Steffi Graf, once the peerless champion of women's tennis, could be done as a top player, her career in danger following knee surgery.
The surgeon who operated on her left knee - a procedure that will sideline her four to six months - said there is no guarantee she can resume playing on the tour."That is certainly our aim," Dr. Reinhard Weinstabl told The Associated Press by telephone. "Whether that aim can be reached one cannot say now."
Graf, winner of 21 Grand Slam events, underwent two hours of surgery Tuesday to repair cartilage and tendon damage.
She will definitely miss the next two Grand Slam events, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, in which she is the defending champion in both, and could be out for the year.
Graf, who will be 28 Saturday, released a statement after the operation saying she was "confident that I will return to the sport which I love so much - and in good health."
However, Weinstabl was less certain about such prospects. He said the German star's long history of problems with her left knee complicated her recovery. Graf was out three months earlier this year after arthroscopic surgery on the knee.
She was transferred Wednesday from a private clinic in Vienna to a rehabilitation center at Gars am Kamp. The center, where Graf will face weeks of therapy, is used by prominent Austrian and foreign athletes, politicians and actors.
Weinstabl said Graf will return often during her rehab to the Wiener Privatklinik, the private hospital where he operated on her.
Weinstabl said all postoperative measures are "nothing but an attempt to restore (Graf's health) in an optimal way. Whether this will succeed one cannot yet say. . . . A first step has been made."
The operation came less than a week after Graf lost 6-1, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the French Open to Amanda Coetzer, who also defeated her in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
It marked the first time since 1986 that Graf has failed to reach at least the semifinals at the French, a tournament she has won five times, and the first time since 1985 she has lost so early in consecutive Grand Slams.
Against Coetzer, Graf committed an astonishing 64 unforced errors, accounting for all but 14 of the points won by her opponent.
"It's just the state I'm in at the moment," she said after the loss. "I don't seem to have any self-confidence when I go out there."
She said she was unsure of her shots and uncomfortable with her game.
"I think anybody's career you go through stages. I've been in it a few times, too. It's going to take a while to get it back."
In Germany, some news reports speculated that the operation and layoff could mean the end of Graf's career.
`Steffi Serious Operation - No more tennis?" said the front-page headline in the mass-circulation Bild Zeitgung.
But the German Olympic team and tennis federation doctor, Joseph Keul, said Graf should make a full recovery.