She was born and raised in Novi Sad, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia. She became a naturalized USA citizen in 1994 and additionally received Hungarian citizenship in June 2007. In 1990, Seles became the youngest-ever French Open winner, in the age of 16. She went to win eight Grand Slam singles titles before her 20th birthday and was the year end World No. 1 in 1991 and 1992. Nevertheless, on April 30, 1993 she was the victim of an on-court strike, when a guy stabbed her in the back using a 9-inch-long knife. Seles failed to return to tennis for more than a couple of years. Though she have some success after rejoining the tour in 1995, including a fourth Australian Open success in 1996, she was unable to consistently replicate her finest kind. She played her last professional match in the 2003 French Open, but didn’t formally retire until February 2008.
In June 2011, she was named among the “30 Legends of Women’s Tennis: Past, Present and Future” by “Time”. 1991 was the first of a couple of years in which Seles dominated the women’s tour. She started out by winning the Australian Open in January, defeating Jana Novotn in the final. In March, she replaced Graf as the planet no. 1. She subsequently successfully defended her French Open title, defeating the former youngest-ever winner, Arantxa Snchez Vicario, in the final. Not able to play at Wimbledon, Seles took a six-week rest, experiencing shin splints. But she was back in time for the US Open, which she won by defeating Martina Navratilova in the final, her third Grand Slam title of the entire year, to cement her standing in the top of the world standings. She also won the year end Virginia Slims Championships, conquering Navratilova in four sets. 1992 was an equally dominant year. Seles successfully defended her titles in the Australian Open, the French Open, as well as the US Open.
Tennis player, Yugoslav world Nr.1 professional tennis player
Education
Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy
Nationality
American, Hungarian, Yugoslavian
Parents
Eszter Szeles, Károly Szeles
Siblings
Zoltán Szeles
Partner
Tom Golisano
Awards
International Tennis Hall of Fame (2009), nine Grand Slam singles titles, the youngest-ever French Open champion at the age of 16, "30 Legends of Women's Tennis (named in 2011),
Nominations
Winner: French Open (1990,1991,1992), Australian Open (1991-1993, 1996), Us Open (1991,1992),Wimbledon (1991, 1992), Olympic Games (bronze, 2000)
TV Shows
"The Nanny" (1996), "Dancing with the Stars" (2008)
Star Sign
Sagittarius
#
Fact
1
Release of her book, "Getting a Grip: On My Body, My Mind, My Self". [2009]
2
Release of the book, "Monica Seles: Returning Champion" by Kristin Smith Fehr. [1997]
3
Release of the book, "Monica Seles: The Comeback Kid" by Mark Stewart. [1997]
4
Became a naturalized US citizen in 1994.
5
Elected into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009.
6
Born to Karóly and Esther Seles, ethnic Hungarians from Serbia.
7
Has an older brother, Zoltan.
8
In 1998, she had further psychological problems when her father and first coach, Karolj, died of cancer.
9
She is of Hungarian descent.
10
While playing Magdalena Maleeva in the quarter-finals of the Hamburg Open, Seles was stabbed in the back during a changeover by Günter Parche, a 38-year-old fan of Steffi Graf's. Seles, who was off the court for 27 months, blamed her binge-eating disorder on the incident. (30 April 1993).
11
Tennis player who was ranked number one in the world at the end of 1991, 1992 and 1995. She won 9 grand slam titles and 44 other tournaments. She didn't officially retire although she has not played since 2003, in May, when she lost in the first round of Roland Garros.
$12 Million
