Introduction

Monica Seles is my idol! She is one of the best tennis players in the world. For me and for thousands of other fans over the world, she will always be the #1 no matter what her official WTA ranking is. I admire her for her talent, but also for her courage, her determination, her personnality and her kindness with the fans.

I read two books (biographies) about Monica Seles. I suggest you to read Monica's official biography, Monica Seles : From Fear to Victory. Nancy Ann Richardson is the author of this book. Richardson wrote the book with the help of Monica, her friends and her family. The other book, Return of a Champion ; The Monica Seles Story, is from Joseph Layden. Here is my version of Monica's story.

Jean-Sébastien Marceau, webmaster of monica-seles.com

Young Monica!

Monica was born in Novi Sad, which is in Yougoslavia, on December 2th 1973. Her father, Karolj, is a model for her. Karolj and Esther, the player's mother, had two children. In fact, Monica has only one brother, a little older than her. Seles took a raquet first at age 6. But, six months after that, she decided to stop. Karolj never insisted on his daughter because he taught you must have fun to play. When Monica saw that her brother was having fun, winning tournaments, she decided to try again. She was now 8 years old.

Karolj is Monica's coach since the first time she played tennis. This father knew how to motivate his daughter. At the beginning, they played together in a parking lot, between cars. When she was a bit older, they went to try on real tennis courts. Often, Karolj drew some cartoons on the balls so that Monica could find it interesting. Monica and her father were always close, they were friends. Karolj was the only person on Earth who knew Monica was going to have success with her two-handed forehand.

Young and talented Monica!

At 9 years old, Monica won her first tournament. She was a bit lucky because she didn't even understood all the rules of the game. But she hit the ball as hard as she could. And often, she won. One year later, in 1984, the young lady won a tournament in Europe. It was a 12 years old and under tournament. In 1985, she was named the Female athlete of the year in Yougoslavia. It was the first time a young girl had this chance.

Monica meets Nick!

In 1985, when she was 11 years old, Monica won the Orange Bowl in Miami. Nick Bollettieri was going to meet her there. Nick was the top coach of a tennis academy, where Agassi and Courier were already training. He saw Monica running all over the court to hit the ball. He knew Seles would be an extraordinary player in the future. So, he invited her in Brandenton, in Florida. In 1986, Monica "quit" her parents and left Yougoslavia with her brother, to go practice in Florida.

Monica discovers the United States!

When Monica arrived at the Nick Bolletieri Tennis Academy, there were about 180 students, each of them were between 11 and 18 years old. Jim Courier, Andre Agassi, Mary Pierce, Anna Kournikova and many other great players practiced and trained at least a week at the Academy. Bollettieri was, at that moment, 55 years old and he was very tough with his students. According to him, without discipline, there could not be success. Monica was staying in a condo with her brother. At the beginning, she was sad because she wasn't used to this kind of life, away from her parents. But a few months later, she was already talking english and concentrating on tennis!

Monica, the young star!

A few months later, many players would not agree to play against Monica because she was to good. So, Nick asked men to play against Seles. But again, Monica was too good. Jim Courier even said once he would never play again against her. Monica was incredible. She was enough good to beat some pros, from the WTA Tour or even the ATP Tour.

Karolj and Ester Seles!

Six months after Monica arrived in Florida, her parents were leaving their country to join their daughter in America. When Karolj arrived, he asked to be her second coach. Everyone was stunned when Monica was hitting balls. She was only 5 foot 5 inches and she was grunting each time she had to hit a ball. It became a few years later her trademark, her main characteristic.

Monica's first tournaments!

Monica! What a player! She played her first professional tournament at 14 years old! It was in March 1988, in Florida, the Virginia Slims. She won against the 31th in the world, Helen Kelesi. She lost against Chris Evert but had proved she could beat the best in the world.

A few days later, she played the Lipton Championships where again, she had to meet a great player to lose, Gabriela Sabatini. The match ended with a 7-6, 6-3 score, which is very good for a young girl against a top 5 ranked player.

Not so fast!

After the Key Biscane tournament, Monica was gone. Where? Nobody knows. Maybe her father didn't want to go too fast so he practiced with his daughter for about one entire year. But... what a comeback!!!

The beginning of a great career!

When Monica entered the pro tour, in February 1989, it was the beginning of a great career. She played her first pro game in Washington, at the Virginia Slims. And what a tournament it was! She had to withdraw during the semi-final match because of an injury. Semi-final match in her first pro tournament!

The first wins!

Three months later, the Houston Virginia Slims was going to begin. And Monica won this tournament! She won against a super player, Chris Evert, 3-6, 6-1 and 6-4!!! Her first try in a Grand Slam event occured a few weeks later, in Rolland-Garros, and Monica lost against Steffi Graf in the semi-finals. Moreover, Monica succeded until the 4th round of the UsOpen and of Wimbledon, which is fantastic for a young player. Maybe she was young but she was now 6th in the world!!!

Summary of an unbelievable first season!

The two-handed forehand was leading Monica to wins against the best players in the world. She was returning balls with power. At the end of 1989, Monica was quitting again the competition. The break was going to last 2 months. Again, what a comeback! A "small" gift of 112,500$ was going to land in Monica's hand with the trophy of the Key Biscane Lipton Championships.

The secret behind the motivation!

Monica says she gets motivated with gifts she gives to herself when she wins. Sometimes, or should I say often, gifts mean clothes.

Monica's grunts!

All the tennis fans know that Monica has something very unique and special: her grunts. Many players are mad because they think these grunts are a way to bother her opponents. In fact, Monica only wants to get more power on each shot. The first player who officially asked Monica not to grunt was Katerina Maleeva. Since then, this grunting story became a stupid mental fight against Monica.

From surprises to surprises!

In Roma, in march 1990, Monica Seles was going to surprise everyone when beating Navratilova 6-1 and 6-1 during the tournament finals. In only 53 minutes!!! Only one player was now unbeated against Monica: Graf! This one was at that moment #1 in the world. What a surprise when Monica won against Steffi a few weeks after the Italian Open. At 16 years old only!!! She was going to quit the stadium with a new BMW and a 6-4, 6-3 win against Graf. Rolland-Garros has been another dream for Monica. Again, she won against Graf, after being behind her opponent 5-0 in the tie-braker of the second set. She finally won this tie-braker 8-6 and, at the same time, the match. She became the youngest player to win a Grand Slam tournament. Sadly, Monica was the ennemy of many players and tennis fans. One reason was that she just decided to quit Nick and she said he wasn't the source of her success. Monica was 3rd seed in Wimbledon and she was wishing a 7th title in a row. This time, she was stopped in the quarter-finals. A few weeks later, after she signed a contract with Yonex, she played in the first "5 sets match" in a female tournament since 1901. It was the final of the New York Virginia Slims. Seles won the duel against Sabatini.

Monica and her fans!

Even if she was very popular, Monica stayed calm in front of her fans and the journalists. Autographs are a part of her career. She thinks her fans are important. In 1991, Monica became the yougest player ever to win the Australian Open. Of course, the little Seles was getting more and more records beginning with -the yougest player to...-.

Monica Seles : the #1 player in the world!

The most beautiful day in Monica's career was March 11th, 1991. She became the best tennis player in the world, the #1, which has been for a long time Graf's position. Monica became the yougest player ever to reach the top spot!!! At 17 years, 3 months and 2 days. Great Monica!!! Monica wasn't only the #1 female player in the world. She also was the richest player, mostly because of her sponsors(Yonex and Fila).

A Grand Slam for Monica?

After winning the French Open, Monica knew she had a chance to become the youngest player ever to win the four Grand Slam tournaments in the same year. Only the US Open and Wimbledon were remaining to get this honor. But these two tournaments weren't that easy to win.

What happened?

Would you beleive me if I would tell you that Seles didn't even tried to win Wimbeldon? Well, it's true! She decided to withdraw before the beginning of the event. Why??? Nobody knows the exact reason. One thing is sure, journalists did not like it and decided to write some stupid(and false) things about Monica and her decision. After a few weeks of hiding, Monica explained that she had an injury and didn't want to take some risks by playing at Wimbledon.

Another sad story

After Wimbledon, Monica was(again) the center of a strange story. This time, the problem was Fila, one of her sponsors. This company refused to give some clothings to Monica because what she wanted to wear didn't look good on her. That's what people working for Fila told her. They didn't find it funny when she insisted. One day, while Seles was insisting, they said something very disgusting to her. It wasn't going to continue that way forever.

A great match against Navratilova helped Monica to forget all those problems she had had to face since 1991. Unfortunately, her first title at the US Open didn't change public's mind. The crowd was cheering for Martina Navratilova even if she lost the final game. But Monica didn't bother. She was happy. She finished the season with 2,45 millions$, a title in Flushing Meadows and 9 other titles.

Monica wins Australia!

The Australian Open is Monica's favorite tournament. She always wins when she plays in Melbourne. 1992 began the same way 1991 began. Seles won the first Grand Slam event of the year. In 1998, we now know that the Australian Open is to Monica what koalas are to Australia.

And France too!

The second Grand Slam tournament of the year is the French Open. In 1992, even if it has been a tough road to the trophy, she won the event. In the last set of her match against Kijimuta, she was behind 1-4. She won this match. Against Sabatini, she was behind 2-4. She won this match too. In finals, she played against Steffi Graf. She had to win the match to prove that SHE was the #1 player in the world. After a three hours match, she won her 3rd French Open title in a row, her 6th Grand Slam title.

Almost invincible!

Wimbledon was the only Grand Slam tournament she hadn't win yet. In her first French Open's final ever, Seles had to beat Graf again. This time, she didn't do it. She lost 2-6, 1-6. A bit frustrating because she won the US Open a few weeks later. Again, only one title(Wimbledon) was missing to get the top goal for any tennis player: the Grand Slam. 1992 had been Monica's best year. She won 2,6 millions$, she was named the best player of the year and she had lost only 5 matchs during the entire season. And she was only 18 years old.

The 1993 season!

After winning again the Australian Open at the beginning of 1993, Monica was outlasted in the finals of the French Open. Monica withdrew from many tournaments after this lost because of a flu. Over two months off the courts. Fans wished she could come back in Hambourg, on April 28th. She did return in Hambourg but what a bad decision it was!

April 30th, 1993...

April 30 is a date to forget. Unfortunately, Monica will remember it forever. Seles was leading 6-4,4-3 in her quarterfinal match against Magdalena Maleeva when she went to her chair during a changeover. At this moment, a man came near Monica and stabbed her with a knife. He was going to attack a second time but a security guard stopped him. Monica yelled and fell on the court. She was bleeding. She was transported to the hospital and find out she wasn't badly injured. That's what doctors told to calm down the journalists. Nobody knew that Gunter Parche had reached his goal... but he had.

Gunter Parche...

Who's that stupid, crazy guy who tried to kill Monica? In fact, he didn't want to kill her... that's what he told when questionned on his intentions. Gunther Parche wanted to injure Monica so that Steffi Graf, his idol, could become #1 again. Well, Graf became #1 again while Monica was trying to forget this day, when she was stabbed. The Hambourg tournament wasn't stopped even if Monica was stabbed on the court, in front of thousands of people... like if nothing happened!!!

On May 2nd, Monica quit the hospital. She didn't speak to journalists but thanked people who helped her during her sejour at the hospital. Her agent, Miss Tolleson, said that the injury would fast disappear but that Monica would take a long time to forget the moment... mentally, it was a very serious problem.

The WTA Tour vs Monica Seles...

A week after the stabbing, the 25 best players of the World Tennis Association voted about Monica's #1. These players had to decide if Monica should or not keep her ranking until she would be back. You won't beleive me but they all voted NO!

Security after the sad event...

At Wimbledon, weeks after the knife attack, players, both males and females, were sitting facing the umpire chair to prevent from another attack. Graf decided to put the chair back where it usually was. All this happened while Seles began to consult a psychologist. Nobody knew about these meetings with a specialist. People were only informed about her shoulder. Monica said that her it was still hurting and that she still wasn't ready to come back on courts. She added that she was very mad about the players decision concerning her #1 position.

Gunther is free...

On October 13th 1993, the worst thing that could happen happened: the jury decided that Gunther Parche was not guilty for attempted murder. So, he was free! (the law is so...stupid) Maybe the psychiatric report helped Gunther during the trial. In fact, a specialist told the judges that Parche was mentally deficient. When Monica knew about the decision, she cried and cried. She didn't understand how a man who almost killed her could be free.

Nightmares and prayers...

A few weeks after the 1993 US Open, Monica tried to hit some balls on her private court. But, she was still thinking about that day, when that man stabbed her. She also was disturbed by her father's stomach cancer. Even if she almost decided to compete at the beginning of 1994, Seles was still traumatized. She was always thinking about this bad day in Hambourg. During the Australian Open, Monica "entered" in a very bad depression. She often dreamed about the stabbing and about the face of the man who attacked her. During a long period of time, she was hiding herself in her room, alone, crying.

Meanwhile...

On February 14th, 1994, Monica disappeared from the WTA rankings because she had played only 2 tournaments in the last 12 months. The minimum to be included in the rankings is three per year. Once in a while, Monica was thinking about a possible comeback. One positive thing happened during these bad years: she received her american citizenship. It happened on May 17th, 1994. Three days later, Seles asked the German Tennis Federation for some money to pay what the attack had cost to her. Unfortunately, she never received anything from them. Moreover, Steffi Graf was now on top of female tennis. She was winning every important tournaments.

Karolj's letter...

Monica's father decided to write a public letter to show the Seles' family sadness since the Hambourg attack. In this letter, he wrote that Monica had lost her smile(and what a beautiful smile it is) and that it was very tough to see her crying often. Sometimes after a bad dream... often after a bad dream.

A 2nd trial...

Monica was invited at the second Gunther Parche trial to tell what really happened in Hambourg. The jury assured Monica it would maybe change the final decision if the judges had her version of the story. Of course, Monica refused because she was still in shock. She didn't want to sit near Parche. Again, Gunther was going to win the jury's opinion. He was free again! Monica cried and cried when she learned that Parche was free again. What if he tried to kill her again???

Monica is back!

Nobody was thinking about Monica when she appeared at the French Open. She did not appear as a player, but as a spectator. She was in the crowd to watch a game. During the tournament, she announced that she would be back on July 29th. Her first game would be an exhibition match against Martina Navratilova in Atlantic City. Great news in the tennis world!!! 27 months without the best player in the world, it's pretty long... it's too long!

Graf was now on Monica's side. She said she agreed with the idea of giving Monica the #1 rank for about one year. Of course, Graf would stay a co-#1. They would share the number 1 for one year. After, a special method would calculate Monica's rankings.

A very popular exhibition match!

A great crowd welcomed back Monica in Atlantic City for her first match since Hambourg. Nobody noticed about her new sponsor, Nike, even if she wear a "swooshed" dress. In fact, Monica had quit Fila because the company brought Monica in court. They said they lost much money because of Monica's absence. Life is crazy! Anyways, nobody cared about that because now, she was back!!! And she won her exhibition match against Navratilova, 6-3 and 6-2. Martina mentionned and assured the crowd she did her best.

Monica's official comeback!

Monica decided to come back in Toronto! Her first official match in almost two years! And she won this match against Kimberly Po, 6-0 and 6-3. In semi-finals, she didn't let Sabitini enter the match, winning this one 6-1 and 6-0. Incredible Monica was now in final and she rolled over Amanda Coetzer 6-0 and 6-1. The crowd wouldn't beleive their eyes!!! Monica had win her comeback tournament!!! All the fans in the National Tennis Center were amazed by Monica Seles! One year before this incredible moment, Monica wasn't even sure if she would play again one day. During the duMaurier Open, she didn't lose a single set and had beaten all her opponents in less than an hour. She also surprised everyone with a new record: only 74 games in the entire tournament.

Steffi Graf vs Monica Seles in the US Open final!

After an incredible tournament in Toronto, Monica reached the US Open finals... Guess against who! Steffi Graf. Monica won the first set 6-0(first time at the US Open a player won 6-0 against Graf) but she lost the match in three sets.

Monica still unbeatable in Australia!

Monica seemed to play like she used to play before the Hambourg attack. She won the 1996 Australian Open, like she always did before her absence. It was her first Grand Slam title since her comeback. Since then, Monica seemed to have some technical problems in her game.

Summary of the 1996 season!

After two consecutive titles, in Sydney and Melbourne, Monica noticed that the female players were very competitive. She had to wait until June to win another tournament, in Eastbourne, which is a small event to prepare players for Wimbledon. Two months later, on August 11th, Seles won in two sets against Sanchez-Vicario to get the - Montreal Omnium duMaurier- title! This was Monica's first win in Montreal, but her second consecutive title in Canada. Monica won her last title of 1996 in Tokyo, and again, it was against Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario.

Tough season for Monica in 1997!

After her 38th title in career(Tokyo), Monica had a bad period. She didn't win a tournament in almost 11 months. Maybe her father's cancer bothered her a bit. Maybe her finger injury, which forced her to withdraw from many tournaments earlier in the season, was more serious than it appeared. We don't know why but her fans had to wait until August 10th, in 1997, to see Seles win another final.

A 40th title for Monica!

Monica proved that she was still a great player when she won the Acura Classic in Manhattan Beach at the beginning of August. She had to beat Lindsay Davenport in finals to stop this long year without a title. But that wasn't enough for Monica! She repeated the same thing a week later in Toronto, adding many interesting statistics to her fact sheet. Winning the duMaurier Open in Toronto meant winning a 40th title in her career. At the same time, she took the second place in the world, which was Jana Novotna's rank, points behind Hingis. One more interesting fact: Monica didn't lose a single set in three years at the duMaurier Open. So, she won each match in two sets since her comeback in 1995. Toronto was the fourth consecutive tournament for Monica and she planned to play in Atlanta a week later and at the US Open two weeks later. 7 big weeks in action! I hope she'll win the US Open!

Bad end of season!

Monica didn't play very well at the 1997 US Open. In quarter-finals, she lost against Irina Spirlea. Fans could see she was still bothered by her shoulder injury. But, a few weeks later, Seles won the Toyota Princess Cup for a fourth consecutive year. She had to beat Sanchez-Vicario in finals, which she did in three sets. The last set went through a tiebraker. Unfortunately, this victory didn't help Monica to win the last tournament of the WTA Tour calendar. Again, she had to play against Vicario. This time, Aranxta didn't let the American win. It wasn't as bad as loosing against Serena Williams. In fact, a few weeks later, it happened. The 304th in the world surprised Monica with an excellent level of play. The important is that Monica had a good 1997 season. She had won 3 titles and had beaten her opponents about 4 times on 5. Two things could bother Monica next year(1998). Her shoulder his still not in a perfect condition. I hope she won't withdraw from many tournaments like she did this year. Also, Monica likes her father very much. I hope he will be ok this year and I hope he won't be too sick. It's obvious Monica can't play her best tennis when she looks at her father suffering because of cancer. Good luck to Monica and Karolj for 1998!!!

1997-2007

Read the news archive to find out what happened since the launch of monica-seles.com in 1997.