Former US Open champion looks unrecognisable as she takes up new sport after shocking stabbing wrecked tennis career

3 months ago 31

SHE won eight Grand Slams in a three-year reign beyond the dreams of even most of her fellow legends.

But nothing was the same for her, and arguably tennis, after one of the most sickening incidents the sport has ever seen.

a woman wearing sunglasses stands on a tennis court holding a paddle

a woman in a black dress stands on a red carpet at the american humane hero dog awards

She has taken her life in different directions since officially retiring in 2008[/caption]

a green vending machine that says goodness inside

Now, aged 50, her life and looks are completely different, and she’s even taken up a new sport.

But she will forever be remembered for the moment Gunter Parche – an obsessive fan of Seles’ big rival Steffi Graf – ran from the crowd to the edge of the court during a Citizen Cup quarter-final in Hamburg in 1993.

The Yugolsavia-born star was stabbed between the shoulder blades during a break between games in a match against Magdalena Maleeva and rushed to hospital as the world reeled in shock.

Tennis took a long hard look at itself after that, with player safety suddenly a huge issue.

Her physical injuries healed after several weeks, but it took two years before that she returned to playing.

In the meantime, she became a naturalised American.

But despite winning a ninth Major in 1996, her domination disappeared, although she did retain her innovative “grunt” – famous well ahead of noisier rivals like Maria Sharapova came along.

She still ended her last full year on the tour, 2022, as world No7.

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But a foot injury the following spring virtually put paid to her time on the pro circuit.

And despite announcing a brief comeback bid in December 2007, she confirmed her retirement two months later, having won the Australian Open four times, the French Open on three occasions and the US Open twice.

Tennis buffs will by now have recognised these are just some of the standout moments – the brilliance she achieved and the outrageous assault she suffered – of Monica Seles.

She rarely speaks about the horror attack, but in an interview with The Guardian, she said of her brief return to court: “The thing was – when I thought of coming back I had no idea how I would feel sitting back down on the chair, knowing the person who had stabbed me had never been put in jail.

“There were so many ifs. In the end though, after two and a half years, I felt I just had to try.

“I came back in Toronto and the fans’ support was just amazing.

“I won that first tournament back, and that helped. It was like: ‘I am still pretty good at this.'”

After the trauma of a knife attack – which the assailant avoided being jailed for – at a place where she should have been secure, the main way she has reshaped her career is perhaps not surprising.

Apart from being a motivational speaker and author, Seles describes herself as a “mental health advocate”.

The 1992 Wimbledon finalist also remains a “fitness enthusiast”.

And to that end she’s one of the latest big names to start playing pickleball.

John McEnroe and Andre Agassi have dabbled with the highly-accessible sport – with its smaller court and plastic, hole-covered ball, using shorter and stringless paddles.

But tennis aces who have made the switch at a more serious level include social media celebrity Eugenie Bouchard, Sam Querrey and Jack Sock.

And judging by Seles’ pictures. it’s a sport where she’s found the right balance of fun and energy following a tennis career blighted by an appalling saga, physically and emotionally, that no one should ever expect to encounter.