Steffi Graf Now: Family, Church Exit, Agassi’s Health

If you associate Steffi Graf with the 1988 Golden Slam and a punishing forehand, you might wonder what happened after the last tennis ball was hit. She didn’t just vanish into a quiet retirement—she built a life in Las Vegas with Andre Agassi, raised two children, and founded a charity for refugee children. But a few stories keep resurfacing: why she left the Catholic Church, her husband’s health battle, and what a tennis legend’s daily life actually looks like three decades later. Here’s what the records show.

Grand Slam singles titles: 22 ·
Weeks ranked world No. 1: 377 ·
Year-end No. 1 finishes: 8 ·
Career prize money: $21,895,277 ·
Golden Slam achievement: 1988

The biographical table below condenses the key facts from a career that redefined women’s tennis.

Seven biographical data points, one pattern: every major life event—birth, retirement, marriage, parenthood—is publicly recorded, but the details in between are where the story actually lives.

What has happened to Steffi Graf?

Graf is alive, retired, and very much present. She lives in Las Vegas with Andre Agassi, where the couple has raised two children and run overlapping philanthropic organizations. Her public appearances are rare but not nonexistent.

Current activities and lifestyle

• Graf founded Children for Tomorrow in 1998, a charity focused on mental health support for refugee children, run in partnership with the University of Hamburg.
• She and Agassi jointly run the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education, which operates a charter school in Las Vegas. In a 2024 interview, Agassi described their shared focus on education as having impact “beyond children and into generations” (YouTube/BJT interview clip).
• The couple marked their 24th wedding anniversary in 2025, with Agassi posting a tribute on Instagram (Tennis Now).

Recent public appearances and news

• In 2024, the family welcomed a new dog, reported as an “adorable new family member.”
• Graf occasionally appears at tennis exhibition events but has not competed professionally since 1999 (Wikipedia).
• She does not maintain active social media accounts, meaning most public updates come through Agassi or secondhand reporting.

The pattern: Graf has engineered a private life that’s remarkably well-guarded for someone who was once the most famous female athlete on the planet. Her absence from social media and public events is intentional, not accidental.

Why did Steffi Graf leave the Catholic Church?

The question of Graf’s church exit has become one of the most searched topics about her post-career life. The answer is tied directly to Germany’s peculiar tax system.

The German church tax system explained

• Germany levies a church tax (Kirchensteuer) on registered members of recognized religious denominations, including the Catholic Church. The tax amounts to roughly 8–9% of income tax owed, collected automatically by the state.
• Members who formally leave the church (via a civil registry declaration) are no longer subject to the tax. This is a binary legal act, not a simple personal decision.
• A 1998 article in the Deseret News documented a wave of Germans leaving their churches specifically to avoid the tax, noting it had become “a major source of controversy” (Deseret News).

Public reasons for her departure

• Graf reportedly left the Catholic Church in the late 1990s, around the time her father, Peter Graf, was embroiled in a massive tax evasion case. In 1997, Peter Graf was sentenced to 3 years and 9 months in prison for evading $11.2 million in taxes on Steffi’s income between 1989 and 1993 (YouTube/AP archive clip).
• Her decision to leave the church was widely reported as financial and ideological, not a repudiation of faith itself. By formally exiting, she eliminated a significant annual tax liability.
• No direct statement from Graf herself has been found explaining her reasoning in her own words.

Do Agassi and Graf have children?

Yes—two, both born in the first years of their marriage.

• Jaden Gil Agassi, born in 2001, the same year his parents married (Wikipedia).
• Jaz Elle Agassi, born in 2003 (Wikipedia).
• Both children were raised in Las Vegas, largely out of the public eye. Jaden has played junior tennis but has not pursued a professional career.

The key detail: the timeline matters. Jaden was born five months after the wedding, suggesting the couple started their family almost immediately. The children have grown up in a household with two of the most successful tennis players in history—and both have stayed remarkably private.

What illness does Andre Agassi have?

Andre Agassi has ankylosing spondylitis (AS), a chronic inflammatory arthritis that primarily affects the spine. He has described the pain as feeling like “a volcano in my spine” (YouTube/BJT interview clip).

Diagnosis and impact

• Agassi’s AS diagnosis came later in life; he has spoken about how the condition affected his later career years and ultimately contributed to his retirement.
• The condition is not curable but is manageable with medication and physical therapy. Agassi continues to function normally, including his extensive philanthropic work.
• There is no direct, authoritative 2024 health update from Agassi himself about his current condition—most reporting refers to earlier interviews and his autobiography, Open, where he detailed the pain.

The pattern: Agassi is notably matter-of-fact about his health struggles. He doesn’t seek sympathy—he presents the condition as a fact of life that he’s learned to manage.

What is happening with Steffi Graf today?

Graf’s current life centers on three things: her family, Children for Tomorrow, and occasional tennis-related appearances. She has not sought the spotlight, but her legacy keeps finding her.

Philanthropic work with Children for Tomorrow

• The charity has been operating since 1998 and has supported thousands of refugee children across Europe.
• Graf personally funds and participates in fundraising events, though she does not publicize them aggressively.
• The charity’s work has been documented by the University of Hamburg, which partners with the foundation on research and clinical programs.

Recent family milestones

• The family added a new dog in 2024, described in fan circles as “an adorable new family member.”
• Agassi’s 24th anniversary tribute in 2025 reaffirmed their marital stability (Tennis Now).
• Both children are now adults—Jaden is in his mid-20s, Jaz in her early 20s—and are building their own lives away from the tennis spotlight.

The trade-off: Graf has traded public visibility for private stability. She’s not hidden—she’s simply not performing. For a woman who spent her twenties under global scrutiny, that quietness looks less like disappearance and more like a deliberate choice.

Timeline: Key dates in Steffi Graf’s life

• 1982: Turned professional at age 13 (Wikipedia).
• 1987: Became world No. 1 for the first time (Wikipedia).
• 1988: Won the Golden Slam (all four majors + Olympic gold) (Wikipedia).
• 1997: Father Peter Graf sentenced to 3 years and 9 months in prison for tax evasion (YouTube/AP archive clip).
• 1999: Retired after winning the French Open (Wikipedia).
• 2001: Married Andre Agassi; son Jaden born (Wikipedia).
• 2003: Daughter Jaz Elle born (Wikipedia).
• Late 1990s–present: Active with Children for Tomorrow charity (Wikipedia).
• 2024: Agassi discusses his ankylosing spondylitis; family adds new dog (YouTube/BJT interview clip).
• 2025: Agassi posts 24th wedding anniversary tribute (Tennis Now).

For fans of that golden era of tennis, a look at Pete Samprass life after tennis offers a fascinating contrast to the quieter family life Steffi Graf has built with Agassi.

Frequently asked questions

“We share a common focus on education. It’s impact beyond children and into generations.”

— Andre Agassi, speaking about his and Graf’s philanthropic work (YouTube/BJT interview clip)

“The church tax is a major source of controversy in Germany, with many citing it as the reason for leaving their churches.”

— Deseret News (1998)

The consequence for anyone following Graf’s story: the narrative you’ve heard—church exit, family tax scandal, husband’s health—isn’t wrong, but it’s frozen in time. The real Graf is more boring and more admirable than the headlines suggest: a woman who quietly does charity work, raised two kids out of the spotlight, and married someone who’s been open about his own struggles. For the casual fan, the trade-off is clear: you trade the drama of 1988 for the stability of 2025, and that’s actually the better story.

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