Graf Says She Will Be Out Until April : Tennis: Still too much swelling on broken thumb of No. 1 woman’s player. She hopes to be ready for French Open, though.

Steffi Graf, the world’s top-ranked woman tennis player, did not find out today, as she had hoped, if surgery will be needed on her broken thumb, but said she expects to be sidelined at least until mid-April.

She said there still was too much swelling on her injured right-hand for doctors to determine whether she needs surgery.

Graf splintered a bone in her right thumb when she fell while on skis in St. Moritz, Switzerland, where she was filming a small part in a movie.

She traveled to Stuttgart today to sign a sponsorship contract and talked to reporters.

“At the moment I can only hope that everything will turn out fine,” the 20-year-old tennis star said.

Graf, who had her hand examined Thursday, said she would have another examination on Monday, when doctors would decide whether she needs surgery.

She said she had definitely pulled out of two tournaments in Florida in March.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to play again until mid-April,” Graf said. “But I hope to play in the French Open.”

If Graf has to miss the French Open, which begins May 28, she would lose the chance of winning her second Grand Slam.

Graf began the year by winning her third Australian Open.

In 1988, Graf swept the four Grand Slam tournaments--Wimbledon and the Australian, French and U.S. Opens. Last year, she was upset in the French final by Spain’s Arantxa Sanchez, but won the other three titles.

Graf was hurt while in St. Moritz filming a part in “Fire, Ice and Dynamite,” according to Phil de Picciotto, her agent, who also said she fell while trying to elude photographers.

She was being “bombarded by paparazzi, unaffiliated with the movie,” and fell in her attempt to avoid them, Picciotto said in Washington, where his firm, Advantage International is based.

Peter Graf, the player’s father and manager, notified sponsors of the Virginia Slims of Florida tournament at Boca Raton and the International Players Championships at Key Biscayne, Fla., of his daughter’s injury.

Graf is the fourth player in the women’s top 15 to be injured during the first five weeks of the year.

Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina, ranked third in the world, defaulted a match during the Australian Open because of an ankle sprain. Mary Joe Fernandez, No. 7, withdrew from the Pan Pacific Open last week with a shoulder injury, and Helen Kelesi of Canada, No. 15, withdrew from the Breyers Tennis Classic because of an injured thumb.