Grand Slam winning tennis icon gets surprise new job working for budget supermarket chain Lidl

Tennis legend Steffi Graf has picked up a new role with Lidl.

The 56-year-old lives in Las Vegas with her superstar tennis husband Andre Agassi, but she has become the latest celebrity to join up with Lidl.

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Since retiring in 1999, Graf hasn’t been in the public spotlight too often.

But that is all set to change, with the German announced as a brand ambassador for the supermarket’s clothing range.

The campaign that she is leading has the motto: “Find your move”, and it is due to launch today.

Lidl are launching a special budget-friendly sportswear range, known as Crivit.

She joins Arnold Schwarzenegger and Heidi Klum, and the idea is that this is a sports brand that is accessible to everyone, and Lidl are releasing clothing, camping and outdoor, cycling, fitness, running, and team sports.

The idea of bringing Graf on board was inspired by Lidl’s DIY brand Parkside doing well.

In a press release, they said: “Following the success of our Parkside brand, we are now opening up one of the most relevant categories for a better life with Crivit: sports and leisure.

“The fact that Stefanie Graf has chosen Lidl to spread her mission is a great sign of appreciation and, at the same time, proof of our quality standards.”

Graf’s legacy lives on

When she was playing, Graf was the world number one and made history.

To this day, she is the only player in history to claim the Golden Slam.

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This happened in 1988, and it involved winning all four Grand Slams and Olympic Gold.

So, there is only a chance every four years for someone to do it, but the fact that she is the only person in history to do so, is a stunning achievement.

And she was women’s world No.1 for 377 weeks across her sparkling career that saw her win 22 Grand Slam titles.

She very rarely speaks in public, but her husband, Agassi, spoke about her on-court reputation in 2019.

He said: “She had an athleticism over her peers that was quite a luxury. When she was in full form, she was just a horse that wasn’t going to be caught.

“For me, it wasn’t like that. I couldn’t just steamroll past people because I was such an athlete or talented in all these different ways. I had a couple of strengths, but I had to out-think everybody and implement my strategies one piece at a time, like a puzzle.

“That’s more exhausting, and you don’t get the results as consistently.”

And now, she’s back in the public spotlight as the Lidl brand ambassador.