- Born:
- December 2, 1973, Novi Sad, Yugoslavia [now in Serbia] (age 52)
Monica Seles
-
Who is Monica Seles?
Monica Seles, born in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia (now in Serbia), on December 2, 1973, is a retired American professional tennis player. Seles dominated the sport during the early 1990s, becoming the youngest singles player to be ranked number one in the world by the Womenâs Tennis Association (WTA) at age 17 in 1991. Seles, coached by her father, started playing tennis at age five. She turned professional at 15 in 1989 and won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open a year later.
In 1993, during a tournament in Hamburg, a spectator stabbed Seles in the back, which forced her into a hiatus from tennis to recover physically and emotionally. She returned to professional tennis in August 1995 and won her final Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in 1996. Seles played her last tennis match as a professional in 2003 and officially retired in 2008. She won a total of nine Grand Slam titles and a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What sport did Monica Seles play?
Monica Seles was a professional tennis player who dominated the sport in the early 1990s. At 17, she became the youngest player ranked number one in the world by the Womenâs Tennis Association (WTA) in 1991. Seles began playing tennis at age 5 and turned professional in 1989 at age 15. She won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open just a year later.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What are some major achievements of Monica Seles in tennis?
Monica Seles, a Yugoslavian-born American tennis player, achieved significant milestones in her career. By 1991, at 17, she became the youngest player to be ranked number one in the world by the Womenâs Tennis Association (WTA). Seles won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open in 1990 and went on to win a total of nine Grand Slam titles: four at the Australian Open (1991, 1992, 1993, and 1996), three at the French Open (1990, 1991, and 1992), and two at the U.S. Open (1991 and 1992). She also won a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Where was Monica Seles born, and how did her background influence her tennis career?
Monica Seles was born in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia (now in Serbia), on December 2, 1973. Her father coached her, and she began playing tennis at age five. Seles won the Yugoslav 12-and-under girlsâ championship at age nine and the European 12-and-under championship at age 10.
Her victory at age 11 in the Junior Orange Bowl International Tennis Championship in Miami led her family to move to the United States so she could attend the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. Seles turned professional at 15 and won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open a year later.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What was the impact of the 1993 on-court attack on Monica Seles's career?
The on-court attack on Monica Seles in 1993 had a significant impact on her career. During a changeover in Hamburg, a spectator stabbed her in the back, causing a two-and-a-half-year hiatus from tennis for both physical and emotional recovery.
The attack not only resulted in back pain that lasted for months but also triggered post-traumatic stress disorder, severe depression, and a binge eating disorder. Although Seles returned to professional tennis in 1995 and won the Australian Open in 1996, some observers noted that she did not play with the same competitive energy as before. She played her last professional match in 2003 and officially retired in 2008.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How is Monica Seles remembered in the history of women's tennis?
Monica Seles is remembered as a Yugoslavian-born American tennis player who dominated women's tennis in the early 1990s. At 17, she became the youngest player to be ranked number one in the world by the Womenâs Tennis Association (WTA) in 1991. Seles won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open in 1990 and went on to win a total of nine Grand Slam titles. In 1993, her career was disrupted when she was stabbed during a tournament. Although she returned to tennis and won the Australian Open in 1996, she never regained her earlier form. She retired in 2008.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Monica Seles (born December 2, 1973, Novi Sad, Yugoslavia [now in Serbia]) is a Yugoslavian-born retired American professional tennis player who dominated her sport and was nearly unbeatable during the height of her career in the early 1990s. In 1991, at the age of 17, Seles became the youngest singles player ever to be ranked number one in the world by the Womenâs Tennis Association (WTA). Early in her career Seles became famous for her very loud grunts and shrieks as well as for her immensely powerful two-handed forehand and backhand. During a tournament in Hamburg in 1993, Seles was stabbed in the back by a spectator who later identified himself as a fan of Selesâs German rival Steffi Graf. Forced into a hiatus from tennis, Seles spent the next two and a half years recovering physically and emotionally from her injury.
Coached by her father, Seles began playing tennis when she was 5 years old. She won the Yugoslav 12-and-under girlsâ championship at age 9 and the European 12-and-under championship at age 10. In 1985, at age 11, she won the Junior Orange Bowl International Tennis Championship in Miami. Her victory prompted her family to move from Yugoslavia to the United States the next year so that she could attend the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy (now IMG Academy) in Bradenton, Florida.
Seles turned professional in 1989, at age 15, and won her first Grand Slam title, at the French Open, just one year later. She was the youngest player to win a Grand Slam event since Charlotte (âLottieâ) Dod won the ladiesâ singles title at Wimbledon in 1887, at age 15. After displacing the long-reigning Steffi Graf as the top-ranked womenâs tennis player on March 11, 1991, Seles maintained her standing for most of the next two years, relinquishing the number-one spot to Graf for only a few weeks in 1991.
During a water break and changeover (a regular change of sides) at a match in Hamburg on April 30, 1993, a 38-year-old spectator, GĂŒnter Parche, stabbed Seles between her shoulder blades with a 9-inch (23-cm) kitchen knife. If Seles had not leaned forward to take a sip of water at the moment of the attack, she probably would have been paralyzed, according to the doctors who treated her. The knife damaged Selesâs muscles but missed her spine and vital organs. Although Parche admitted that his attack was premeditated, he was given a two-year suspended sentence and was released from prison about six months after the attack. Seles underwent surgery in a hospital and was soon released, but the back pain resulting from her injury persisted for many months. She was also traumatized by the sudden collapse of her tennis career, to which she had dedicated her entire life. She underwent treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but still experienced severe depression and eventually developed a binge eating disorder.
Seles returned to professional tennis with a victory in the Canadian Open in August 1995. The following year she won her final Grand Slam title with a victory in the Australian Open. Although she remained among the top-ranked women players in her later career, she did not play with quite the same competitive energy as before, according to some observers. She played her last tennis match as a professional in 2003 and officially retired in 2008. She won a total of nine Grand Slam titlesâat the Australian Open (1991, 1992, 1993, and 1996), the French Open (1990, 1991, and 1992), and the U.S. Open (1991 and 1992)âand a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.