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Monica Seles
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Monica Seles (, Serbian: ?????? ?????, Monika Seleš, , born December 2, 1973) is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player. She was born in Novi Sad, Serbia, Yugoslavia to ethnic Hungarian parents but became a naturalized United States citizen in 1994. According to published reports in Canadian and Hungarian news media (including two newspapers of record), she also received Hungarian citizenship in June 2007. She won nine Grand Slam singles titles, winning eight of them while a citizen of Yugoslavia and one while a citizen of the United States.
She became the youngest-ever champion at the 1990 French Open at the age of 16. She was the dominant player in the women's game during 1991 and 1992, but in 1993, she was forced out of the sport for two years following an on-court attack in which a German spectator stabbed her in the back with a knife.
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Encyclopedia
Monica Seles (, Serbian: ?????? ?????, Monika Seleš, , born December 2, 1973) is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player. She was born in Novi Sad, Serbia, Yugoslavia to ethnic Hungarian parents but became a naturalized United States citizen in 1994. According to published reports in Canadian and Hungarian news media (including two newspapers of record), she also received Hungarian citizenship in June 2007. She won nine Grand Slam singles titles, winning eight of them while a citizen of Yugoslavia and one while a citizen of the United States.
She became the youngest-ever champion at the 1990 French Open at the age of 16. She was the dominant player in the women's game during 1991 and 1992, but in 1993, she was forced out of the sport for two years following an on-court attack in which a German spectator stabbed her in the back with a knife. She enjoyed some success after returning to the tour in 1995, including a singles title at the Australian Open in 1996, but was unable to consistently reproduce her very best form.
Seles played her last professional match at the 2003 French Open, but her official retirement announcement was not issued until February 2008.
Biography
Early yearsSeles began playing tennis at the age of six, coached by her father, Károly Szeles. Her nickname was "Mala Mo" or "Little Mo". She won her first tournament at the age of nine, despite not fully understanding the scoring system of the game and having only a vague idea of whether she was leading or trailing her opponents during matches. In 1985 at the age of 11, she won the Orange Bowl tournament in Miami, Florida, and caught the attention of tennis coach Nick Bollettieri. In 1986, the Seles family moved from SFR Yugoslavia to the United States, and Seles enrolled at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, where she trained for two years. In her early years, famous singer from Vojvodina Đorde Balaševic helped her by building a tennis court in his backyard where she could practice. She attended Sonja Marinkovic elementary school in Grbavica, Novi Sad.
Seles played her first professional tournament in 1988 at the age of 14. The following year, she joined the professional tour full-time and won her first career title at Houston in May 1989, where she beat Chris Evert in the final. A month later, Seles reached the semifinals in her first Grand Slam singles tournament at the French Open, where she lost to World No. 1 Steffi Graf, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3 . Seles finished her first year on the tour ranked World No. 6.
1990-92
Seles won her first Grand Slam singles title at the 1990 French Open. Facing World No. 1 Steffi Graf in the final, Seles saved four set points in a first set tiebreaker, which she won 8–6, and went on to take the match in straight sets. In doing so, she became the youngest-ever French Open singles titlist at the age of 16 years, 6 months. She also won the 1990 year-ending Virginia Slims Championships, defeating Gabriela Sabatini in five sets. She finished the year ranked World No. 2.
1991 was the first of two years in which Seles dominated the women's tour. She started out by winning the Australian Open in January, beating Jana Novotna in the final. In March, she replaced Graf as the World No. 1. She then successfully defended her French Open title, beating the former youngest-ever winner, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, in the final. Instead of playing at Wimbledon, however, Seles took a six-week break, blaming shin splints. But she was back in time for the US Open, which she won by beating Martina Navratilova in the final to cement her position at the top of the world rankings. She also won the year-ending Virginia Slims Championships, defeating Navratilova in four sets.
1992 was an equally dominant year. Seles successfully defended her titles at the Australian Open, the French Open, and the US Open. She also reached the final at Wimbledon but lost to Graf in the final 6–2, 6–1. Some observers, however, attributed her lop-sided loss to her decision to remain silent throughout the match, resulting in less penetrating shots. Two opponents (including Navratilova in the semifinals) had strongly complained about Seles's grunting.
From January 1991 through February 1993, Seles won 22 titles and reached 33 finals out of the 34 tournaments she played. She compiled a 159–12 win-loss record (92.9% winning percentage), including a 55–1 win-loss record in Grand Slam tournaments. In the broader context of her first four years on the circuit (1989–1992), Seles had a win-loss record of 231–25 (90.2% winning percentage) and collected 30 titles. Only Chris Evert had a better first four years in terms of winning percentage (91.1% from 1971 to 1974) and titles (34) in the open era.
Turning point: The 1993 stabbing
Seles was the top women's player heading into 1993, having won the French Open three consecutive years and both the US Open and Australian Open in consecutive years. In January 1993, Seles defeated Graf in the final of the Australian Open, which to date was her third win in four Grand Slam finals with Graf.
Everything changed, however, following an incident that shocked the tennis world on April 30, 1993. During a quarterfinal match with Magdalena Maleeva in Hamburg in which Seles was leading 6–4, 4–3, a 38-year-old deranged fan of Graf, Günter Parche, ran from the middle of the crowd to the edge of the court during a break between games and plunged a boning knife between Seles's shoulder blades. She let out a piercing scream and was quickly rushed to a hospital. Her physical injuries took a few weeks to heal, but the psychological scars from this incident apparently left a much deeper impression on Seles. She did not return to competitive tennis for over two years.
Parche was charged following the incident but was not jailed because he was found to be psychologically abnormal and was instead sentenced to two years' probation and psychological treatment. The incident prompted a significant increase in the level of security at tour events. Seles vowed never to play tennis in Germany again. "What people seem to be forgetting is that this man stabbed me intentionally and he did not serve any sort of punishment for it.... I would not feel comfortable going back. I don't foresee that happening."
Seles became a United States citizen on May 17, 1994.
Comeback
Seles returned to the tour in August 1995 and won her first comeback tournament, the Canadian Open, beating Amanda Coetzer in the final 6–1, 6–0. Many believed that Seles would soon be dominating the circuit again in the way she was before the 1993 stabbing incident. The following month at the US Open, Seles lost the final to Graf 7–6, 0–6, 6–3 after Seles failed to capitalize on a set point in the first set.
In January 1996, Seles won her fourth Australian Open, beating Anke Huber in the final. But this was her last Grand Slam title. Seles struggled to recapture her best form on a consistent basis. Her difficulties were compounded by having to cope with her father and long-term coach Károly being stricken by cancer and eventually passing away in 1998. Seles was runner-up at the US Open to Graf again in 1996. Her last Grand Slam final came at the French Open in 1998 (a few weeks after her father's death). She defeated world No. 3 Jana Novotna in three sets and World No. 1 Martina Hingis in straight sets before losing to Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the three set final.
After becoming a U.S. citizen in 1994, Seles helped the U.S. team win the Fed Cup in 1996 and 2000. She also won a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
Period of hiatus
In the spring of 2003, Seles sustained a foot injury that sidelined her from the tour after the 2003 French Open. She never again played an official tour match.
In February 2005, Seles played two exhibition matches in New Zealand against Navratilova. Although Seles lost both matches, she played competitively and announced that she could return to the game early in 2006; however, she did not do so. Seles played three exhibition matches against Navratilova in 2007. On April 5, Seles defeated Navratilova in Houston, Texas on clay 7–6(1), 2–6, 10–1 (tiebreak). On September 14, Seles defeated Navratilova on an indoor court in New Orleans, Louisiana 6–2, 6–4. On September 16, Seles defeated Navratilova on clay in Bucharest, Romania 3–6, 6–3, 10–7 (tiebreak).
In December 2007, Seles said to the press that Lindsay Davenport's successful return to the tour had inspired her to consider her own limited comeback to play Grand Slam tournaments and the major warm-up events for those tournaments. However, on February 14, 2008, Seles announced her official retirement from professional tennis.
Playing style
With punishing, sharp-angled two-fisted forehand and backhand shots and a dominating return of serve, Seles is considered by many to be the first "power player" in the women's game, paving the way for players such as Venus and Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport, and Maria Sharapova. She was also well-known for grunting loudly on court. On a few occasions, her opponents claimed that the grunting was distracting and prevented them from hearing the ball make contact with her racquet.
A remarkable aspect of her style, the two-handed forehand, was expected to make her reach shorter, but she managed to compensate for the shorter reach by being able to hit balls much harder, with more top-spin, allowing her to hit sharper angles. Also, she had very fast feet, allowing herself to run down balls and get into a position to return a shot.
Career assessment
Seles was listed as the 13th greatest player of all time (men and women) by (U.S.) Tennis magazine and was also one of 15 women named by Australian Tennis magazine as the greatest champions of the last 30 years (players were listed chronologically). Seles is also known as one of the greatest "big point" players of all-time, having tremendous mental fortitude during the toughest situations on the court.
Like Maureen Connolly, whose career was cut short by injury, Seles's career probably was affected by the stabbing incident, although it is impossible to know the course of her career had this not happened. Her trajectory was indicative of continuing future greatness. During the height of her career (1990 French Open through the 1993 Australian Open), she won 8 of the 11 Grand Slam singles tournaments she contested.
Shortly after her retirement, Sports Illustrated writer Jon Wertheim summed up her later career:
Humanitarian work
In October 2007, Monica Seles was appointed by the Intergovernmental Institution for the use of Micro-algae Spirulina Against Malnutrition, IIMSAM, as a Goodwill Ambassador and Spokesperson for its Global Sports for Peace and Development Programme Initiative to counter malnutrition and for the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
Competing on Dancing with the Stars
On March 25, 2008, Seles and her partner were eliminated from season 6 of the U.S. version of Dancing with the Stars.
Performances
Grand Slam singles finals
Wins (9)| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final | | 1990 | French Open | Steffi Graf | 7–6(6), 6–4 | | 1991 | Australian Open | Jana Novotna | 5–7, 6–3, 6–1 | | 1991 | French Open (2) | Arantxa Sanchez Vicario | 6–3, 6–4 | | 1991 | US Open | Martina Navratilova | 7–6(1), 6–1 | | 1992 | Australian Open (2) | Mary Joe Fernandez | 6–2, 6–3 | | 1992 | French Open (3) | | 6–2, 3–6, 10–8 | | 1992 | US Open (2) | | 6–3, 6–3 | | 1993 | Australian Open (3) | | 4–6, 6–3, 6–2 | | 1996 | Australian Open (4) | Anke Huber | 6–4, 6–1 |
Runners-up (4)| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final | | 1992 | Wimbledon | Steffi Graf | 6–2, 6–1 | | 1995 | US Open | | 7–6(6), 0–6, 6–3 | | 1996 | US Open | | 7–5, 6–4 | | 1998 | French Open | Arantxa Sanchez Vicario | 7–6(5), 0–6, 6–2 |
Titles (59)
Singles (53)| Legend (Singles) |
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| Tier I (9) | | Tier II (22) | | Tier III (9) | | Tier IV (1) | | Grand Slam Title (9) | | WTA Championship (3) |
| | Titles by Surface | | Hard (28) | | Clay (14) | | Grass (1) | | Carpet (10) |
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| No. | Date | Tournament Name | Location | Surface | Opponent in Final | Score in Final | | 1. | April 30, 1989 | Virginia Slims of Houston (1) | Houston, Texas, U.S. | Clay | Chris Evert | 3–6, 6–1, 6–4 | | 2. | March 25, 1990 | Lipton International Players Championships (1) | Key Biscayne, Florida, U.S. | Hard | Judith Wiesner | 6–1, 6–2 | | 3. | April 1, 1990 | Post Cereals U.S. Hardcourt Championships | San Antonio, Texas, U.S. | Hard | Manuela Maleeva | 6–4, 6–3 | | 4. | April 22, 1990 | Eckerd Tennis Open | Tampa, Florida, U.S. | Clay | Katerina Maleeva | 6–1, 6–0 | | 5. | May 13, 1990 | Italian Open (Peugeot Open Cup) (1) | Rome | Clay | Martina Navratilova | 6–1, 6–1 | | 6. | May 20, 1990 | Lufthansa Cup German Open | Berlin | Clay | Steffi Graf | 6–4, 6–3 | | 7. | June 10, 1990 | French Open (1) | Paris | Clay | | 7–6(6), 6–4 | | 8. | August 19, 1990 | Virginia Slims of Los Angeles (1) | Los Angeles | Hard | | 6–4, 3–6, 7–6(6) | | 9. | November 4, 1990 | Virginia Slims of California (1) | Oakland, California, U.S. | Carpet (I) | | 6–3, 7–6(5) | | 10. | November 18, 1990 | Virginia Slims Championships (1) | New York City | Carpet (I) | Gabriela Sabatini | 6–4, 5–7, 3–6, 6–4, 6–2 | | 11. | January 27, 1991 | Ford Australian Open (1) | Melbourne | Hard | Jana Novotna | 5–7, 6–3, 6–1 | | 12. | March 24, 1991 | Lipton International Players Championships (2) | Key Biscayne, Florida, U.S. | Hard | | 6–3, 7–5 | | 13. | April 21, 1991 | Virginia Slims of Houston (2) | Houston, Texas, U.S. | Clay | Mary Joe Fernandez | 6–4, 6–3 | | 14. | June 9, 1991 | French Open (2) | Paris | Clay | Arantxa Sanchez Vicario | 6–3, 6–4 | | 15. | August 18, 1991 | Virginia Slims of Los Angeles (2) | Los Angeles | Hard | Kimiko Date | 6–3, 6–1 | | 16. | September 8, 1991 | US Open (1) | New York City | Hard | | 7–6(1), 6–1 | | 17. | September 22, 1991 | Nichirei International Championships (1) | Tokyo | Hard | | 6–1, 6–1 | | 18. | October 6, 1991 | Milano Indoor | Milan, Italy | Carpet (I) | | 6–3, 3–6, 6–4 | | 19. | November 17, 1991 | Virginia Slims of Philadelphia | Philadelphia, U.S. | Carpet (I) | Jennifer Capriati | 7–5, 6–1 | | 20. | November 24, 1991 | Virginia Slims Championships (2) | New York City | Carpet (I) | | 6–4, 3–6, 7–5, 6–0 | | 21. | January 26, 1992 | Ford Australian Open (2) | Melbourne | Hard | | 6–2, 6–3 | | 22. | February 9, 1992 | Nokia Grand Prix | Essen, Germany | Carpet (I) | | 6–0, 6–3 | | 23. | March 1, 1992 | Matrix Essentials Evert Cup | Indian Wells, California, U.S. | Hard | Conchita Martinez | 6–3, 6–1 | | 24. | April 19, 1992 | Virginia Slims of Houston (3) | Houston, Texas, U.S. | Clay | Zina Garrison | 6–1, 6–1 | | 25. | April 26, 1992 | Open Seat of Spain (1) | Barcelona, Spain | Clay | | 3–6, 6–2, 6–3 | | 26. | June 7, 1992 | French Open (3) | Paris | Clay | | 6–2, 3–6, 10–8 | | 27. | September 13, 1992 | US Open (2) | New York City | Hard | | 6–3, 6–3 | | 28. | September 27, 1992 | Nichirei International Championships (2) | Tokyo | Carpet (I) | | 6–2, 6–0 | | 29. | November 8, 1992 | Bank of the West Classic (2) | Oakland, California, U.S. | Carpet (I) | | 6–3 6–4 | | 30. | November 22, 1992 | Virginia Slims Championships (3) | New York City | Carpet (I) | | 7–5, 6–3, 6–1 | | 31. | January 31, 1993 | Ford Australian Open (3) | Melbourne | Hard | | 4–6, 6–3, 6–2 | | 32. | February 14, 1993 | Virginia Slims of Chicago | Chicago | Carpet (I) | | 3–6, 6–2, 6–1 | | 33. | August 20, 1995 | du Maurier Ltd. Open (1) | Toronto, Canada | Hard | Amanda Coetzer | 6–0, 6–1 | | 34. | January 14, 1996 | Peters Invitational | Sydney, Australia | Hard | Lindsay Davenport | 4–6, 7–6(7), 6–3 | | 35. | January 28, 1996 | Ford Australian Open (4) | Melbourne | Hard | Anke Huber | 6–4, 6–1 | | 36. | June 23, 1996 | Direct Line Insurance Championships | Eastbourne, United Kingdom | Grass | | 6–0, 6–2 | | 37. | August 11, 1996 | du Maurier Ltd. Open (2) | Montreal, Canada | Hard | | 6–1, 7–6(2) | | 38. | September 22, 1996 | Nichirei International Open (3) | Tokyo | Hard | | 6–1, 6–4 | | 39. | August 10, 1997 | Acura Classic (3) | Los Angeles | Hard | | 5–7, 7–5, 6–4 | | 40. | August 17, 1997 | du Maurier Open (3) | Toronto, Canada | Hard | | 6–2, 6–4 | | 41. | September 21, 1997 | Toyota Princess Cup (4) | Tokyo | Hard | | 6–1, 3–6, 7–6(5) | | 42. | August 23, 1998 | du Maurier Open (4) | Montreal, Canada | Hard | | 6–3 ,6–2 | | 43. | September 27, 1998 | Toyota Princess Cup (5) | Tokyo | Hard | | 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 | | 44. | April 11, 1999 | Bausch & Lomb Championships (1) | Amelia Island, Florida, U.S. | Clay | Ruxandra Dragomir | 6–2, 6–3 | | 45. | February 27, 2000 | IGA Superthrift Classic (1) | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. | Hard (I) | Nathalie Dechy | 6–1, 7–6(3) | | 46. | April 16, 2000 | Bausch & Lomb Championships (2) | Amelia Island, Florida, U.S. | Clay | | 6–3, 6–2 | | 47. | May 21, 2000 | Tennis Masters Series Roma (2) | Rome | Clay | Amelie Mauresmo | 6–2, 7–6(4) | | 48. | February 25, 2001 | IGA U.S. Indoors | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. (2) | Hard (I) | | 6–3, 5–7, 6–2 | | 49. | September 16, 2001 | Brasil Open | Bahia, Brazil | Hard | Jelena Dokic | 6–3, 6–3 | | 50. | October 7, 2001 | AIG Japan Open | Tokyo | Hard | Tamarine Tanasugarn | 6–3, 6–2 | | 51. | October 14, 2001 | Kiwi Open | Shanghai, China | Hard | Nicole Pratt | 6–2, 6–3 | | 52. | February 17, 2002 | Qatar Total FinaElf Open | Doha | Hard | | 7–6(6), 6–3 | | 53. | May 25, 2002 | Open de Espana (2) | Madrid, Spain | Clay | Chanda Rubin | 6–4, 6–2 |
Doubles (6)| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents in the final | Score | | 1. | May 13, 1990 | Italian Open, Rome, Italy | Clay | Helen Kelesi | Laura Garrone
Laura Golarsa | 6–3, 6–4 | | 2. | March 31, 1991 | San Antonio, Texas, U.S. | Hard | Patty Fendick | Jill Hetherington
Kathy Rinaldi Stunkel | 7–6(2), 6–2 | | 3. | May 12, 1991 | Italian Open, Rome, Italy | Clay | Jennifer Capriati | Nicole Bradtke
Elna Reinach | 7–5, 6–2 | | 4. | May 10, 1992 | Italian Open, Rome, Italy | Clay | Helena Suková | Katerina Maleeva
Barbara Rittner | 6–1, 6–2 | | 5. | September 21, 1997 | Tokyo (Princess) | Hard | Ai Sugiyama | Julie Halard-Decugis
Chanda Rubin | 6–1, 6–0 | | 6. | September 27, 1998 | Tokyo | Hard | Anna Kournikova | Mary Joe Fernandez
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario | 6–4, 6–4 |
Runner-ups (35)
Singles (32)
Doubles (3)
Singles performance timeline | Tournament | Career
Win-Loss | Career
SR | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
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| Grand Slam Tournaments | | Australian Open | 43–4 | 4 / 8 | A | A | A | W | W | W | A | A | W | A | A | SF | A | QF | SF | 2R | | French Open | 54–8 | 3 / 11 | A | SF | W | W | W | A | A | A | QF | SF | F | SF | QF | A | QF | 1R | | Wimbledon | 30–9 | 0 / 9 | A | 4R | QF | A | F | A | A | A | 2R | 3R | QF | 3R | QF | A | QF | A | | US Open | 53–10 | 2 / 12 | A | 4R | 3R | W | W | A | A | F | F | QF | QF | QF | QF | 4R | QF | A | | Grand Slam SR | N/A | 9 / 40 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 3 | 1 / 3 | 3 / 3 | 3 / 4 | 1 / 1 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 1 | 1 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 2 | | Grand Slam Win-Loss | 180–31 | N/A | 0–0 | 11–3 | 13–2 | 21–0 | 27–1 | 7–0 | 0–0 | 6–1 | 17–3 | 11–3 | 14–3 | 16–4 | 12–3 | 7–2 | 17–4 | 1–2 | | Year-End Championship | | WTA Tour Championships | 18–6 | 3 / 9 | A | QF | W | W | W | A | A | A | 4R | 4R | QF | A | F | A | QF | A | | WTA Tier I Tournaments1 | | Miami | 32–7 | 2 / 9 | 2R | A | W | W | QF | A | A | A | A | F | 3R | 4R | SF | A | SF | A | | Toronto/Montreal | 31–3 | 4 / 7 | Not Tier I | A | A | F | A | A | W | W | W | W | F | A | SF | A | A | | Rome | 21–5 | 2 / 7 | Not Tier I | W | F | F | A | A | A | A | 3R | 3R | A | W | A | A | 2R | | Charleston | 12–5 | 0 / 5 | Not Tier I | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | F | SF | 3R | SF | A | 3R | A | | Tokyo | 9–4 | 0 / 4 | Not Tier I | A | A | A | QF | A | A | SF | A | A | F | F | | Indian Wells | 8–4 | 0 / 4 | Not Held | Not Tier I | A | A | A | 3R | QF | 2R | SF | A | | Berlin | 5–0 | 1 / 1 | A | A | W | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | | Moscow | 3–1 | 0 / 1 | Not Held | Not Tier I | A | F | A | A | A | A | A | | Chicago | 0–1 | 0 / 1 | Not Tier I | 1R | Not Tier I | Not Held | | Zurich | 0–0 | 0 / 0 | Not Tier I | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | | Boca Raton | 0–0 | 0 / 0 | Not Tier I or Was Not Held | A | A | Not Tier I or Was Not Held | | Philadelphia |
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