The father of WTA legend Steffi Graf has passed away at age 75 from cancer in Berlin, Germany.
Peter Graf served as Steffi’s coach and manager for a time, but had a falling out when he was sentenced to three years in prison for tax evasion in 1997.
The elder Graf served a year in prison and in recent times, he and Steffi had a reconciliation. Steffi visited her father at a clinic in Berlin six days before he died.
The younger Graf left a message on her website the day of his death that read, “Our good father and grandfather, Peter Graf, has gone in peace from us. We grieve quietly and look back on many beautiful moments we spent together. We have to thank our father for a very happy childhood and a great sense of family.”
Peter Graf’s second wife, Britta, was instructed by Peter last week to request doctors turn off machines that were keeping him alive. That was done on Saturday, and he fell into a coma and died the following day.
Peter introduced Steffi to tennis when she was three years old. Despite no true training as a coach, he took up that mantle as she was a youth player. In 1995, Steffi was accused of tax evasion by the German government. Since Peter was her manager, he was held responsible and sentenced to 45 months in jail. He was released after serving 25 months.
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