Gabriela Sabatini: The Quiet Legend Who Calls Mallorca Home

A presence that doesn't make a fuss

When Gabriela Sabatini enters a room, you notice it immediately — but not because she is loud. It's more this calm self-confidence that sticks with you. At the morning press conference, around 11 o'clock at the Mallorca Country Club in Santa Ponça, she spoke in a tone as if she were talking to an old acquaintance: clear, sometimes dry, rarely theatrical.

From pro to island resident

Born in 1970 in Buenos Aires, Sabatini belongs to those whose name in tennis has a fixed place. The numbers are known: Grand Slam success, numerous WTA titles, Olympic silver. But here on the island, people care less about the statistics than the person behind it. She says she has been coming to Mallorca since her youth, spent training weeks here before Roland Garros, and finally put down roots. Today you see her early in the morning on the bike — between Esporles and Sóller, she says with a laugh — or having coffee in a small bar in Santa Ponça, black and without much fanfare.

Rivalries without bitterness

Her matches against Steffi Graf belong to tennis history. Sabatini speaks about them with respect, not bitterness. "We made each other sharper," she says and shrugs. It sounds like genuine recognition, not a anecdote for the cameras. And she reminds that success often comes with loneliness: ten years in the top ten, a withdrawal at 26 because it became too much — especially mentally.

Not a coach, but an ambassador

As patron of the recently concluded Mallorca Women’s Championships, she mingled with ball kids and young players. She doesn't want to become a coach. "That would mean getting involved. I'm too much about freedom for that," she says. She much rather watches, gives advice when asked, and smiles when the next generation zooms past.

Social media is a double-edged sword for her. If Instagram had existed in her active days, things would have gone differently — she believes. Today she would tell young players to have someone manage the accounts. It sounds pragmatic. And honest.

Private life stays private

Sabatini currently splits her time between Buenos Aires and Florida, but she regularly comes to Mallorca. Family and especially her nieces are important to her. When she isn't on the tennis court, you can find her on the padel court, cycling, or at a small café by the sea. She loves the sea, the villages, the unhurried pace here — and that suits her.

In closing, she says what endures most: not the trophies alone, but the people you meet along the way. And the encounters that shape you. So simple. So human. So Sabatini.