Monica Seles Biography

Monica Seles became a teen tennis sensation in 1990, when she won the French Open at age 16 and then became the world’s number-one ranked female tennis player.

Seles was known for her aggressive game and for the distinctive grunts she made with nearly every shot.

Her career was interrupted by a bizarre incident at a 1993 match in Hamburg, Germany, when she was stabbed in the back by a crazed fan of tennis star Steffi Graf.

The wound was not critical, but Seles was out of tennis for over a year and her days as the game’s dominant player were over. She returned to the tour, playing her last competitive match in 2003.

She formally announced her retirement in 2008.

Monica Seles won 53 singles titles during her pro career. That included nine Grand Slam titles: the French Open in 1990, 1991, and 1992; the U.S. Open in 1991 and 1992; and the Australian Open in 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1996.

Seles never won at Wimbledon, making the finals once in 1992 but losing to Steffi Graf.