"It was a sheltered existence; After the stabbing, I was in a total different movie" - When Monica Seles spoke about needing 'more adventure' in life

Monica Seles once proclaimed that her outlook changed significantly after the stabbing incident, expressing a need for 'more adventure' in her life.

Seles emerged as a teenage prodigy, securing an impressive eight Grand Slam titles before turning 20, a feat unmatched in the sport to this day. However, her life took a drastic turn in 1993 when she encountered the wrath of a fan of her arch-rival, Steffi Graf.

Seles was viciously stabbed by a man named Gunter Parche during her quarterfinal match against Magdalena Maleeva at the Citizen Cup in Hamburg, Germany, that year. The attack inflicted a 3.8 cm wound between her shoulder blades. Parche's motive stemmed from his obsession with Steffi Graf, who was facing fierce competition from Seles at the time.

The incident shattered Seles' momentum and sidelined her for two years. Despite the setback, the Yugoslav-born American made a comeback in 1995 and won her last Major at the Australian Open a year later. However, she could never regain her peak form.

During a media interaction at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Monica Seles opened up about her life before and after the stabbing incident. She described her pre-stabbing life as a "sheltered existence," contrasting it with the turbulent reality she faced afterwards, likening it to being in a "totally different movie."

"It wasn't less adventure," Seles said. "It was a little bit more of sheltered existence, which, I think, all tennis players have that because when you are on the Tour, I don't think that is reality in life. Everything is taken care of for you, and in normal life, that is not the case."

"I have started on the tour since I was 15, so my all early teenage years I was in that movie. Then after the stabbing, I was in a total different movie. So I think now I seen both of it," she added.

The nine-time Grand Slam champion then expressed her desire to maintain a balance between being "more focused" on her goals and enjoying her life:

"I just want to find the balance where I am going to still be more focused, but still enjoy some things, because if you don't experience this, I think you will feel sorry."

---

Monica Seles on her post-stabbing comeback: "I didn’t have the same success I had before..that’s hard to deal with"

Monica Seles (L) pictured at the BNP Paribas Open 2024

During an interview with Inside Tennis following her induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009, Monica Seles discussed her stabbing incident once again.

While the 50-year-old expressed happiness about making a comeback on the WTA Tour, she admitted finding it difficult to cope with not being in her prime and achieving the same level of success as before.

"One thing I’m happy about is that I came back," Monica Seles said. "I didn’t have the same success I had before, and that’s a hard one to have to deal with."

"I wish I could have been in my prime, because in tennis the prime is really from 17 to 22. Tennis, unfortunately, for whatever reason, rewards youth," she added.

Seles' Grand Slam victories encompass four Australian Open (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996), three French Open (1990, 1991, 1992), and two US Open titles (1991, 1992). She never won Wimbledon, despite reaching the final once in 1992.