Monica Seles
| Country | ||
| Residence | Sarasota, Florida | |
| Date of birth | December 2 1973 | |
| Place of birth | ||
| Height | m () | |
| Weight | 70 kg (154 lb) | |
| Turned Pro | ||
| Plays | Left; Two-handed both sides | |
| Career Prize Money | ||
| Singles | ||
| Career record: | 595-122 | |
| Career titles: | 53 | |
| Highest ranking: | No. 1 (March 11, 1991) | |
| Grand Slam results | ||
| W (1991, '92, '93, '96) | ||
| French Open | W (1990, '91, '92) | |
| Wimbledon | F (1992) | |
| U.S. Open | W (1991, '92) | |
| Doubles | ||
| Career record: | 89-45 | |
| Career titles: | 6 | |
| Highest ranking: | No. 16 ( |
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Infobox last updated on: August 24,
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| Olympic medal record | |||
| Women’s Tennis | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Competitor for |
|||
| Bronze | |||
Monica Seles (born December 2 1973) is a former world
No. 1 professional Yugoslav-American
Biography
Seles (
Considered to be one of the best players of all time, Seles began playing tennis at the age of six, coached by her father
Károly Szeles. She won her first tournament at the age of nine, despite not fully understanding the scoring system of the game
and having only a vague idea of whether she was leading or trailing her opponents during matches.[citation needed] In
Seles played her first professional tournament in 1988 at the age of 14. The following year, she
joined the professional tour full-time and won her first career title at Houston in May
Style
With punishing, sharp-angled two-fisted forehand and backhand shots and a dominating return of serve, Seles is considered by
many to be the first "power player" in the women's game, paving the way for players such as Venus and
A remarkable aspect of her style, the two-handed forehand, was expected to make her reach shorter, but she manages to compensate for the shorter reach by being able to hit balls much harder, with more top-spin, allowing her to hit sharper angles. Also, she had very fast feet, allowing herself to run down balls and get into a position to return a shot.
Brief Career History
Seles won her first Grand Slam singles title at the French Open in 1990. Facing World No. 1 Graf in the final, she saved four
set-points in a first-set tie-breaker, which she won 8-6, and went on to take the match in straight-sets. In doing so, she became
the youngest-ever French Open champion at the age of 16 years, 6 months. She also won the 1990 season-ending championships,
defeating
1991 was the first of two years in which Seles dominated the women's tour. She started out by
winning the
During the period from January 1991 to 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 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% winning percentage) and collected 30 titles. Only Evert had a better first four years in terms of winning percentage
(91.1% from 1971 to
Turning point: the 1993 stabbing
Seles was the top women's player heading into 1993, having won the French Open three consecutive years, and the US Open and Australian Open both in consecutive years. In January 1993, Seles defeated Graf in the final of the Australian Open, which was her third win in six Grand Slam matches with Graf.
However, everything changed following an incident that shocked the tennis world on April 30,
1993. During a quarterfinal match with Magdalena Maleeva in Hamburg in which Seles was leading 6-4, 4-3, a 38-year-old deranged fan of Graf,
Parche was charged following the incident but was not jailed because he was found to be psychologically abnormal and was instead sentenced to two years' probation and psychological treatment. The incident prompted a significant increase in the level of security at tour events.[1] She vowed never to play tennis in Germany again.
During her layoff from competitive tennis, Seles became a United States citizen on May 17,
Comeback
Seles returned to the tour in August 1995 and won her first comeback tournament, the Canadian
Open, beating
In January 1996, Seles won her fourth Australian Open, beating Anke Huber in the final.
But this was to be her last Grand Slam title. Seles struggled to recapture her best form on a regular basis. Her difficulties
were compounded by having to cope with her father and long-term coach Károly being stricken by cancer and eventually passing away in 1998. Seles was runner-up at the U.S. Open to Graf again in 1996. Her last
Grand Slam final came at the French Open in 1998 (a few weeks after her father's death). She defeated world No. 3 Novotna in
three sets and world No. 1
After becoming a U.S. citizen in 1994, Seles helped the U.S. team win the Fed Cup in
In the spring of
Career assessment
Seles was listed as the 13th greatest player of all time (men and women) by (U.S.) Tennis magazine and was also one of 15 women named by Australian Tennis magazine as the greatest champions of the last 30 years (players were listed chronologically). Seles is also known as one of the greatest "big point" players of all-time, having tremendous mental fortitude during the toughest situations on the court.[citation needed]
Like Maureen Connolly, whose career was cut short by injury, Seles's career most probably was affected by the stabbing incident and it is impossible to know the course of her career had this not happened. Her trajectory was indicative of a great career - during the height of her career, 1990-1993, she was almost unstoppable (lost only 19 matches).
Grand Slam singles finals
Wins (9)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1990 | French Open | 7-6(6), 6-4 | |
| 1991 | 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 | ||
| 1991 | French Open (2) | 6-3, 6-4 | |
| 1991 | U.S. Open | 7-6(1), 6-1 | |
| 1992 | Australian Open (2) | 6-2, 6-3 | |
| 1992 | French Open (3) | 6-2, 3-6, 10-8 | |
| 1992 | U.S. Open (2) | 6-3, 6-3 | |
| 1993 | Australian Open (3) | 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 | |
| 1996 | Australian Open (4) | 6-4, 6-1 |
Runners-up (4)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| Wimbledon | 6-2, 6-1 | ||
| 1995 | U.S. Open | 7-6(6), 0-6, 6-3 | |
| U.S. Open | 7-5, 6-4 | ||
| French Open | 7-6(5), 0-6, 6-2 |
Titles (59)
Singles (53)
|
|
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | April 30, |
Houston, U.S. | Clay | 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 | |
| 2. | Hard | 6-1, 6-2 | |||
| 3. | April 1, |
Hard | 6-4, 6-3 | ||
| 4. | Clay | 6-1, 6-0 | |||
| 5. | May 13, |
Clay | 6-1, 6-1 | ||
| 6. | May 20, |
Berlin, |
Clay | 6-4, 6-3 | |
| 7. | June 10, |
French Open | Clay | 7-6(6), 6-4 | |
| 8. | August 19, |
Hard | 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(6) | ||
| 9. | Carpet (I) | 6-3, 7-6(5) | |||
| 10. | November 18, |
WTA Championships, New York City, USA | Carpet (I) | 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 | |
| 11. | January 27, 1991 | Hard | 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 | ||
| 12. | March 24, 1991 | Miami, USA | Hard | 6-3, 7-5 | |
| 13. | April 21, 1991 | Houston, USA | Clay | 6-4, 6-3 | |
| 14. | June 9, 1991 | French Open | Clay | 6-3, 6-4 | |
| 15. | Los Angeles, USA | Hard | 6-3, 6-1 | ||
| 16. | September 8, 1991 | U.S. Open | Hard | 7-6(1), 6-1 | |
| 17. | September 22, 1991 | Tokyo, Japan | Hard | 6-1, 6-1 | |
| 18. | Carpet (I) | 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 | |||
| 19. | Carpet (I) | 7-5, 6-1 | |||
| 20. | WTA Championships, New York City, USA | Carpet (I) | 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 | ||
| 21. | Australian Open | Hard | 6-2, 6-3 | ||
| 22. | February 9, |
Essen, Germany | Carpet (I) | 6-0, 6-3 | |
| 23. | Indian Wells, USA | Hard | 6-3, 6-1 | ||
| 24. | Houston, USA | Clay | 6-1, 6-1 | ||
| 25. | Clay | 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 | |||
| 26. | June 7, |
French Open | Clay | 6-2, 3-6, 10-8 | |
| 27. | September 13, |
U.S. Open | Hard | 6-3, 6-3 | |
| 28. | Tokyo, Japan | Carpet (I) | 6-2, 6-0 | ||
| 29. | Oakland, USA | Carpet (I) | 6-3 6-4 | ||
| 30. | WTA Championships, New York City, USA | Carpet (I) | 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 | ||
| 31. | Australian Open | Hard | 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 | ||
| 32. | February 14, 1993 | Carpet (I) | 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 | ||
| 33. | August 20, 1995 | Toronto, Canada | Hard | 6-0, 6-1 | |
| 34. | January 14, |
Sydney, Australia | Hard | 4-6 7-6(7) 6-3 | |
| 35. | Australian Open | Hard | 6-4, 6-1 | ||
| 36. | June 23, |
Grass | 6-0, 6-2 | ||
| 37. | August 11, |
Hard | 6-1, 7-6(2) | ||
| 38. | September 22, |
Tokyo, Japan | Hard | 6-1, 6-4 | |
| 39. | Los Angeles, USA | Hard | 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 | ||
| 40. | August 17, 1997 | Toronto, Canada | Hard | 6-2, 6-4 | |
| 41. | Tokyo, Japan | Hard | 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(5) | ||
| 42. | Montreal, Canada | Hard | 6-3 ,6-2 | ||
| 43. | Tokyo, Japan | Hard | 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 | ||
| 44. | Clay | 6-2, 6-3 | |||
| 45. | February 27, 2000 | Hard (I) | 6-1, 7-6(3) | ||
| 46. | April 16, 2000 | Amelia Island, USA | Clay | 6-3, 6-2 | |
| 47. | Italian Open, Rome, Italy | Clay | 6-2, 7-6(4) | ||
| 48. | February 25, |
Oklahoma City, USA | Hard (I) | 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 | |
| 49. | Hard | 6-3, 6-3 | |||
| 50. | October 7, |
Tokyo, Japan | Hard | 6-3, 6-2 | |
| 51. | October 14, |
Hard | 6-2, 6-3 | ||
| 52. | Doha, |
Hard | 7-6(6), 6-3 | ||
| 53. | Clay | 6-4, 6-2 |
Doubles (6)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents in the final | Score |
| 1. | May 13, |
Clay | 6-3, 6-4 | |||
| 2. | March 31, 1991 | Hard | 7-6(2), 6-2 | |||
| 3. | Italian Open, Rome, Italy | Clay | 7-5, 6-2 | |||
| 4. | Italian Open, Rome, Italy | Clay | 6-1, 6-2 | |||
| 5. | Tokyo, Japan | Hard | 6-1, 6-0 | |||
| 6. | Tokyo, Japan | Hard | 6-4, 6-4 |
Runner-ups (35)
Singles (32)
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Doubles (3)
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Singles performance timeline
| Tournament | Career Win-Loss | Career SR | 1988 | 1991 | 1993 | 1995 | 1997 | 1999 | 2000 | 2002 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43-4 | 4 / 8 | A | A | A | W | W | W | A | A | W | A | A | SF | A | QF | SF | 2R | |
| French Open | 54-8 | 3 / 11 | A | SF | W | W | W | A | A | A | QF | SF | F | SF | QF | A | QF | 1R |
| Wimbledon | 30-9 | 0 / 9 | A | 4R | QF | A | F | A | A | A | 2R | 3R | QF | 3R | QF | A | QF | A |
| US Open | 53-10 | 2 / 12 | A | 4R | 3R | W | W | A | A | F | F | QF | QF | QF | QF | 4R | QF | A |
| Grand Slam SR | N/A | 9 / 40 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 3 | 1 / 3 | 3 / 3 | 3 / 4 | 1 / 1 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 1 | 1 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 2 |
| Grand Slam Win-Loss | 180-31 | N/A | 0-0 | 11-3 | 13-2 | 21-0 | 27-1 | 7-0 | 0-0 | 6-1 | 17-3 | 11-3 | 14-3 | 16-4 | 12-3 | 7-2 | 17-4 | 1-2 |
| WTA Tour Championships | 18-6 | 3 / 9 | A | QF | W | W | W | A | A | A | 4R | 4R | QF | A | F | A | QF | A |
| Tokyo | 9-4 | 0 / 4 | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | A | A | A | QF | A | A | SF | A | A | F | F |
| 17-5 | 1 / 6 | NH | A | A | F | W | A | A | A | A | A | A | 3R | QF | 2R | SF | A | |
| 32-7 | 2 / 9 | 2R | A | W | W | QF | A | A | A | A | F | 3R | 4R | SF | A | SF | A | |
| Charleston | 12-5 | 0 / 5 | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | F | SF | 3R | SF | A | 3R | A |
| Berlin | 5-0 | 1 / 1 | A | A | W | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A |
| 21-5 | 2 / 7 | A | A | W | F | F | A | A | A | A | 3R | 3R | A | W | A | A | 2R | |
| Toronto/Montreal | 31-3 | 4 / 7 | A | A | A | A | F | A | A | W | W | W | W | F | A | SF | A | A |
| 3-1 | 0 / 1 | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | A | A | F | A | A | A | A | A | |
| Finalist | 32 | N/A | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Titles Won | 53 | N/A | 0 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Overall Win-Loss | 595-122 | N/A | 5-3 | 33-8 | 54-6 | 74-6 | 70-5 | 17-2 | 0-0 | 11-1 | 47-8 | 45-13 | 46-13 | 38-13 | 58-13 | 40-10 | 47-14 | 10-7 |
| Year End Ranking | N/A | N/A | 86 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | - | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 7 | 60 |
- NH = tournament not held
- A = did not participate in the tournament
- SR = the ratio of the number of singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played
1 The Indian Wells tournament achievedTier I status only in 1996.
WTA Tour career earnings
| Year | Majors | WTA wins | Total wins | Earnings ($) | Money list rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 1,637,222 | 2 |
| 1991 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 2,422,206 | 1 |
| 1992 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 2,622,352 | 1 |
| 1993 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 437,588 | 16 |
| 1994 | DNP | ||||
| 1995 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 397,010 | 16 |
| 1996 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1,154,499 | 5 |
| 1997 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 914,020 | 5 |
| 1998 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1,021,672 | 6 |
| 1999 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 744,741 | 8 |
| 2000 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1,140,850 | 5 |
| 2001 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 627,211 | 15 |
| 2002 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1,096,630 | 8 |
| 2003 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 276,213 | 38 |
| Career | 9 | 44 | 53 | 14,891,762 | 8 |
Trivia
| Trivia sections are discouraged under
Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- Seles is
left-handed . - Seles was the first female tennis player to win her first six
Grand Slam singles finals: 1990 French Open, 1991Australian Open , 1991 French Open, 1991 U.S. Open, 1992 Australian Open, and 1992 French Open. - Seles won the first five set women's singles match in many years, in 1990 against
Gabriela Sabatini at the year end WTA Tour Championships. - 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. It also marked her first defeat in Australia, having won the Sydney tournament in 1996. - Seles was the first female player since Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling in 1937
to win the women's singles title three consecutive years at the French Open. Chris Evert,
however, won the title four consecutive times she played the tournament (1974, 1975, 1979, and 1980). In 2007,
Justine Henin won her third consecutive French Open singles title. - Seles' final against Martina Navratilova at the 1991 U.S. Open was the only all left-handed women's singles final of a Grand Slam event.
- The age gap between Seles (17 years old) and Navratilova (34 years old) at the 1991 U.S. Open was the largest in a Grand Slam women's singles final.
- Seles appeared on the sitcom The Nanny as herself.
- Seles won the inaugural Sanex Hero of the Year award in 2002. This award was voted by fans around the world.
- Young Elders, a band from
Melbourne , Australia sent their song called Fly Monica Fly to Seles while she was recuperating from the 1993 stabbing incident. According to her autobiography [2] the song provided inspiration to her at that time and Seles subsequently met the band (who later changed their name to The Monicas) following her victory at the Australian Open in 1996. - Singer/songwriter
Dan Bern has a song about Seles on his Fifty Eggs album entitled "Monica". - With eight Grand Slam singles titles before her 20th birthday, Seles holds the record for most Grand Slam singles titles won as a teenager.
See also
References
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/30/newsid_2499000/2499161.stm
- ^ Seles, Monica (1996). Monica: From Fear to Victory.
External links
- Monica Seles profile on the
WTA Tour's official website - Fed Cup record
- Monica Seles unofficial website
- Monica Seles Site -unofficial website, has Video clips of her matches and a very active forum
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf |
World No.
1 March 11, 1991 - August 4, 1991 August 12, 1991 - August 18, 1991 September 9, 1991 - June 6, 1993 August 15, 1995 - November 3, 1996 (with Graf) November 18, 1996 - November 24, 1996 (with Graf) |
Succeeded by Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by |
1990 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Steffi Graf |
1991-1992 |
Succeeded by Steffi Graf |
| Preceded by Steffi Graf |
ITF World
Champion 1991-1992 |
Succeeded by Steffi Graf |
| Preceded by Meredith McGrath |
1995 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Mary Pierce |
WTA Comeback Player of the Year 1998 |
Succeeded by Sabine Appelmans |
| Preceded by Merlene Ottey |
United Press International Athlete of the Year 1991, 1992 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Bonnie Blair |
2000 |
Succeeded by |