GABRIELA SABATINI'S retirement at the age of 26 is conclusive proof that mass public adoration and tennis greatness do not necessarily go hand in hand.
Few other female athletes in modern times have generated quite as much attention as Sabatini, Argentina's queen of hearts, despite a playing career which has paled into insignificance alongside her close contemporary Steffi Graf.
The dark haired, sultry Sabatini spent 12 years in the professional game hovering just below the summit, winning 27 tournaments including the US Open in 1990.
But her triumphant 6-2 7-6 win over Graf at Flushing Meadow six years ago, instead of ending the Graf/Monica Seles stranglehold on the women's game, represented a solitary grand slam peak for a player who has arguably encouraged more interest in tennis than Borg, McEnroe and Sampras put together.
She has already promoted two brands of perfume and become the first tennis player to have a children's doll and a rose named in her honour. When they opened the first McDonalds restaurant in Argentina, Sabatini helped cut the ribbon.
In the last few years, however, there has been an increasing disparity between the consistency of her on court displays and the loyalty of her off court following.
In the six years since her US Open title, she reached just one more grand slam final while Seles and Graf chalked up more than 20 major titles in the same period.
Her fans waited patiently for her latent talent to blossom again, but it swiftly developed into a case of `Don't Hold Your Breath, Argentina'.
Sabatini has never risen above number three in the world rankings and had slipped to 29th position when word emerged this week of her intention to quit.
She stayed away from the court for four months this year because of a stomach injury, finally returning at the Atlanta Olympics where she was knocked out by Seles in the quarter finals. She last played in Zurich against Jennifer Capriati.
A variety of trainers including Brazilian Carlos Kirmayr, American Dennis Ralston and New Zealander Ian Barclay have spent time trying to add extra steel to her game, but Sabatini's greatest asset was always the natural ability she first showed as a seven year old.
At 13, she became the youngest player in history to win the coveted under 18 Orange Bowl junior title and continued to insist there was little to choose between her and Seles, in particular.
"I think Monica is beatable ... I think there is a very small difference between us," she said in Sydney in 1993.
"Technically I am as good as her, but mentally she is very tough, she plays every point 100 per cent."
It was precisely the sort of mental toughness she admired in Seles which Sabatini often lacked, notably when she lost to Mary Joe Fernandez in the 1993 French Open quarter finals after leading 6-1 5-1. Victories after that became increasingly rare.
There have been reports that Sabatini is now considering a new career as a pop singer, building on her public debut after the 1992 Virginia Slims championships when she was seen briefly on stage with a microphone.
She already has a ranch at home in Argentina, looked after by her father, a former General Motors executive, and can boast career prizemoney earnings of almost $7 million, a figure dwarfed by endorsements and appearance bonuses.
There will be no shortage of interest in her future plans, but even her critics cannot deny her a place alongside Argentina's greatest male tennis star, Guillermo Vilas, whose career ended just as Sabatini's rise began.
