Monica Seles facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Monica Seles

Seles in 2002
Country (sports)	Yugoslavia (1988–1992)  Yugoslavia (1992–1994)  United States (1994–2008)
Residence	Sarasota, Florida, United States
Born	(1973-12-02) December 2, 1973 (age 51) 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 41st in all-time rankings
Int. Tennis HoF	2009 (member page)
Singles
Career record	595–122
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 (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 Women's tennis Representing  United States Olympic Games Bronze 2000 Sydney Singles

Monica Seles (born December 2, 1973) is a famous former tennis player from Yugoslavia and later the United States. She was ranked the world's number one female tennis player for a very long time, 178 weeks! She also finished as the top player at the end of the year three times. Monica won 53 big tennis tournaments, including nine major championships called Grand Slams. She won eight of these before she was even 20 years old!

She was an amazing young talent, becoming the youngest-ever French Open champion in 1990 at just 16. Monica dominated women's tennis in 1991 and 1992, winning eight major titles while still a teenager. However, in April 1993, something very sad happened. During a match, a fan attacked Monica. This made her stop playing tennis for more than two years. She faced a difficult time with her health after this event.

After returning to the sport in 1995, Monica won another major championship at the 1996 Australian Open. She played her last professional match at the 2003 French Open. Monica Seles is considered one of the "30 Legends of Women's Tennis" by Time magazine. Many people in tennis believe that if the attack hadn't happened, Monica might have become the greatest female tennis player ever. She was welcomed into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009.

Monica's Early Life and Career

Monica Seles was born in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia (which is now Serbia). Her family was of Hungarian background. Her parents are Ester and Karolj, and she has an older brother named Zoltan. Monica started playing tennis at age five. Her father, who was a cartoonist, was her first coach. He even drew pictures to make her tennis lessons more fun! He helped her develop her unique style of hitting the ball with two hands on both her forehand and backhand shots.

In 1985, when she was 11, Monica won a big junior tournament called the Junior Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. This caught the eye of famous tennis coach Nick Bollettieri. In 1986, Monica and her brother Zoltan moved to the United States. Monica joined the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, where she trained for two years. Her parents joined them in Florida nine months later.

Monica played her first professional tournament as an amateur in 1988 when she was 14. She officially became a professional player on February 13, 1989. She won her first professional title in Houston in May 1989, beating the legendary Chris Evert in the final. A month later, Monica reached the semifinals of her first Grand Slam tournament at the French Open. She finished her first year as a professional ranked world number 6.

Monica's Amazing Tennis Career

Dominating the Courts: 1990–1992

After a slow start in 1990, Monica Seles went on an incredible winning streak. She won 36 matches in a row and took home 6 tournaments in a row! This included big events like the Italian Open and the Lufthansa Cup in Germany. At the German Open, she beat Steffi Graf in the final.

Monica then won her first Grand Slam title at the 1990 French Open. She faced world number 1 Steffi Graf in the final. Monica won the first set in a close tiebreaker and then took the match in straight sets. By doing this, she became the youngest-ever French Open singles champion at just 16 years and 6 months old. Her winning streak ended at Wimbledon in the quarterfinals. She finished 1990 ranked world number 2.

The year 1991 was the first of two years where Monica truly dominated women's tennis. She started by winning the Australian Open in January. In March, she became the world number 1, taking the spot from Steffi Graf. She then successfully defended her French Open title. Monica couldn't play at Wimbledon due to an injury, but she returned to win the US Open. This was her third Grand Slam title of the year, confirming her spot as the top player. She won 10 out of 16 tournaments she entered that year and ended 1991 as the world's number 1 player.

Seles at the 1991 U.S. Women's Hard Court Championships in San Antonio

The year 1992 was just as impressive. Monica successfully defended her titles at the Australian Open, the French Open, and the US Open. She also reached her first-ever final at Wimbledon, but lost to Steffi Graf. During Wimbledon, some players complained about Monica's loud grunting when she hit the ball.

From January 1991 to February 1993, Monica Seles won 22 titles and reached 33 finals out of 34 tournaments. She had an amazing record of 159 wins and only 12 losses. In Grand Slam tournaments, her record was 55 wins and only 1 loss! She ended 1992 as the world's number 1 player again.

The 1993 Attack

Monica Seles was the top-ranked women's player at the start of 1993. She had won the French Open three years in a row and both the US Open and Australian Open two years in a row. In January 1993, Monica beat Steffi Graf in the final of the Australian Open. This was her third win against Graf in Grand Slam finals. She then won another tournament in Chicago. This was the last title Monica won before the attack.

On April 30, 1993, during a match in Hamburg, Germany, a man ran onto the court and attacked Monica Seles with a knife. He stabbed her in the back. Monica was quickly taken to the hospital. Her physical injuries healed in a few weeks, but she did not play professional tennis for more than two years.

The attacker was found to have mental health issues. He was given a two-year probation sentence and psychological treatment. This incident led to much stronger security at tennis events. Monica, however, felt that security still needed to improve. She decided she would never play tennis in Germany again because she was upset with the legal outcome.

The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) considered keeping Monica's number 1 ranking while she was away, but other top players voted against it. Only Gabriela Sabatini did not vote against the idea. Monica did not play tennis for two years and faced health challenges as a result of the attack.

Monica's Comeback

After becoming a U.S. citizen in 1994, Monica Seles returned to professional tennis in August 1995. The WTA decided to rank her as joint number one with Steffi Graf, even though some players disagreed. Monica won her first tournament back, the Canadian Open. The next month, at the US Open, Monica reached the final but lost to Steffi Graf.

In January 1996, Monica won her fourth Australian Open title. This was her last Grand Slam title. She reached the final of the US Open again in 1996, losing to Graf. Monica's last Grand Slam final was at the French Open in 1998, shortly after her father passed away. She reached the final but lost.

Even though she didn't win another Grand Slam singles final, Monica consistently reached the quarter-finals and semi-finals of major tournaments. She remained a top 10 player. In 2002, her last full year on tour, she finished ranked world number 7. She beat many top players that year and reached at least the quarter-finals at every Grand Slam tournament.

Monica competed at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Four years later, at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Monica won her first Olympic medal, a bronze in singles. She also helped the U.S. team win the Fed Cup in 1996, 1999, and 2000.

Break and Retirement

Seles in a 2007 exhibition match

In the spring of 2003, Monica Seles got a foot injury. She had to stop playing during a match at the Italian Open. A couple of weeks later, still injured, she lost in the first round of the 2003 French Open. This was the only time she ever lost a first-round match at a Grand Slam. She never played another official tour match after that.

In February 2005, Monica played two exhibition matches in New Zealand. She announced she might return to the game, but she didn't. She played three exhibition matches in 2007. On February 14, 2008, Monica officially announced her retirement from professional tennis.

In January 2009, Monica Seles was chosen to be part of the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Monica's Impact on Tennis

Monica Seles is widely seen as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. In 2012, Tennis Channel ranked her as the 19th greatest tennis player ever.

Monica won eight Grand Slam titles before she turned 20. However, the attack she experienced greatly affected her career. Many people involved with the sport believe that Monica could have become the most successful female player ever. Martina Navratilova, another tennis legend, said that if Monica hadn't been attacked, she would likely have won the most Grand Slam titles.

During her best years (1990-1993), she won eight out of the 11 Grand Slam singles tournaments she played. With eight Grand Slam singles titles before her 20th birthday, Monica holds the record for most Grand Slam singles titles won as a teenager in the Open Era.

Until her loss in 1999, Monica Seles had a perfect record at the Australian Open, winning 33 matches in a row. This is the longest winning streak for that tournament. Monica was also the first female tennis player to win her first six Grand Slam singles finals. She was also the first female player since 1937 to win the French Open singles title three years in a row.

After she retired, a writer for Sports Illustrated said that Monica became even more popular after the attack. He wrote that she was seen as a thoughtful, graceful, and dignified person. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on July 11, 2009. In 2011, Time magazine named her one of the "30 Legends of Women's Tennis."

Monica's Playing Style

Monica Seles was a baseline player, meaning she usually stayed near the back of the court. She was known for her powerful and aggressive style of play. She hit both her forehand and backhand shots with two hands, making them very fast, strong, and deep. Because of her two-handed shots, she could hit the ball at sharp angles and score winning shots easily. She was also very aggressive when returning serves, often standing close to the baseline.

Other strengths included her fitness, speed, and ability to cover the court. This made her excellent at retrieving balls and hitting winners from anywhere. Before the attack, Monica's greatest strengths were her powerful shots and her mental toughness. She was known as one of the toughest players to beat. Monica was also known for making loud grunting sounds when she hit the ball, which sometimes drew criticism. Her aggressive power game inspired many modern female tennis players like Serena and Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, and Victoria Azarenka.

Chris Evert, another tennis legend, said that Monica Seles "changed the whole complexion of tennis, brought another level to the game. She was a game changer."

Coaches, Equipment, and Endorsements

Monica Seles had several coaches throughout her career. These included her father, Karolj Seleš, Jelena Genčić, Nick Bollettieri, Sven Groeneveld, Gavin Hopper, Bobby Banck, Mike Sell, and David Nainkin.

In the early 1990s, Monica signed a big endorsement deal with Fila to promote their shoes and tennis clothes. She used a Prince original graphite racquet. In August 1990, she switched to a Yonex racquet.

When she returned to the tour in 1995 after the attack, Monica wore clothes by Nike and continued to use a Yonex racquet. In the 2000s, she wore Yonex apparel and used a Yonex SRQ Ti-800 Pro Long racquet.

Monica's Personal Life

Monica Seles was born and grew up in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia (now Serbia), in an ethnic Hungarian family. She became a citizen of the United States in 1994 and also received Hungarian citizenship in 2007.

In April 2009, Monica Seles released her book, Getting A Grip: On My Body, My Mind, My Self. In the book, she shares her experiences with health challenges after the attack, her father's illness and passing, her journey back to tennis, and her life after the sport.

Monica is married to businessman Tom Golisano. They started dating in 2009 and announced their engagement in June 2014.

Since 2015, Monica Seles has been a spokesperson for a pharmaceutical company. She helps raise awareness about a health condition she experienced as a young adult. She would eat normal meals but then secretly eat large amounts of unhealthy food when she was alone.

She was given honorary citizenship of Novi Sad in 1993.

Career Statistics

Grand Slam Singles Finals: 13 Finals (9 Wins, 4 Losses)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1990	French Open	Clay	Steffi Graf	7–6(8–6), 6–4
Win	1991	Australian Open	Hard	Jana Novotná	5–7, 6–3, 6–1
Win	1991	French Open (2)	Clay	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	6–3, 6–4
Win	1991	US Open	Hard	Martina Navratilova	7–6(7–1), 6–1
Win	1992	Australian Open (2)	Hard	Mary Joe Fernández	6–2, 6–3
Win	1992	French Open (3)	Clay	Steffi Graf	6–2, 3–6, 10–8
Loss	1992	Wimbledon	Grass	Steffi Graf	2–6, 1–6
Win	1992	US Open (2)	Hard	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	6–3, 6–3
Win	1993	Australian Open (3)	Hard	Steffi Graf	4–6, 6–3, 6–2
Loss	1995	US Open	Hard	Steffi Graf	6–7(6–8), 6–0, 3–6
Win	1996	Australian Open (4)	Hard	Anke Huber	6–4, 6–1
Loss	1996	US Open	Hard	Steffi Graf	5–7, 4–6
Loss	1998	French Open	Clay	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	6–7(5–7), 6–0, 2–6

Singles Performance Timeline

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

Records and Achievements

• These records were achieved during the Open Era of tennis (since 1968).
• Records in bold mean Monica Seles is the only player to have achieved them.

See also

In Spanish: Monica Seles para niños

• Grunting in tennis

Images for kids

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  Seles' outfit at the Tennis Hall of Fame Museum at the Newport Casino