The Open Era
Yugoslavia and United States · born Novi Sad, 1973 · left-handed, two hands on both sides · Wimbledon finalist 1992
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1992
Wimbledon final, her only defeat at the majors that year
4
Wimbledon quarter-finals, 1990 to 2002
9
Major singles titles, none on grass
27
Months off the tour, April 1993 to August 1995
Born in Novi Sad on 2 December 1973 to an ethnic Hungarian family, Seles was taught by her father in a car park, won the European under-12 title in 1984 and moved to Nick Bollettieri's academy in Florida in 1986. Hitting with two hands on both sides, she won nine major singles titles between 1990 and 1996: the French Open three times, the Australian Open four times and the US Open twice. On 30 April 1993, at No. 1, she was stabbed by a spectator during a quarter-final in Hamburg and did not play again until August 1995, when she won the Canadian Open. She became a US citizen in 1994, won three Fed Cups with the United States and Olympic bronze in Sydney in 2000, played her last match in 2003 and entered the Hall of Fame in 2009.
| Wimbledon singles | Finalist 1992; quarter-finals 1990, 1998, 2000 and 2002 |
|---|---|
| Finals to remember | 1992: as top seed, lost to Steffi Graf 2-6, 1-6 in 58 minutes, after three rain delays totalling 4 hours 24 minutes. It was the only match she lost at the majors that year |
| Wimbledon 1990 | Quarter-final: lost to Zina Garrison 9-7 in the third set |
| Absences | 1991 withdrew three days before the start; 1993 to 1995 off the tour after the Hamburg attack; 2001 and 2003 did not play |
| Grass titles | None. Wimbledon 1992 was her only final on grass |
| Eastbourne | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Women's singles | |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"Not really but just for myself, I don't think I lost the match because I was not grunting."
The person behind the player.
Novi Sad · childhood
Her father Karolj, a well-known Yugoslav cartoonist and a former national triple-jump champion, painted court lines in a car park on Balzakova Street and started teaching her there at five. At TK Novi Sad, where the membership form spelled her name "Monika Szeles", club members remembered a shy, humble girl who was "always super focused".
Source: UbitennisWimbledon 1991
Three days before Wimbledon she withdrew, citing a "minor accident", then disappeared from view without answering the WTA or her own agents. A London tabloid reported she was pregnant, which was untrue. She was fined $6,000 and reappeared 27 days later at an exhibition in New Jersey. "I needed my time alone," she said. "The best part is that now I can walk down the street without a disguise."
Source: Sports IllustratedWimbledon 1992 · final
After Tauziat and Navratilova complained about her grunting, the chair umpire for the final, Sultan Gangji, consulted the referee Alan Mills about the rule on distracting an opponent. He planned, if needed, to tell her discreetly: "Monica in my opinion you're being deliberate by making noise, please cut it out." She played quietly and lost to Graf.
Source: Tennis365Wimbledon 1992 · press room
Asked about the grunting after a final that lasted 58 minutes of play across a day of rain delays, she gave no excuses. Graf, she said, was playing very well, while she could not find her serve or her form. "I could give all the credit to Steffi," she said.
Source: SportskeedaHamburg 1993 to Toronto 1995
On 30 April 1993, during a quarter-final against Magdalena Maleeva in Hamburg, a spectator who was a fan of Graf attacked her with a knife on court. She was the world No. 1. She did not play on the tour again for more than two years, and in August 1995, in her first tournament back, she won the Canadian Open.
Source: WikipediaNovi Sad 2012
She left Novi Sad for Florida in 1986 and later took US citizenship, but the city kept her. It made her an honorary citizen in 1993, named a court after her in 2012, and in 2013 unveiled a mural on her childhood home at Balzakova Street 26.
Source: UbitennisFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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