a total of 50,000 Euro were raised for charitable causes. With the Rexona-Team we managed to raise 25,000 Euro for my foundation CFT. I am really happy to to resume the partnership with Rexona as it is a personally trusted brand. See below a video of the small exhibition match and a few impressions of my visit at Unilever in Hamburg.

Also, I had the opportunity to meet with a few Mrs.Sporty franchise partners to exchange experiences. We travelled in from Cologne to Milan to Linz in Austria, where new Mrs.Sporty clubs have opened.

In addition to professional activities, we can use the time especially to visit with our children in fantastic weather, the castles, places and landscapes of my home region, to meet relatives and friends and to have fun together.

Having recently returned from entertaining our summer trip, we very much look forward to the next summer in Germany.

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Soccer is not as popular in the US as in other parts of the world, but there is still a great deal of anticipation in the US about the upcoming FIFA World Cup that will take place in South Africa from June 11 to July 11.

I grew up with playing soccer on the streets, remember being engrossed in the matches in front of the TV at home and collecting decals/transfer pictures and so I am looking forward to taking in the World Cup-atmosphere during my visit to Germany.

One interesting factor for this world cup is that there will be an additional physical challenge for many of the visiting teams, since six of ten venues are over 5000 feet above sea level. Of course I will keep my fingers crossed for the German team and I am also excited to watch Spain, the current European Champion, and Brazil play.

This is the first soccer world cup on the African continent and I hope for South Africa, which has been experiencing violence and ethnic riots in the last couple of years, that the sport, the joy of living and the country’s hospitality will take center stage. Through my foundation projects I already traveled to South Africa a couple of times and I have learned to appreciate the country and people a lot. Also, our oldest foreign foundation project is based in Cape Town.

So I hope for South Africa that the games will proceed smoothly and with a lot of positive energy.

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Have you considered a coming back like Kim Clijsters or Justine Henin?

I think their comebacks are truly amazing. One can see how much fun they are having and how at ease they are when playing. And women’s tennis will be more exciting because of what they have done. Personally, I have never thought about coming back to professional tennis and do not see it any differently today. By now, 11 years have passed since my retirement. I have achieved in tennis more than I ever dared to dream of and like looking back. But I am also very happy with the life after my tennis career and have closed the chapter of being tennis pro in my life. Tennis does not have the same priority for me anymore. I rarely play and if I happen to play, then it is mostly combined with the work for my foundation. Today, my family and parenting are the focus of my life, and with my foundation and many other projects I have found new challenges in life.

When will you play your next exhibition in Germany? Will you play mixed doubles with your husband?

Andre will play several exhibitions this year, at the end of April in Bogotá and Sao Paulo, for instance. There have been a couple of requests for exhibitions, but I have not made any specific decision yet. There are a number of other projects we are sorting through and prioritizing this year. But when we know something for sure, you can definitely read about it here on the site.

I have heard about your photo spread for National Geographic in Eritrea. How did that happen?

Photography has always been a great hobby of mine. As a teenager I even had the wish to become a photo reporter. The magazine National Geographic has often served as my favorite reading on tour and travels. After I have talked about this passion in a Stern-interview, National Geographic offered me to produce my own photo spread with the help of Gerd Ludwig. The photos were taken in a quarter of Asmara in Eritrea, in which my foundation Children for Tomorrow opened a kindergarten. It was a great experience to work together with Gerd Ludwig. During the preparation for the photo production he made helpful suggestions and taught me in photographic technique. The visits and talks with the residents of Abashawl, a poor district in Asmara, were very moving and not always very easy. It was a whole new experience for me standing behind the lens myself. Sometimes I even felt like an intruder, who took photos of the people and the living conditions in the huts of the families. The photo spread in Eritrea was very exciting and educative. I was happy and even a bit proud how authentic the photos came out, especially since I was pretty nervous about my first professional photo project. I hope through my photos I can bring the reality in war-torn Eritrea closer to National Geographic readers and sharpen the consciousness about the many children in need.

How often do you talk about tennis at home?

If we do not happen to be watching a Grand Slam on TV, we only rarely talk about tennis at home. In both of our lives we have a number of other priorities now. Today, our talks evolve more around our children, foundations and other projects.

Do you really have your own Facebook page and do you read the posts?

No, although I heard about a couple of Facebook pages running under my name, none of them is officially mine and I am not responsible for the content. My only authorized internet presence is this one, www.stefaniegraf.de.

When was the last time you stood on the tennis court? How often do you still play tennis?

Myself, I only play tennis very rarely, and in the winter time, weeks can pass without holding a racquet in my hand. From time to time I participate in the Adidas training camp, for which players come to Las Vegas regularly to get prepared for important tournaments by Gil Reyes and Darren Cahill with a fitness program and technical advice. Such was the case this past December, when Andre and I trained with Daniela Hantuchová and Fernando Verdasco, who were in Las Vegas to get in shape for the Australian Open.

Then, at the beginning of February, I was on the court for Head to shoot photos for a new racquet series. We look forward to new raquet developments coming soon.

Do you like going to concerts? If yes, who would you like to see on stage?

Carlos Santana is performing in Las Vegas these days and so we did not miss the opportunity to visit one of his concerts. During his concert series here, he is active with his own Milagro Foundation to serve youth in Las Vegas, but he also supports my husband’s foundation, e.g. by asking for donations for the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education during his concert. A day before going to his show, Santana made a visit to Andre’s school and invited some students to a rehearsal to join him for the first song of his concert. Thus, students of the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy had the opportunity to show their drum skills on stage. So Santana not only proved to be an outstanding musician, but also showed his big heart for children.

Is it possible to sponsor a child through Children for Tomorrow?

Direct sponsorships are not possible through Children for Tomorrow. We concentrate our efforts on therapeutical help and emotional redevelopment. All donations will be directed to benefit children traumatized by violence. This year we will be taking a big step with the construction of several care facilities, like the trauma center in Hamburg and traditional round huts in Uganda, in which therapy lessons with children will take place. With these establishments we can significantly increase the scope and quality of therapeutic care of the children in a familiar and safe environment. You can find information with respect to donations at www.childrenfortomorrow.com. Thank you very much for your support.

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Santana visits Agassi Prep to tour the campus with Andre Agassi and Stefanie Graf and talk with its students about the importance of education and music. Check out some of the pictures…

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