Monica Seles

Seles was born in Yugoslavia, Novi Sad (Serbia) to an ethnic Hungarian family. Her parents are Ester and Karolj{{cite web|url=http://www.wtatennis.com/players/player/7354|title=Players}} (Eszter and Károly in Hungarian){{cite web | url=https://hungarytoday.hu/hungarian-roots-monica-seles-monika-szeles-former-world-class-tennis-player-16693/ | title=Hungarian roots | date=August 5, 2016 | access-date=2 July 2019 | archive-date=July 3, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703044710/https://hungarytoday.hu/hungarian-roots-monica-seles-monika-szeles-former-world-class-tennis-player-16693/ | url-status=dead }} and she has an older brother, Zoltan (Zoltán in Hungarian). She began playing tennis at age five, coached by her father, a professional cartoonist employed for decades at the Dnevnik and Magyar Szó newspapers,[http://yugopapir.blogspot.ca/2013/03/najbolja-jugoslovenska-teniserka-monika.html Najbolja jugoslovenska teniserka Monika Seleš (1.deo) – Naša Mala Mo!];Studio, 1990 who drew pictures for her to make her tennis more fun. He is responsible for developing her two-handed style for both the forehand and backhand.Seles, Monica with Nancy Ann Richardson (1996) Monica From Fear to Victory Later, her coach was Jelena Genčić. In 1985, at the age of 11, she won the Junior Orange Bowl tournament in Miami, Florida, catching the attention of tennis coach Nick Bollettieri. In early 1986, Seles and her brother Zoltan moved from Yugoslavia to the United States, and Seles enrolled at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, where she trained for two years and continued to practice until March 1990. Nine months after their arrival at the academy, Seles' mother and father joined her and Zoltan in Florida.

Seles played her first professional tournament as an amateur in 1988 at age 14. The following year she turned professional on February 13, 1989, and joined the professional tour full-time, winning her first career title at Houston in May 1989, where she beat the soon-to-retire Chris Evert in the final. A month later, Seles reached the semifinals of her first Grand Slam singles tournament at the French Open, losing to then-world no. 1 Graf. Seles finished her first year on the tour ranked world no. 6.

After a slow start at the beginning of the season, Seles went on a 36-match winning streak and won 6 consecutive tournaments starting in Miami at the Lipton Player's Championships.{{cite web |title=10 great moments: Monica Seles |url=https://www.wtatennis.com/photos/1648056/10-great-moments-monica-seles |website=wtatennis.com |date=March 23, 2020}} During that winning streak she also won the U.S. Hard Court Championships, the Eckerd Open,{{cite news |title=Seles wins Eckerd Open |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/04/22/Seles-wins-Eckerd-Open/7025640756800/ |work=UPI |publisher=United Press International |date=April 22, 1990}} the Italian Open,{{cite news |last1=Levine |first1=Paul |title=Seles Defeats Navratilova in Straight Sets : Italian Open: She needs only 53 minutes in the final for 6–1, 6–1 victory against the world's second ranked woman |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-05-14-sp-92-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=May 14, 1990}} and the Lufthansa Cup in Berlin, Germany, defeating Steffi Graf in the final in straight sets.{{cite news |last1=Jenkins |first1=Sally |title=Seles Frustrates Capriati Short and Sweet |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1990/06/08/seles-frustrates-capriatishort-and-sweet-6-2-6-2/cb39a86f-cc15-4589-be93-7bf72111a24a/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=June 8, 1990}} Seles then won her first Grand Slam singles title at the 1990 French Open. Facing world no. 1 Graf in the final, Seles saved four set points in a first-set tiebreaker, which she won 8–6, and went on to take the match in straight sets.{{cite news |last1=Finn |first1=Robin |title=TENNIS; Seles Stuns Graf to Capture French Open Title |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/10/sports/tennis-seles-stuns-graf-to-capture-french-open-title.html |work=The New York Times |date=June 10, 1990}} In doing so, she became the youngest-ever French Open singles Champion at the age of 16 years, 6 months.{{cite news |last1=Bonk |first1=Thomas |title=At 16, Seles Savoring French Roll : Tennis: She comes back from four set points down in tiebreaker to upset Graf and become the youngest to win Grand Slam title in Paris. |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-06-10-sp-422-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=June 10, 1990}} Her winning streak was stopped by Zina Garrison at Wimbledon in the quarterfinals, where Seles had a match point before Garrison eventually won 9–7 in the third set.{{cite news |title=WIMBLEDON : Garrison Halts Seles' Streak at 36 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-07-03-sp-905-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=July 3, 1990}} Seles then won the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles title against Martina Navratilova{{cite news |title=In a Fight to the Finish, Seles Outduels Navratilova |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1990/08/20/in-a-fight-to-the-finish-seles-outduels-navratilova/1aabbb93-ab4a-4701-9e1d-9de84deffa6e/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=August 20, 1990}} and then defeated Navratilova again in winning the Oakland California tournament, in straight sets.{{cite news |title=Seles defeats Navratilova |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/11/04/Seles-defeats-Navratilova/5237657694800/ |work=UPI |publisher=United Press International |date=November 4, 1990}} She also won the 1990 year-end Virginia Slims Championships, defeating Gabriela Sabatini in five sets (in the first five-set women's match since the 1901 US National Championships), becoming the youngest to ever win the season-ending championships.{{cite news |last1=Muscatine |first1=Alison |title=Seles Beats Sabatini in 5-Set Finale |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1990/11/19/seles-beats-sabatini-in-5-set-finale/350dd8ee-529b-4a48-9817-2dc1513479dc/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 19, 1990}} She finished the year ranked world number 2.

1991 was the first of two years in which Seles dominated the women's tour. She started out by winning the Australian Open in January, beating Jana Novotná in the final.{{cite news |last1=Harwitt |first1=Sandra |title=TENNIS; Seles Rallies Past Novotna To Win Australian Open |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/27/sports/tennis-seles-rallies-past-novotna-to-win-australian-open.html |work=The New York Times |date=January 27, 1991}} In March, she replaced Graf as the world no. 1.{{cite web |last1=Sauer |first1=Patrick |title=Throwback Thursday: Monica Seles Takes the Throne |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/throwback-thursday-monica-seles-takes-the-throne/ |website=Vice |date=March 10, 2016}} She then successfully defended her French Open title, beating the former youngest-ever winner, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, in the final.{{cite news |last1=Sarni |first1=Jim |title=SELES TAKES SECOND STRAIGHT FRENCH TITLE |url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1991-06-09-9103020838-story.html |work=South Florida Sun-Sentinel |date=June 9, 1991}} Unable to play at Wimbledon, suffering from shin splints,{{cite news |title=SELES SOLVES 'WIMBLEDON MYSTERY' |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1991-07-18-9103200822-story.html |work=Chicago Tribune |date=July 18, 1991}} Seles took a six-week break. But she was back in time for the US Open, which she won by beating Martina Navratilova in the final, her third Grand Slam title of the year, to cement her position at the top of the world rankings.{{cite news |last1=Araton |first1=Harvey |title=TENNIS; Seles Bolts Past Navratilova to Win U.S. Open |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/08/sports/tennis-seles-bolts-past-navratilova-to-win-us-open.html |work=The New York Times |date=September 8, 1991}} She also won the year-end Virginia Slims Championships for the second consecutive time, defeating Navratilova in four sets.{{cite news |last1=Jordan |first1=Glenn |title=SELES TIRES MARTINA, WINS SLIMS TITLE |url=https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1991-11-25-0000209059-story.html |work=Hartford Courant |date=November 25, 1991}} At the end of season, Seles had won 10 out of the 16 tournaments she entered (reaching the final of every tournament that she entered that year). She ended the year as the no. 1 ranked player in the world.

File:Monica Seles 1991.jpg in San Antonio]]

1992 was an equally dominant year. Seles 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 Graf.{{cite news |last1=Finn |first1=Robin |title=Seles Bows Out Quietly as Graf Retains Title |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/sports/tennis/081499ten-graf-wimbledon-92.html |work=The New York Times |date=July 5, 1992}} During Wimbledon, Seles encountered difficulty because of her habit of grunting or shrieking loudly when hitting shots. Her quarterfinal opponent Nathalie Tauziat was the first to complain to the chair umpire about it.{{cite news |last1=Roberts |first1=John |title=Tauziat criticises Seles' display |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tauziat-criticises-seles-display-1338249.html |work=The Independent |date=June 22, 1996}} During the third set of her semi-final match against Martina Navratilova, Navratilova also complained to the chair umpire about the grunting after Seles went up a break at 4–2. Seles ended up losing the game and the break, but broke back and closed out the match.{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-07-03-sp-1393-story.html |title=WIMBLEDON : Seles Quiets Navratilov |first=Thomas |last=Bonk |work=Los Angeles Times |date=1992-07-03 |access-date=2018-04-28 |df=mdy-all}}

From January 1991 through February 1993, Seles won 22 titles and reached 33 finals out of the 34 tournaments she played. She compiled a 159–12 win–loss record (92.9% winning percentage), including a 55–1 win–loss record (98%) in Grand Slam tournaments. 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.{{cite web |title=T365 Recall: Tennis' darkest day that saw Monica Seles stabbed on court |url=https://www.tennis365.com/t365-recall/t365-recall-tennis-darkest-day-that-saw-monica-seles-stabbed-on-court/ |website=tennis365.com |date=August 20, 2019}} She once again ended the year as the #1 ranked player in the world.

Seles was the top-ranked women's player heading into 1993, having won the French Open for three consecutive years and both the US Open and Australian Open in consecutive years. In January 1993, Seles defeated Graf in the final of the Australian Open, which, at that time, was her third win in four Grand Slam finals against Graf.{{cite news |last1=Clarey |first1=Christopher |title=TENNIS; Another Australian Open, Another Seles Title |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/30/sports/tennis-another-australian-open-another-seles-title.html |work=The New York Times |date=January 30, 1993}} She then won the Virginia Slims of Chicago over Martina Navratilova in three sets.{{cite news |title=Seles edges Martina in Chicago final |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1993/02/14/Seles-edges-Martina-in-Chicago-final/4315729666000/ |work=UPI |publisher=United Press International |date=February 14, 1993}} This was the last title that Seles won before the attack in Hamburg, Germany.

On April 30, 1993, during a quarterfinal match against Magdalena Maleeva at the Citizen Cup in Hamburg, Germany, a German man named Günter Parche, an obsessed fan of Seles's rival Graf, ran from the middle of the crowd to the edge of the court during a break between games and stabbed Seles with a boning knife between her shoulder blades, to a depth of {{cvt|0.5|in|cm}}.{{cite news |title= Seles's Attacker Gets Suspended 2-Year Sentence |work= The New York Times |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/14/sports/tennis-seles-s-attacker-gets-suspended-2-year-sentence.html |agency=Associated Press |date=October 14, 1993}} She was quickly taken to a hospital. Her physical injuries took several weeks to heal, but she stayed away from competitive tennis for more than two years. Initially, there was speculation that the attack might have been politically motivated because Seles was from Yugoslavia. She was known to have received death threats in relation to the Yugoslav Wars. However, German authorities were quick to rule this out, describing her attacker as confused and possibly mentally disturbed.{{cite news|title=1993: Tennis star stabbed |work=On This Day 30 April 1993 |publisher=BBC |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/30/newsid_2499000/2499161.stm |date=1993-04-30 |access-date=2011-07-17}} According to police, Parche intended to severely injure Seles so that she would be unable to play tennis and Graf would become the world No. 1 player again.

Parche was charged following the incident, but spent less than 6 months in pre-trial detention.{{cite magazine |first=Giesla |last=Friedrichsen |title=Prozesse: Hätten Sie gern eine Frau? |date=March 27, 1995 |magazine=Der Spiegel |url =https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-9177083.html}} In his trial, he was found to be psychologically abnormal, and was sentenced to two years' probation and psychological treatment. The incident prompted a significant increase in the level of security at tennis tour events. At that year's Wimbledon, the players' seats were positioned with their backs to the umpire's chair, rather than the spectators. Seles, however, disputed the effectiveness of these measures. She was quoted in 2011 as saying, "From the time I was stabbed, I think the security hasn't changed".{{cite news | last =O'Sullivan | first =John | title =Seles still has issues with security | newspaper=The Irish Times | date =2011-04-09 | url = http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2011/0409/1224294297903.html | access-date =2011-04-15 }} Seles vowed never to play tennis in Germany again, disenchanted by the German legal system. "What people seem to be forgetting is that this man stabbed me intentionally and he did not serve any sort of punishment for it ... I would not feel comfortable going back. I don't foresee that happening."{{cite news |first=Stephen |last=Wood |title=WTA Under Fire from Seles |date=November 16, 2000 |publisher=BBC |url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/1025898.stm |work=BBC Sport }} In a later article, Tennis reported that Parche was living in nursing homes due to additional health problems. He died in a nursing home in August 2022 at the age of 68.{{cite news |last1=Jörgensen |first1=Steven |last2=Keim |first2=Karl |date=21 April 2023 |title=Seles-Attentäter Parche (68) tot |trans-title=Seles attacker Parche (68) dead |url=https://www.bild.de/sport/mehr-sport/tennis/tennis-attentaeter-der-monica-seles-in-den-ruecken-gestochen-hatte-ist-tot-83640774.bild.html |access-date=8 May 2023 |language=de |agency=Bild}}

Graf visited Seles while she was hospitalized.{{cite news|url=http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/05/navratilova-seles-would-have-won-most-slams/47293/ |title=Navratilova: Seles would have won most Slams |first=Matt |last=Cronin |work=Tennis.com |date=2013-05-01 |access-date=2017-06-06}} Young Elders, a band from Melbourne, Australia, sent their song called "Fly Monica Fly" to Seles while she was recuperating from the stabbing incident. She later said that the song provided inspiration to her at that time, and subsequently met the band (who later changed their name to the Monicas) following her victory at the Australian Open in 1996.{{cite book|year=1996|title=Monica: From Fear to Victory|url=https://archive.org/details/monicafromfearto00sele|url-access=registration| first1= Monica | last1= Seles| first2= Nancy Ann | last2= Richardson

| publisher= HarperCollins| edition= 1998| isbn= 9780006388005}} The stabbing incident is the subject of Dan Bern's 1998 tribute to Seles, "Monica". Additionally, American band Majesty Crush paid tribute with "Seles" from the 1993 album Love-15.

The WTA suggested that Seles's No. 1 ranking be preserved due to her absence from the stabbing, but the ranking was ultimately not preserved.{{cite journal |journal=New York Magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kOMCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA78|access-date=8 July 2015 |publisher=New York Media, LLC|page=78|title=Comeback: Back stabbers |date=31 July 1995}} A vote was held at a tournament in Rome in 1993, and 16 of the 17 top players who voted rejected the proposal – Graf did not participate in the tournament and was thus absent from voting. Of those who did vote, only Gabriela Sabatini, who abstained, did not reject the idea of freezing Seles's ranking until her return.{{cite news |last1=Finn |first1=Robin |title=TENNIS; For Seles, the Wound Still Hurts |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/27/sports/tennis-for-seles-the-wound-still-hurts.html |work=The New York Times |date=August 27, 1993}} Seles did not play tennis for two years and suffered from depression as well as an eating disorder as a result of the attack.

After becoming a U.S. citizen in 1994, Seles returned to the tour in August 1995. In the run-up to her comeback, then-WTA president Martina Navratilova proposed that Seles be reinstated alongside Graf as joint number one. The WTA did so despite some opposition from players including Arantxa Sánchez Vicario and Gigi Fernández, whose tournament placements would suffer greatly by suddenly being placed behind Seles.{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/24/sports/tennis-it-s-not-easy-being-the-third-wheel.html | title=NY Times: It's not easy being a third wheel | website=The New York Times | date=August 24, 1995 | access-date=8 July 2015| last1=Finn | first1=Robin }} Graf supported Seles' co-ranking, but not the additional proposal that Seles' co-ranking not be determined by the minimum participation of 12 tournaments a year required of everyone else. Graf felt that would give Seles an unfair advantage in the rankings. Seles won her first comeback tournament, the Canadian Open, beating Amanda Coetzer in the final and setting a tournament record for the fewest games dropped by the champion throughout the tournament (14).

The following month at the US Open, Seles reached the final defeating world No.10 Anke Huber, No. 4 Jana Novotná, and No. 3 Conchita Martínez (all in straight sets), but lost to Graf in the final.

In January 1996, Seles won her fourth Australian Open, beating Anke Huber in the final. Her pivotal match was the semifinal vs rising American star Chanda Rubin who led her 5–2 in the final set, and had two break points to lead 5–1. Seles came back from two points from defeat to triumph and reach the final. This was to be Seles' last Grand Slam title, as she struggled to recapture her best form on a consistent basis. Seles was the runner-up at the US Open to Graf again in 1996. Seles' last Grand Slam final came at the French Open in 1998, just a few weeks after the death of her father and former coach, Karolj, from cancer. In the run to the final she had defeated world no. 3 Jana Novotná in three sets and world no. 1 Martina Hingis in straight sets, but lost to Sánchez Vicario in the three-set final.

While she did not reach another Grand Slam singles final, she did consistently reach the quarterfinal and semifinal stages in those tournaments and was a fixture in the WTA Tour's top 10. In 2002, her last full year on the tour, she finished the year ranked world no. 7, defeated Venus Williams, Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati, Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters, and Lindsay Davenport, and reached at least the quarterfinals at each Grand Slam tournament.

Seles competed at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, where she beat Sabatini in a third round match before losing to Jana Novotná in the quarterfinals. Four years later, at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Seles captured her first Olympic medal, a bronze in singles. She defeated Jelena Dokic in the bronze medal match, after pushing eventual gold medalist Venus Williams to a tough three setter in the semis, losing 6–3 in the final set.

Seles helped the U.S. team win the Fed Cup in 1996, 1999, and 2000.

File:Monica Seles.jpg in New Orleans]]

In the spring of 2003, Seles sustained a foot injury. She was forced to withdraw during the second set of a match against Nadia Petrova at the Italian Open. Then, a couple of weeks later and still injured, she lost in straight sets to the same player in the first round of the 2003 French Open. It was the only time she ever lost a first-round match at a Grand Slam. She never again played an official tour match.[http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/2/players/playerprofiles/PlayerActivity.asp?PlayerID=190141 Monica Seles playing activity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080218113543/http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/2/players/playerprofiles/PlayerActivity.asp?PlayerID=190141 |date=February 18, 2008 }} WTA Tour website

In February 2005, Seles played two exhibition matches in New Zealand against Navratilova. Despite losing both matches, she played competitively and announced that she could return to the game early in 2006; however, she did not do so. She played three exhibition matches against Navratilova in 2007. On April 5, she defeated Navratilova in Houston, Texas on clay.[http://www.tennis.com/backcourt/general/backcourt.aspx?id=73172 Seles Sighting: Monica plays Martina in exhibition] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209034256/http://www.tennis.com/backcourt/general/backcourt.aspx?id=73172 |date=February 9, 2008 }} On September 14, Seles defeated Navratilova on an indoor court in New Orleans On September 16, she beat her on clay in Bucharest.{{cite web |url=http://www.womenstennisblog.com/2007/09/17/monica-seles-defeats-martina-navratilova-in-exhibition-match-in-bucharest |title=Monica Seles defeats Martina Navratilova in exhibition match in Bucharest |publisher=Womenstennisblog.com |date=2007-09-17 |access-date=2011-07-04 |archive-date=January 30, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080130081922/http://www.womenstennisblog.com/2007/09/17/monica-seles-defeats-martina-navratilova-in-exhibition-match-in-bucharest/ |url-status=dead }}

In December 2007, Seles told the press that Lindsay Davenport's successful return to the tour had inspired her to consider her own limited comeback to play Grand Slam tournaments and the major warm-up events for those tournaments. However, on February 14, 2008, Seles announced her official retirement from professional tennis.{{cite web |url=http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=2045 |title=Seles Announces Retirement From Professional Tennis |publisher=Sonyericssonwtatour.com |access-date=2011-07-04 |archive-date=May 2, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090502104445/http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=2045 |url-status=dead }}

In January 2009, Seles was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/sports/tennis/16tennis.html?_r=1 | work=The New York Times | title=Seles Is Elected to Hall of Fame | first=Liz | last=Robbins | date=January 16, 2009}}

File:Seles outfit and racket.jpg Museum at the Newport Casino]]

Seles is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.{{cite news|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/top-10-womens-tennis-players-all-time-where-does-serena-williams-rank-list-greatest-2073830|title=Top 10 Women's Tennis Players Of All-Time: Where Does Serena Williams Rank On List Of Greatest Ever?|newspaper=International Business Times|author1=Jason Le Miere|date=28 August 2015|access-date=30 January 2017}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/38769292|title=Serena Williams: Is she your greatest female player of the Open era?|work=BBC Sport|date=28 January 2017|access-date=30 January 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/16371992/tennis-top-20-all|title=Tennis' Top 20 of All Time|publisher=ESPN|author1=Greg Garber|author2=Thomas Neumann|author3=Johnette Howard|date=23 June 2016|access-date=30 January 2017}} In 2012, Tennis Channel created a list of the 100 greatest tennis players. Seles was listed at #19.

Seles won eight Grand Slam titles during her teenage years. However, her career was greatly affected by the stabbing incident. Some involved with the sport have declared that Seles could have become the most accomplished female player ever. In an article written 20 years after Seles was stabbed, Jonathan Scott of Tennis.com stated, "Would Monica Seles have been the greatest female tennis player ever? The world will never know." In a 2013 interview, Martina Navratilova theorized that if Seles had not been stabbed, "We'd be talking about Monica with the most Grand Slam titles [ahead of] Margaret Court or Steffi Graf." Mary Joe Fernandez declared that Seles would have at least doubled her Grand Slam championship tally, had she not been attacked. Tim Adams of The Guardian stated that Seles would have become "the greatest female tennis player ever to pick up a racket."

During the height of her career (the 1990 French Open through the 1993 Australian Open), she won eight of the 11 Grand Slam singles tournaments she contested. With eight Grand Slam singles titles before her 20th birthday, Seles holds the record for most Grand Slam singles titles won as a teenager in the Open Era.

Until her loss to Martina Hingis at the 1999 Australian Open, Seles had a perfect record at the event (33–0), which is the longest undefeated streak for this tournament (although Margaret Court won 38 consecutive matches there from 1960 to 1968 after losing a match in 1959). It also marked her first defeat in Australia, having won the Sydney tournament in 1996.

Seles was the first female tennis player to win her first six Grand Slam singles finals: 1990 French Open, 1991 Australian Open, 1991 French Open, 1991 US Open, 1992 Australian Open, and 1992 French Open. Seles was also the first female player since Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling in 1937 to win the women's singles title three consecutive years at the French Open, a feat subsequently achieved by Justine Henin in 2005–7. (Also, Chris Evert won the title in four consecutive appearances in 1974, 1975, 1979, and 1980).

Shortly after her retirement, Sports Illustrated writer Jon Wertheim stated:

{{blockquote|Yet, transformed from champion to tragedienne, Seles became far more popular than she was while winning all those titles. It became impossible to root against her. At first, out of sympathy. Then, because she revealed herself to be so thoroughly thoughtful, graceful, dignified. When she quietly announced her retirement last week at age 34, she exited as perhaps the most adored figure in the sport's history. As happy endings go, one could do worse.{{cite news|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/jon_wertheim/02/20/mailbag/index.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714023415/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/jon_wertheim/02/20/mailbag/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 14, 2012 |title=Tennis Mailbag: Saluting Seles |first=Jon |last=Wertheim |work=SportsIllustrated.com |date=2008-02-20 |access-date=2008-02-27}}}}

She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on July 11, 2009. In 2011, Seles was named one of the "30 Legends of Women's Tennis: Past, Present and Future" by Time.

Seles was a baseline player who was known for her power-based, highly aggressive playing style. Her unconventional double-handed forehand and backhand were both hit flat, with relentless speed, power, and depth. As a result of her two-handed groundstrokes, she could create sharp angles around the court, and hit winners at will.{{cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/tennis/french02/s/2002/0528/1387893.html|title=Seles still going as strong as she can|work=ESPN|date=17 July 2002|access-date=18 July 2020}} She was an aggressive return player, and would stand within the baseline to return serves. Further strengths included her fitness, speed, and court coverage, allowing her to be an excellent retriever, and hit winners from any position on the court.{{cite web|url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/58656-tennis-players-that-changed-the-game-monica-seles|title=Tennis Players That Changed the Game: Monica Seles|work=Bleacher Report|date=17 September 2008|access-date=18 July 2020}} Prior to her stabbing, Seles' greatest strengths were her powerful groundstrokes and mental toughness, with her being described as one of the toughest players to beat on the WTA tour.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/jul/03/the-greatest-monica-seles-warrior-queen-whose-reign-was-shattered|title=The greatest: Monica Seles – warrior queen whose reign was shattered|work=The Guardian|date=3 July 2020|access-date=18 July 2020}} Seles was also known for accompanying her shots with loud grunting, and was frequently criticized for doing so.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis-wimbledon-92-grunt-and-graf-in-way-of-seles-dream-the-determination-of-monica-seles-came-over-1530972.html|title=Tennis: Wimbledon '92 / Grunt and Graf in way of Seles dream: The determination of Monica Seles came over loud and clear as she beat Martina Navratilova yesterday|work=The Independent|date=3 July 1992|access-date=18 July 2020}} Due to her aggressive power game, she is considered one of the inspirations for modern WTA players such as Serena and Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, and Victoria Azarenka.

Seles had many coaches through the years. These included: Karoly Seleš (1979–1996), Jelena Genčić (1980–1986), Nick Bollettieri (1986–1990), Sven Groeneveld (1991–1992), Gavin Hopper (1997–1998), Bobby Banck (1999–2001), Mike Sell (2001–2002), and David Nainkin (2003).{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

In the early 1990s, Seles signed a $4-million endorsement contract with Fila to promote its footwear and tennis apparel.{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-06-26-fi-640-story.html |title=Athletic Firms Going to the Net in Quest for Next Tennis Celebrity |newspaper=The Los Angeles Times |date=June 26, 1990 |first=Bruce |last=Horovitz |access-date=September 11, 2014 }} She used a Prince original graphite racquet on court.{{cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/wall-street-journal/finding-the-spin/story-fnay3ubk-1226410204866?nk=ff5b5e1a7e3b23eca0390c14fd756c7e |title=Finding the spin may be a racquet |newspaper=The Australian |date=June 30, 2012 |first=Tom |last= Perrotta |access-date=September 11, 2014 }} In August of the 1990 season, Seles switched to a Yonex racquet.

When she returned to the tour in 1995 after the stabbing, Seles wore apparel by Nike and used a Yonex racquet on court.

In the 2000s, Seles wore apparel by Yonex and used Yonex SRQ Ti-800 Pro Long racquet on court.{{cite web|url=http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2000/08/20000828/No-Topic-Name/WHAT-THEYRE-WEARING-AND-HITTING-WITH-AT-THE-US-OPEN.aspx |title=WHAT THEY'RE WEARING (AND HITTING WITH) AT THE U.S. OPEN |publisher=SportsBusiness Journal |date=28 August 2000 |access-date=10 September 2014 }}

Seles was born and raised in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia (now Serbia) to an ethnic Hungarian family. She became a naturalized American citizen in 1994, and she received Hungarian citizenship in June 2007.{{cite web |date=July 1, 2007 |title=Canada will have its hands full |url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Columnists/Gross/2007/07/01/4305162-sun.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120802083927/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Columnists/Gross/2007/07/01/4305162-sun.html |archive-date=August 2, 2012 |access-date=June 27, 2024 |work=Canadian Online Explorer}}{{cite web |title=Titokban lett magyar állampolgár Szeles Mónika (Szeles Mónika has become a Hungarian citizen in secret) |work=Heti Világgazdaság |language=hu |url=http://hvg.hu/itthon/20070607_szeles_monika_allampolgar.aspx?s=24h |date=2007-06-07 |access-date=2008-05-09}}

On April 21, 2009, Seles released her memoir Getting A Grip: On My Body, My Mind, My Self, which chronicles her bout with depression and binge eating disorder (BED) after her stabbing, her father's cancer diagnosis and eventual death, her journey back to the game, and a life beyond tennis.{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103289593|title=Monica Seles On 'Getting A Grip' After Tragedy|newspaper=NPR.org|language=en|access-date=2017-01-30}}

Seles is married to businessman Tom Golisano,{{cite news| url= http://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/21404458/billionaire-thomas-golisano-husband-monica-seles-suing-yacht-renovations | agency= Associated Press| title= Former Sabres owner Thomas Golisano sues over yacht renovations| date= November 17, 2017 | location= Rochester, New York | website= ESPN.com| access-date= January 21, 2018}} who is 32 years her senior. They began dating in 2009.{{cite web|last=Wilson |first=Greg |url= http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/archive/Seles-Nets-Billionaire-Twice-Her-Age.html |title=Monica Seles Courting Billionaire, 67 |date=June 10, 2009 |publisher= NBC New York |access-date=2011-12-20}}{{cite news |last=Abelson |first=Max |via=europac.com |work=Business Week |url=http://www.europac.com/news/bankers_join_billionaires_debunk_%27imbecile%27_attack_top_1 |title=Bankers Seek to Debunk Attack on Top 1% |publisher=Bloomberg |date=December 20, 2011 |access-date=2011-12-20 }}{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The two announced their engagement on June 5, 2014.{{cite web|url=http://cnycentral.com/news/local/upstate-billionaire-tom-golisano-reveals-engagement-to-tennis-star-monica-seles |title= Upstate Billionaire Tom Golisano reveals engagement to tennis star Monica Seles |last= Benny |first= Michael| date=2014-06-06| publisher =WSTM|website= CNYCentral.com| access-date=2017-01-30}}

As of 2015, Seles is a paid spokesperson for Shire Pharmaceuticals, the makers of the first drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat binge eating disorder, to raise awareness of the disorder she has suffered from since she was a young adult. Seles would eat normal amounts of food at meals, and then secretly eat large amounts of junk food when she was alone.{{Cite news| url= https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/2015/03/08/monica-seles-gabriela-sabatini-exhibition-new-york/24609499/|title=Monica Seles sheds light on binge eating disorder|newspaper=USA Today|author=Casey, Tim|language=en| date=Mar 11, 2015|access-date=2017-01-30}}

She received the honorary citizenship of Novi Sad in 1993.{{Cite web |title=Почасни грађани {{!}} Скупштина Града Новог Сада |url=https://skupstina.novisad.rs/pocasni-gradjani/ |access-date=2025-02-24 |language=sr-RS}}

In 1993, Seinfeld featured an episode ("The Lip Reader") in which the creators fictionalized Seles's return to the US Open after her stabbing. In 1996, Seles made a guest appearance in the TV sitcom The Nanny.{{cite news|title=The Nanny|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=opksAAAAIBAJ&pg=5821,68672&dq=monica+seles+the-nanny&hl=en|access-date=November 5, 2012|newspaper=Lakeland Ledger|date=March 11, 1996}} She also appeared on the TV series Dancing with the Stars in 2008 as one of the contestants.{{cite news|title=Meet Dancing Stars Monica Seles and Cristian de la Fuente|url=http://www.tvguide.com/dancing-stars/meet-dancing-stars-10240.aspx|access-date=November 5, 2012|newspaper=TV Guide|date=March 14, 2008}}

{{Main|Monica Seles career statistics}}

{{Performance key|short=yes|active=no}}

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

• These records were attained in Open Era of tennis.
• Records in bold indicate peer-less achievements.

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