‘So Important for All of Us to Give Back to the Sport’ – Nine-Time Grand Slam Champion Monica Seles Opens up on Inspiring the Next Generation of Players

Monica Seles was a force to reckon with during the late 80s and the early 90s. After the dominance of Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, Seles emerged on the women’s circuit, carving a niche for herself. She had a remarkable couple of years, that saw her win six Grand Slam titles in 1991 and 1992, to be precise. Moreover, she fell just short of achieving a Calendar Year Grand Slam in 1992, losing to Steffi Graf in the summit clash at Wimbledon.

A former World Number 1, she was one of the few players who had a superior head-to-head record against Martina Navratilova. Recently, she opened up on inspiring the next generation of players, which is a service to the sport.

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Monica Seles feels privileged on being a role model

The tennis legend spoke about being a role model for the younger generation of players. She said, “Being a role model is always a great honor a great privilege. It carries a lot of weight because I had my own role models, like Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert.”

Further, she added, “I think it’s so important for all of us to give back to the sport. As a young girl growing up in my former country of Yugoslavia, I never imagined playing a sport that I love to play with my dad would give me all these opportunities. I’ve always tried to stay mindful of that and just to let the younger generation know there’s so much joy in playing the sport.”

Apart from her nine Grand Slam trophies, Seles reached a number of Major finals. Additionally, she also tasted success at WTA Tour Championships and Tier 1 tournaments. Furthermore, she won the bronze medal at the Sydney Olympics.

23-time Grand Slam champion, Serena Williams, was amongst the many inspired by Seles. The two played against each other during Serena’s early days in tennis. Serena held a superior record against Seles, winning four out of the five matches played against her. The younger Williams sister grew up watching Seles play on TV. Later, after surpassing Seles for weeks spent as World No.1, Serena revealed that she was her favorite player.

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