Profile of a Tennis Star: Monica Seles
When Monica Seles showed up in the world of tennis, the sport had not seen a champion like her before that for a few years. She was young, extremely talented and a fantastic tennis player. She won a huge number of tournaments even
before she was 20 years old. She was on track to becoming the greatest women’s player of all time, according to some people, until she was stabbed on court in 1993. The incident was the first of its kind in tennis and shocked everyone to their core. Even though
she returned to a lot of success after the stabbing, the fateful incident seemed to have affected her life immensely. She is still regarded as one of the greatest players in the game and she is now focusing on humanitarian work. This great player’s career
makes for a fascinating read in the interesting world of tennis.
Monica Seles was born to Hungarian parents in what is now Serbia. She started playing tennis very early on in her life and was initially coached by her father. He was the one who taught her the distinctive two handed forehand and
backhand that defined her playing style. At the age of 11 she won the Orange Bowl in Miami and was noticed by very prominent coach, Nick Bollettieri. The young tennis prodigy turned pro at the age of 14 and entered the tennis tour the next year. At the age
of 15 she won her first title by beating former champion Chris Evert. She then reached the semi final of the French Open and ended her first year as a professional tennis player with a world ranking of 6. The next year was even better for the young tennis
star; she won her first Grand Slam at the age of 16 becoming the youngest player ever to win the French Open.
The next two years saw Seles dominate the world of women’s tennis like few players before her. She won the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open in 1991 only missing Wimbledon due to injury. She also reached the world
number 1 ranking that year and continued her dominance into 1992. The next year she again won the same three tournaments as she did last year but this time played in Wimbledon and lost to Steffi Graf. This was also the year that tennis fans got to hear the
now legendary Seles grunt. She grunted so much during matches that two players officially complained about the noise, saying it was a distraction. Monica Seles was on top of the world in 1991 through to February 1993. She won 22 titles in that period and she
managed to maintain a 159-12 win-loss record. She also reached 33 finals of the tournaments she played in but it all came to an end in April of 1993.
During a quarterfinal match in Hamburg, a deranged fan rushed onto the court and stabbed Seles in the back with a 9 inch kitchen knife. The man who stabbed her was named Gunter Parche and he was an unemployed lathe operator. Even
though the injuries were not life threatening and Seles who was rushed to the hospital straight away was discharged very quickly, she did not return to the game for two years. It turned out that the crazy man was a huge fan of Steffi Graf and he wanted to
stop Seles from being a threat to his favourite player. The mentally challenged individual was given a two year suspended sentence and no jail time. The effect this incident had on Seles was devastating; she missed two years of tennis and when she came back,
even though she had some success, she was not the same dominant player she once was. She continued to win matches and reach the quarterfinals and semi-finals of tournaments but she was not the same player. She officially retired from the game in 2008 after
a wonderful and entertaining career. She has been named as the 13th greatest player in the world, men or women by (US) Tennis magazine and she was also inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame.
Even though Seles suffered a huge setback with the stabbing incident, she should always be remembered for her great tennis abilities and her fantastic career. She has dedicated her life to humanitarian work after retirement and
we should remember her as the amazing tennis star who grunted her way to the top of the game.
Tags: