Monica Seles
Monica Seles
Monica Selesis a former Yugoslav world no. 1 professional tennis player and a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. An ethnic Hungarian, she was born and raised in Novi Sad, SFR Yugoslavia. She became a naturalized American citizen in 1994 and also received Hungarian citizenship in June 2007. She won nine Grand Slam singles titles, eight of them while a citizen of Yugoslavia and the final as a citizen of United States of America. In 1990, Seles became...
NationalityYugoslavian
ProfessionTennis Player
Date of Birth2 December 1973
Since I retired, I very much enjoy watching Serena Williams play. While I was playing, she was one of the toughest players I ever faced. Her ground strokes are so solid, her serve is one of the most powerful in women's tennis, and mentally she is just so strong.
I love new restaurants; I love trying out new foods.
As a top player, you have to keep your emotions in check. You think you can control everything.
For me, the biggest thing with money has always been independence - just the biggest.
Tennis is pretty unforgiving if you are carrying weight. You are expected to wear short skirts, and you are compared to all these 16 and 17-year-olds.
If you look at tennis, the girls have become much more attractive; they wear makeup. In my generation, you were a tennis player. It wasn't like you had to look a certain way.
It doesn't matter who is playing or how old they are. I just worry about what I can control. It doesn't give me more or less motivation.
I did realise more than ever, after the stabbing, that tennis is a business - a tough business.
If I find the person that I love, it is because I love them, not because I will be dependent on them.
I would like to thank all my tennis fans who were there from Day One when I was No. 1, through my stabbing, and my comeback.
What I put in the stock market, I don't have to touch in my lifetime. I want to live off my bonds. I want to be that safe.
Everybody has their story - at some point you have to say, 'This is who I am: Now it's up to me to become what I want to be.'
I lost my dad way too early and it was agonisingly awful. I missed him so much and I hated knowing that I could never again pick up the phone to tell him about my day.
Women athletes have the ability to serve as role models for women and girls throughout the world. I am excited to attend the World Economic Forum to explore ways in which the global community can continue to support athletes? ability to help create positive social change.