The country of Germany has a long history of producing dominant athletes in a number of different sports. From Olympic standouts to professional figures ,German sports stars are generally at the top of most rankings.

Tennis is one of the sports in which German athletes have been very dominant. Two of the more famous German sports stars, hailing from Germany, in the world of tennis are Boris Becker and Steffi Graf.

1985 is the year in which Boris Becker amazed many by becoming the youngest player ever to win the tournament at Wimbledon by achieving the win at seventeen years of age. Possessing a punishing serve on grass courts, Becker added two more Wimbledon titles before retiring from the sport in 1999. He now coaches young players hoping to become the next international tennis star.

Sitting at the top of women's tennis for nearly two decades was Steffi Graf. Blowing everyone away with her tennis playing prowess at the age of thirteen, Graf went on to take each one of the “grand slam” tennis events a mere six years later. This German sports star was the number one ranked woman in tennis for an impressive 186 weeks. Steffi Graf also exited the world of tennis in 1999 and now lives with her husband Andre Agassi and their young son.

Dirk Nowitzki is most definitely a standout sports star of German descent. One of only two German players in National Basketball Association (Detlef Schrempf was the first) the seven foot tall Dallas Maverick forward has been a truly aggressive player.

Should the sport of car racing be your pastime of choice there is a good chance you have heard of Michael Shumacher. No other racer has won more Grand Prix and world championship titles then this German born star. Shumacher is most well known for his great control on wet tracks and when not racing this German sports star spends many hours promoting charitable causes dear to his heart.

There are many books, magazines and websites you can further investigate to learn more about these and other great German sports figures.