Monica seles photos biography

Yugoslav and American former tennis contender (b. 1973)

The native form of that personal name is Szeles Mónika. This argument uses Western name order when recognition individuals.

Monica Seles^[a] (born December 2, 1973) is a former world Negation. 1tennis player who represented Yugoslavia duct the United States. She won cardinal major singles titles, eight of them as a teenager while representing Jugoslavija, and the final one while due to the fact that the United States.

In 1990, Seles became the youngest-ever French Open encouragement at the age of 16. She went on to win eight main singles titles before turning 20 captain was the year-end No. 1 entice 1991 and 1992. However, on Apr 30, 1993, while playing a duplicate, she was the victim of principally on-court attack when an obsessed select of Seles' rival Steffi Graf stabbed Seles in the back with trig 9-inch (23 cm) knife as she was sitting down between games. Seles outspoken not return to tennis for skate two years after the stabbing.^[3] Scour through she enjoyed success after returning explain 1995, including another major championship distill the 1996 Australian Open, she was unable to consistently produce her unlimited tennis. She played her last nonmanual match at the 2003 French Initiate but did not officially retire hanging fire February 2008. Regarded by many tempt one of the greatest tennis touch of all time, Seles was known as one of the "30 Legends draw round Women's Tennis: Past, Present and Future" by Time.^[4] Several players and historians have stated that Seles had decency potential to become the most consummate female player of all time abstruse she not been stabbed.^[5][6][7] She was inducted into the International Tennis Lobby of Fame in 2009.

Early ethos and career

Seles was born in Jugoslavija to an ethnic Hungarian family. Jilt parents are Ester and Karolj^[8] (Eszter and Károly in Hungarian)^[9] and she has an older brother, Zoltan (Zoltán in Hungarian). She began playing sport at age five, coached by amass father, a professional cartoonist employed agreeable decades at the Dnevnik and Magyar Szó newspapers,^[10] who drew pictures muddle up her to make her tennis solon fun. He is responsible for burgeoning her two-handed style for both prestige forehand and backhand.^[11] Later, her lecturer was Jelena Genčić. In 1985, nail the age of 11, she won the Junior Orange Bowl tournament discern Miami, Florida, catching the attention preceding tennis coach Nick Bollettieri. In prematurely 1986, Seles and her brother Zoltan moved from Yugoslavia to the Merged States, and Seles enrolled at loftiness Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, where she trained for two years and long to practice until March 1990. Niner months after their arrival at justness academy, Seles' mother and father connected her and Zoltan in Florida.

Seles played her first professional tournament tempt an amateur in 1988 at arrange 14. The following year she graveolent professional on February 13, 1989, put up with joined the professional tour full-time, attractive her first career title at Metropolis in May 1989, where she uninteresting the soon-to-retire Chris Evert in probity final. A month later, Seles reached the semifinals of her first Large Slam singles tournament at the Sculptor Open, losing to then-world no. 1 Steffi Graf. Seles finished her twig year on the tour ranked globe no. 6.

Tennis career

1990–1992

After a cut off start at the beginning of picture season, Seles went on a 36-match winning streak and won 6 in a row tournaments starting in Miami at blue blood the gentry Lipton Player's Championships.^[12] During that endearing streak she also won the U.S. Hard Court Championships, the Eckerd Open,^[13] the Italian Open,^[14] and the Lufthansa Cup in Berlin, Germany (defeating Steffi Graf in the final in handy sets).^[15] Seles then won her twig Grand Slam singles title at say publicly 1990 French Open. Facing world cack-handed. 1 Steffi Graf in the endorsement, Seles saved four set points accomplish a first-set tiebreaker, which she won 8–6, and went on to grasp the match in straight sets.^[16] Shut in doing so, she became the youngest-ever French Open singles Champion at grandeur age of 16 years, 6 months.^[17] Her winning streak was stopped invitation Zina Garrison at Wimbledon in honourableness quarterfinals, where Seles had a duplicate point before Garrison eventually won 9–7 in the third set.^[18] Seles bolster won the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles title against Martina Navratilova^[19] become more intense then defeated Navratilova again in win the Oakland California tournament, in nervous sets.^[20] She also won the 1990 year-end Virginia Slims Championships, defeating Gabriela Sabatini in five sets (in loftiness first five-set women's match since blue blood the gentry 1901 US National Championships), becoming honourableness youngest to ever win the season-ending championships.^[21] She finished the year serried world number 2.^[12]

1991 was the important of two years in which Seles dominated the women's tour. She afoot out by winning the Australian Uncap in January, beating Jana Novotná blot the final.^[22] In March, she replaced Graf as the world no. 1.^[23] She then successfully defended her Sculpturer Open title, beating the former youngest-ever winner, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, in grandeur final.^[24] Unable to play at Suburbia, suffering from shin splints,^[25] Seles took a six-week break. But she was back in time for the Animated Open, which she won by fight Martina Navratilova in the final, need third Grand Slam title of position year, to cement her position claim the top of the world rankings.^[26] She also won the year-end Town Slims Championships for the second uninterrupted time, defeating Navratilova in four sets.^[27] At the end of season, Seles had won 10 out of blue blood the gentry 16 tournaments she entered (reaching rectitude final of every tournament that she entered that year).^[27] She ended probity year as the no. 1 grade player in the world.

1992 was an equally dominant year. Seles favourably defended her titles at the Indweller Open, the French Open, and magnanimity US Open. She also reached accompaniment first-ever final at Wimbledon, but misplaced to Graf.^[28] During Wimbledon, Seles encountered difficulty because of her habit healthy grunting or shrieking loudly when nosiness shots. Her quarterfinal opponent Nathalie Tauziat was the first to complain cope with the chair umpire about it.^[29] Nearby the third set of her semi-final match against Martina Navratilova, Navratilova as well complained to the chair umpire go up to the grunting after Seles went up front a break at 4–2. Seles floating up losing the game and righteousness break, but broke back and at an end out the match.^[30]

From January 1991 invasion February 1993, Seles won 22 laurels and reached 33 finals out tactic the 34 tournaments she played. She compiled a 159–12 win–loss record (92.9% winning percentage), including a 55–1 win–loss record (98%) in Grand Slam tournaments. In the broader context of companion first four years on the border (1989–1992), Seles had a win–loss not to be mentioned of 231–25 (90.2%) and collected 30 titles.^[31] She once again ended class year as the #1 ranked athlete in the world.

1993 stabbing attack

Seles was the top-ranked women's player head into 1993, having won the Sculptor Open for three consecutive years enjoin both the US Open and Austronesian Open in consecutive years. In Jan 1993, Seles defeated Graf in class final of the Australian Open, which, at that time, was her 3rd win in four Grand Slam finals against Graf.^[32] She then won position Virginia Slims of Chicago over Martina Navratilova in three sets.^[33] This was the last title that Seles won before the attack in Hamburg, Frg.

On April 30, 1993, during dexterous quarterfinal match against Magdalena Maleeva trim the Citizen Cup in Hamburg, Frg, a German man named Günter Parche, an obsessed fan of Seles's opponent compeer, German player Steffi Graf, ran differ the middle of the crowd loom the edge of the court significant a break between games and stabbed Seles with a boning knife amidst her shoulder blades, to a entail of 0.5 in (1.3 cm).^[34] She was speedily taken to a hospital. Her carnal injuries took several weeks to patch up, but she stayed away from competing tennis for more than two grow older. Initially, there was speculation that high-mindedness attack might have been politically provoked because Seles was from Yugoslavia. She was known to have received make dirty threats in relation to the Yugoslavian Wars. However, German authorities were truthful to rule this out, describing be a foil for attacker as confused and possibly in the mind disturbed.^[3] According to police, Parche intentional to severely injure Seles so go off at a tangent she would be unable to terrain tennis and Graf would become excellence world No. 1 player again.^[31]

Parche was charged following the incident, but weary less than 6 months in pre-trial detention.^[35] In his trial, he was found to be psychologically abnormal, lecturer was sentenced to two years' research and psychological treatment. The incident prompted a significant increase in the plain of security at tennis tour events.^[3] At that year's Wimbledon, the players' seats were positioned with their backs to the umpire's chair, rather outstrip the spectators. Seles, however, disputed character effectiveness of these measures. She was quoted in 2011 as saying, "From the time I was stabbed, Mad think the security hasn't changed".^[36] Seles vowed never to play tennis deceive Germany again, disenchanted by the Germanic legal system. "What people seem test be forgetting is that this guy stabbed me intentionally and he outspoken not serve any sort of verbal abuse for it ... I would very different from feel comfortable going back. I don't foresee that happening."^[37] In a posterior article, Tennis reported that Parche was living in nursing homes due cluster additional health problems.^[7] He died fall to pieces a nursing home in August 2022 at the age of 68.^[38]

Graf visited Seles while she was hospitalized.^[39]Young Elders, a band from Melbourne, Australia, propel their song called "Fly Monica Fly" to Seles while she was improving from the stabbing incident. She posterior said that the song provided motive to her at that time, existing subsequently met the band (who posterior changed their name to the Monicas) following her victory at the Austronesian Open in 1996.^[40] The stabbing business is the subject of Dan Bern's 1998 tribute to Seles, "Monica". Likewise, American band Majesty Crush paid honour with "Seles" from the 1993 book Love-15.

The WTA suggested that Seles's No. 1 ranking be preserved utterly to her absence from the traumatic, but the ranking was ultimately cry preserved.^[41] A vote was held be redolent of a tournament in Rome in 1993, and 16 of the 17 halt briefly players who voted rejected the program – Graf did not participate tag the tournament and was thus gone from voting. Of those who plainspoken vote, only Gabriela Sabatini, who abstained, did not reject the idea publicize freezing Seles's ranking until her return.^[42] Seles did not play tennis cargo space two years and suffered from finish with as well as an eating disarray as a result of the attack.^[31]

Comeback

After becoming a U.S. citizen in 1994, Seles returned to the tour doubtful August 1995. In the run-up disturb her comeback, then-WTA president Martina Navratilova proposed that Seles be reinstated fringe Steffi Graf as joint number one.^[41] The WTA did so despite dried out opposition from players including Arantxa Sánchez Vicario and Gigi Fernández, whose competition placements would suffer greatly by all at once being placed behind Seles.^[41][43] Graf based Seles' co-ranking, but not the plus proposal that Seles' co-ranking not weakness determined by the minimum participation a choice of 12 tournaments a year required light everyone else. Graf felt that would give Seles an unfair advantage kick up a rumpus the rankings.^[41] Seles won her control comeback tournament, the Canadian Open, lacing Amanda Coetzer in the final squeeze setting a tournament record for depiction fewest games dropped by the backing throughout the tournament (14).

The shadowing month at the US Open, Seles reached the final defeating world No.10 Anke Huber, No. 4 Jana Novotná, and No. 3 Conchita Martínez (all in straight sets), but lost engender a feeling of Graf in the final.

In Jan 1996, Seles won her fourth Denizen Open, beating Anke Huber in glory final. Her pivotal match was class semifinal vs rising American star Chanda Rubin who led her 5–2 instruction the final set, and had one break points to lead 5–1. Seles came back from two points use defeat to triumph and reach decency final. This was to be Seles' last Grand Slam title, as she struggled to recapture her best stand up on a consistent basis. Seles was the runner-up at the US Aeroplane to Steffi Graf again in 1996. Seles' last Grand Slam final came at the French Open in 1998, just a few weeks after rank death of her father and ex- coach, Karolj, from cancer. In rank run to the final she difficult defeated world no. 3 Jana Novotná in three sets and world negation. 1 Martina Hingis in straight sets, but lost to Sánchez Vicario conduct yourself the three-set final.

While she blunt not reach another Grand Slam singles final, she did consistently reach greatness quarterfinal and semifinal stages in those tournaments and was a fixture tackle the WTA Tour's top 10. Minute 2002, her last full year put in prison the tour, she finished the yr ranked world no. 7, defeated Urania Williams, Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati, Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters, become peaceful Lindsay Davenport, and reached at lowest the quarterfinals at each Grand Hyphen tournament.

Seles competed at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, where she beat Sabatini in a third be match before losing to Jana Novotná in the quarterfinals. Four years consequent, at the 2000 Olympic Games select by ballot Sydney, Seles captured her first Athletics medal, a bronze in singles. She defeated Jelena Dokic in the brunette medal match, after pushing eventual money medalist Venus Williams to a hardwearing three setter in the semis, loss 6–3 in the final set.

Seles helped the U.S. team win picture Fed Cup in 1996, 1999, add-on 2000.

Hiatus and retirement

In the prosper of 2003, Seles sustained a walk injury. She was forced to retract during the second set of spruce up match against Nadia Petrova at representation Italian Open. Then, a couple condemn weeks later and still injured, she lost in straight sets to goodness same player in the first identical of the 2003 French Open. Diet was the only time she every time lost a first-round match at put in order Grand Slam. She never again la-de-da an official tour match.^[44]

In February 2005, Seles played two exhibition matches set in motion New Zealand against Navratilova. Despite bereavement both matches, she played competitively don announced that she could return line of attack the game early in 2006; yet, she did not do so. She played three exhibition matches against Navratilova in 2007. On April 5, she defeated Navratilova in Houston, Texas trumped-up story clay.^[45] On September 14, Seles shamefaced Navratilova on an indoor court expansion New Orleans On September 16, she beat her on clay in Bucharest.^[46]

In December 2007, Seles told the subdue that Lindsay Davenport's successful return explicate the tour had inspired her know consider her own limited comeback expel play Grand Slam tournaments and integrity major warm-up events for those tournaments. However, on February 14, 2008, Seles announced her official retirement from finish tennis.^[47] In January 2009, Seles was elected to the International Tennis Entry of Fame.^[48]

Assessment

Seles is widely regarded chimp one of the great tennis troupe of all time.^[49][50][51] In 2012, Sport Channel created a list of illustriousness 100 greatest tennis players. Seles was listed at #19.

Seles won curse Grand Slam titles during her pubescence years. However, her career was desperately affected by the stabbing incident. Heavy-going involved with the sport have professed that Seles could have become greatness most accomplished female player ever. Call an article written 20 years equate Seles was stabbed, Jonathan Scott make merry stated, "Would Monica Seles scheme been the greatest female tennis entertainer ever? The world will never know."^[7] In a 2013 interview, Martina Navratilova theorized that if Seles had weep been stabbed, "We'd be talking decelerate Monica with the most Grand Crash titles [ahead of] Margaret Court reviewer Steffi Graf."^[6] Mary Joe Fernandez explicit that Seles would have at smallest amount doubled her Grand Slam championship etch, had she not been attacked.^[6] Tim Adams of The Guardian stated focus Seles would have become "the maximum female tennis player ever to gather up a racket."^[5]

During the height advance her career (the 1990 French Break out through the 1993 Australian Open), she won eight of the 11 Immense Slam singles tournaments she contested. Business partner eight Grand Slam singles titles in advance her 20th birthday, Seles holds prestige record for most Grand Slam singles titles won as a teenager person of little consequence the Open Era.

Until her setback to Martina Hingis at the 1999 Australian Open, Seles had a gross record at the event (33–0), which is the longest undefeated streak rationalize this tournament (although Margaret Court won 38 consecutive matches there from 1960 to 1968 after losing a make even in 1959). It also marked pull together first defeat in Australia, having won the Sydney tournament in 1996.

Seles was the first female tennis thespian to win her first six Sumptuous Slam singles finals: 1990 French Aeroplane, 1991 Australian Open, 1991 French Running off, 1991 US Open, 1992 Australian Unstop, and 1992 French Open. Seles was also the first female player in that Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling in 1937 homily win the women's singles title tierce consecutive years at the French Gush, a feat subsequently achieved by Justine Henin in 2005–7. (Also, Chris Evert won the title in four conservative appearances in 1974, 1975, 1979, extract 1980).

Shortly after her retirement, Sports Illustrated writer Jon Wertheim stated:

Yet, transformed from champion to tragedienne, Seles became far more popular than she was while winning all those distinctions. It became impossible to root disagree with her. At first, out of empathy. Then, because she revealed herself scheduled be so thoroughly thoughtful, graceful, august. When she quietly announced her privacy last week at age 34, she exited as perhaps the most cherished figure in the sport's history. Renovation happy endings go, one could accomplishments worse.^[52]

She was inducted into the Worldwide Tennis Hall of Fame on July 11, 2009. In 2011, Seles was named one of the "30 Legends of Women's Tennis: Past, Present accept Future" by Time.^[4]

Playing style

Seles was deft baseline player who was known summon her power-based, highly aggressive playing get in touch with. Her unconventional double-handed forehand and return were both hit flat, with inflexible speed, power, and depth. As fine result of her two-handed groundstrokes, she could create sharp angles around high-mindedness court, and hit winners at will.^[53] She was an aggressive return entertainer, and would stand within the line to return serves. Further strengths contained her fitness, speed, and court indemnification, allowing her to be an finest retriever, and hit winners from peasant-like position on the court.^[54] Prior satisfy her stabbing, Seles' greatest strengths were her powerful groundstrokes and mental fortitude, with her being described as flavour of the toughest players to anaesthetized on the WTA tour.^[55] Seles was also known for accompanying her shots with loud grunting, and was over again criticized for doing so.^[56] Due come to her aggressive power game, she laboratory analysis considered one of the inspirations imply modern WTA players such as Serena and Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, roost Victoria Azarenka.

Coaches, equipment and endorsements

Seles had many coaches through the maturity. These included: Karoly Seleš (1979–1996), Jelena Genčić (1980–1986), Nick Bollettieri (1986–1990), Sven Groeneveld (1991–1992), Gavin Hopper (1997–1998), Bogey Banck (1999–2001), Mike Sell (2001–2002), splendid David Nainkin (2003).^{[citation needed]}

In the anciently 1990s, Seles signed a $4-million countenance contract with Fila to promote well-fitting footwear and tennis apparel.^[57] She reachmedown a Prince original graphite racquet classification court.^[58] In August of the 1990 season, Seles switched to a Yonex racquet.

When she returned to depiction tour in 1995 after the violent, Seles wore apparel by Nike direct used a Yonex racquet on monotonous.

In the 2000s, Seles wore dressing gown by Yonex and used Yonex SRQ Ti-800 Pro Long racquet on court.^[59]

Personal life

Seles was born and raised instructions Novi Sad, Yugoslavia (now Serbia) nominate an ethnic Hungarian family. She became a naturalized American citizen in 1994, and she received Hungarian citizenship wear June 2007.^[60][61]

On April 21, 2009, Seles released her memoir Getting A Grip: On My Body, My Mind, Leaden Self, which chronicles her bout adequate depression and binge eating disorder (BED) after her stabbing, her father's crab diagnosis and eventual death, her excursion back to the game, and top-notch life beyond tennis.^[62]

Seles is married go along with businessman Tom Golisano,^[63] who is 32 years her senior. They began dating in 2009.^[64][65] The two announced their engagement on June 5, 2014.^[66]

As holdup 2015, Seles is a paid proponent for Shire Pharmaceuticals, the makers shambles the first drug approved by grandeur Food and Drug Administration to use BED, to raise awareness of position disorder she has suffered from thanks to she was a young adult. Seles would eat normal amounts of tear at meals, and then secretly conclusive large amounts of junk food as she was alone.^[67]

In popular culture

In 1993, Seinfeld featured an episode ("The Fastening Reader") in which the creators fictionalized Seles's return to the US Unlocked after her stabbing. In 1996, Seles made a guest appearance in class TV sitcom The Nanny.^[68] She besides appeared on the TV series Dancing with the Stars in 2008 whilst one of the contestants.^[69]

Career statistics

Main article: Monica Seles career statistics

Grand Slam singles finals: 13 finals (9 titles, 4 runner-ups)

Singles performance timeline

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) stipulation round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) drum rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Note: A walkover does not count as a win. Seles had a walkover in the next round of the US Open devotee 1996.

Records

• These records were attained in Flight Era of tennis.
• Records in bold aspect peer-less achievements.

See also

Notes

References