At the time, ‘Seles was dominating Graf while Graf dominated all others,’ was how Pam Shriver described it. However, that wasn’t an on-court problem. Her problem, like so many other women of that era, was Steffi Graf. In the broader context of her first four years on the circuit (1989–1992), Seles had a win-loss record of 231–25 (90.2%) and collected 30 titles. She compiled a 159–12 win-loss record (92.9% winning percentage), including a 55–1 win-loss record (98%) in Grand Slam tournaments. At the age of just 19, she was world number one, was coming off a run of 22 straight singles titles, and had eight Grand Slams to her name.įrom January 1991 until February 1993, Seles won 22 titles and reached 33 finals out of the 34 tournaments she played. It’s tough to really put into context just how impressive Seles was at the time of the attack. It was, after all, a career that still produced 55 titles including nine Grand Slams despite unprecedented adversity. More importantly, it was a moment that changed Seles, and robbed us all, and herself, of what surely would have been a truly remarkable career. On April 30, 1993, then-world number one Seles was stabbed by a fan whilst playing Magdalena Maleeva in the Citizen Cup, an undistinguished event in Hamburg, Germany, in a moment that shocked tennis and the whole world. Monica Seles, sadly is someone who has experienced the true scope of sport’s capacity for cruelty. That’s something that is oft said but, in truth, it’s rarely more than just a saying, a mere turn of phrase. ![]() 24 years ago today, she won her first tournament after two-and-a-half years away from the game while recovering from her injuries. The on-court stabbing of Monica Seles is one of the very darkest, and saddest, tales tennis has to offer.
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