Monica Seles

Monica Seles, Yugoslav-American tennis player, b. Serbia, of Hungarian heritage. She won her first major tournament, the French Open, in 1990, at the age of 16 and soon dominated women's tennis.

She was born on 2nd December 1973 in Novi Sad, Yougoslavia. Her father, Karolj, is a model for her. Karolj and Esther, the player's mother, had two children. Karolj is Monica's coach since the first time she played tennis.

In 1991 and 1992 she won the Australian, French, and U.S. opens. In 1993 she won the Australian Open again before she was stabbed in the back during a tournament in Hamburg, Germany, by a self-described fan of Steffi Graf.

She played her first professional tournament at 14 years old. It was in March 1988, in Florida, the Virginia Slims. She won against the 31th in the world, Helen Kelesi. She lost against Chris Evert but had proved she could beat the best in the world. The Houston Virginia Slims was going to begin. And Monica won this tournament! She won against a super player, Chris Evert, 3-6, 6-1 and 6-4!!! Her first try in a Grand Slam event occured a few weeks later, in Rolland-Garros, and Monica lost against Steffi Graf in the semi-finals. Moreover, Monica succeded until the 4th round of the UsOpen and of Wimbledon, which is fantastic for a young player.
The most beautiful day in Monica's career was March 11th, 1991. She became the best tennis player in the world, the #1, which has been for a long time Graf's position. Monica became the yougest player ever to reach the top spot. Monica wasn't only the #1 female player in the world. She also was the richest player, mostly because of her sponsors.