Monica Seles
Monica Seles (born December 2, 1973) is a former world No. 1 tennis player who represented Yugoslavia and the United States. She won nine major singles titles, eight of them as a teenager while representing Yugoslavia, and the final one while representing the United States.
Seles in 2002 | |||||||||||||||
| Country (sports) | Yugoslavia (1988–1992) Yugoslavia (1992–1994) United States (1994–2008) | ||||||||||||||
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| Residence | Sarasota, Florida, United States | ||||||||||||||
| Born | December 2, 1973 Novi Sad, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Turned pro | 1989 | ||||||||||||||
| Retired | 2008 (last match in 2003) | ||||||||||||||
| Plays | Left-handed (two-handed both sides) | ||||||||||||||
| Prize money | US$14,891,762 | ||||||||||||||
| Int. Tennis HoF | 2009 (member page) | ||||||||||||||
| Singles | |||||||||||||||
| Career record | 595–122 (83.0%) | ||||||||||||||
| Career titles | 53 | ||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (March 11, 1991) | ||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam singles results | |||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | W (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996) | ||||||||||||||
| French Open | W (1990, 1991, 1992) | ||||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | F (1992) | ||||||||||||||
| US Open | W (1991, 1992) | ||||||||||||||
| Other tournaments | |||||||||||||||
| Tour Finals | W (1990, 1991, 1992) | ||||||||||||||
| Olympic Games | Bronze medal (2000) | ||||||||||||||
| Doubles | |||||||||||||||
| Career record | 89–45 | ||||||||||||||
| Career titles | 6 | ||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 16 (April 22, 1991) | ||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam doubles results | |||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | SF (1991, 2001) | ||||||||||||||
| French Open | 3R (1990) | ||||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | QF (1999) | ||||||||||||||
| US Open | QF (1999) | ||||||||||||||
| Team competitions | |||||||||||||||
| Fed Cup | United States W (1996, 1999, 2000) | ||||||||||||||
| Hopman Cup | Yugoslavia W (1991) United States F (2001, 2002) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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In 1990, Seles became the youngest-ever French Open champion at the age of 16. She went on to win eight major singles titles before turning 20 and was the year-end No. 1 in 1991 and 1992. However, on April 30, 1993, while playing a match, she was the victim of an on-court attack when an obsessed fan of Seles' rival Steffi Graf stabbed Seles in the back with a 9-inch (23 cm) knife as she was sitting down between games. Seles did not return to tennis for over two years after the stabbing. Though she enjoyed success after returning in 1995, including another major championship at the 1996 Australian Open, she was unable to consistently produce her best tennis. She played her last professional match at the 2003 French Open but did not officially retire until February 2008. Regarded by many as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Seles was named one of the "30 Legends of Women's Tennis: Past, Present and Future" by Time. Several players and historians have stated that Seles had the potential to become the most accomplished female player of all time had she not been stabbed. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009.