Monica Seles

Monica Seles (Hungarian: Szeles Mónika, Serbian: Моника Селеш, Monika Seleš, pronounced [ˈsɛlɛʃ],^[1] born December 2, 1973) is 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.^[2]^[3] 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 the youngest-ever French Open champion at the age of 16. She went on to win eight Grand Slam singles titles before her 20th birthday and was the year-end World No. 1 in 1991 and 1992. However, on April 30, 1993, she was the victim of an on-court attack, when a man stabbed her in the back with a 9-inch (23 cm) long knife; Seles did not return to tennis for over two years.^[4] Though she enjoyed some success after rejoining the tour in 1995, including a fourth Australian Open title in 1996, she was unable to consistently reproduce her best form. She played her last professional match at the 2003 French Open, but did not officially retire until February 2008.

In June 2011, Seles was named one of the "30 Legends of Women's Tennis: Past, Present and Future" by Time.^[5]

Early life and career

Seles was born in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia, current-day Serbia, into an ethnic Hungarian family. Her parents are Ester (Eszter) and Karolj (Károly)^[6] and she has an older brother, Zoltán. She began playing tennis at age five, coached by her father, a professional cartoonist employed for decades at the Dnevnik and Magyar Szó newspapers,^[7] who drew pictures for her to make her tennis more fun. He is responsible for developing her two-handed style for both the forehand and backhand.^[8] Later, her coach was Jelena Genčić. In 1985, at the age of 11, she won the Orange Bowl tournament in Miami, Florida, catching the attention of tennis coach Nick Bollettieri. In 1986 the Seles family moved from Yugoslavia to the United States, and Seles enrolled at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, where she trained for two years.

Seles played her first professional tournament as an amateur in 1988 at age 14. The following year she turned professional on February 13, 1989, and joined the professional tour full-time, winning her first career title at Houston in May 1989, where she beat the soon-to-retire Chris Evert in the final. A month later, Seles reached the semifinals of her first Grand Slam singles tournament at the French Open, losing to then world no. 1 Steffi Graf, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6. Seles finished her first year on the tour ranked world no. 6.

Tennis career

1990–92

After a slow start at the beginning of the season, Seles went on a 36-match winning streak and won 6 consecutive tournaments starting in Miami at the Lipton Player's Championships. During that winning streak she also won the U.S. Hard Court Championships (San Antonio, Texas), the Eckerd Open (Tampa, Florida), the Italian Open, and the Lufthansa Cup in Berlin, Germany (defeating Steffi Graf in the final in straight sets). Seles then won her first Grand Slam singles title at the 1990 French Open. Facing world no. 1 Steffi Graf in the final, Seles saved four set points in a first set tiebreaker, which she won 8–6, and went on to take the match in straight sets. In doing so, she became the youngest-ever French Open singles titlist at the age of 16 years, 6 months. Her winning streak was stopped by Zina Garrison at Wimbledon in the quarterfinals which went to 9-7 in the 3rd set. Seles then won the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles title against Martina Navratilova 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, and then defeated Navratilova again in winning the Oakland California tournament, in straight sets 6-3, 7-6. She also won the 1990 year-end Virginia Slims Championships, defeating Gabriela Sabatini in five sets (in the first five-set women's match since 1901 US National Championships), becoming the youngest to ever win the Season-Ending Championships. She finished the year ranked world no. 2.

1991 was the first of two years in which Seles dominated the women's tour. She started out by winning the Australian Open in January, beating Jana Novotná in the final. In March, she replaced Graf as the world no. 1. She then successfully defended her French Open title, beating the former youngest-ever winner, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, in the final. Unable to play at Wimbledon, suffering from shin splints, Seles took a six-week break. But she was back in time for the US Open, which she won by beating Martina Navratilova in the final, her third Grand Slam title of the year, to cement her position at the top of the world rankings. She also won the year-end Virginia Slims Championships for the second consecutive time, defeating Navratilova in four sets. At the end of season, Seles had won 10 out of the 16 tournaments she entered (reaching the final of every tournament that she entered that year). She ended the year as the #1 ranked player in the world.

1992 was an equally dominant year. Seles successfully defended her titles at the Australian Open, the French Open, and the US Open. She also reached her first-ever final at Wimbledon, but lost to Graf, 2–6, 1–6.

From January 1991 through February 1993, Seles won 22 titles and reached 33 finals out of the 34 tournaments she played. She compiled a 159–12 win-loss record (92.9% winning percentage), including a 55–1 win-loss record (98%) in Grand Slam tournaments. In the broader context of her first four years on the circuit (1989–1992), Seles had a win-loss record of 231–25 (90.2%) and collected 30 titles. She once again ended the year as the #1 ranked player in the world.

Stabbing

Seles was the top women's player heading into 1993, having won the French Open three consecutive years and both the US Open and Australian Open in consecutive years. In January 1993, Seles defeated Graf in the final of the Australian Open, which to date was her third win in four Grand Slam finals against Graf. With eight Grand Slam singles titles before her 20th birthday on December 2, 1993, Seles holds the record for most Grand Slam singles titles won as a teenager in the Open Era. She then won the Virginia Slims of Chicago over Martina Navratilova in 3 sets. This was the last title that Seles won before the attack in Hamburg, Germany.

On April 30 during a quarterfinal match with Magdalena Maleeva in Hamburg in which Seles was leading 6–4, 4–3, Günter Parche, an obsessed fan of Steffi Graf, ran from the middle of the crowd to the edge of the court during a break between games and stabbed Seles with a boning knife between her shoulder blades, to a depth of 1.5 cm (0.59 inches). She was quickly rushed to a hospital. Although her physical injuries took only a few weeks to heal, she did not return to competitive tennis for more than two years. Initially, there was speculation that the attack may have been politically motivated because Seles was from Yugoslavia. She was known to have received death threats in relation to the ongoing conflict in her native Yugoslavia. However, German authorities were quick to rule this out, describing her attacker as confused and possibly mentally disturbed.^[4]

Parche was charged following the incident, but was not jailed because he was found to be psychologically abnormal, and was instead sentenced to two years' probation and psychological treatment. The incident prompted a significant increase in the level of security at tour events.^[4] At the French Open, held less than a month after the attack, the trophy presentation ceremony took place on the court, rather than in the stands amongst spectators, as it had been done previously. At that year's Wimbledon, the players seats were positioned with their backs to the umpire's chair, rather than the spectators. Seles, however, disputed the effectiveness of these measures. She was quoted in 2011 as saying "From the time I was stabbed, I think the security hasn't changed".^[9] Seles vowed never to play tennis in Germany again, disenchanted by the German legal system. "What people seem to be forgetting is that this man stabbed me intentionally and he did not serve any sort of punishment for it... I would not feel comfortable going back. I don't foresee that happening."^[10]

Young Elders, a band from Melbourne, Australia, sent their song called "Fly Monica Fly" to Seles while she was recuperating from the 1993 stabbing incident. She later said that the song provided inspiration to her at that time, and subsequently met the band (who later changed their name to the Monicas) following her victory at the Australian Open in 1996.^[11] The stabbing incident is the subject of Dan Bern's 1998 tribute to Seles, "Monica". Additionally, Detroit dreampop band Majesty Crush paid tribute with "Seles" from the 1993 album Love-15. Hugh Laurie wrote a parody song about the motivations of the attacker.

The WTA suggested that Seles' number one ranking be preserved during her absence, but did not do so.^[12] According to Seles' autobiography, all active tour players opposed the idea except Gabriela Sabatini, who abstained.^[13]^[14]

Comeback

Seles returned to the tour in August 1995. In the runup to her comeback, then WTA president Martina Navratilova proposed that Seles be reinstated alongside Steffi Graf as joint number one.^[12] The WTA did so despite some opposition from players including Arantxa Sánchez Vicario and Gigi Fernández, whose tournament placements would suffer greatly by suddenly being placed behind Seles.^[12]^[15] Graf supported Seles' co-ranking, but not the additional proposal that Seles' co-ranking not be determined by the minimum participation of 12 tournaments a year required of everyone else. Graf felt that would give Seles an unfair advantage in the rankings.^[12] Seles won her first comeback tournament, the Canadian Open, beating Amanda Coetzer in the final, 6–0, 6–1 and setting a tournament record for least number of games dropped by the champion throughout the tournament (14). The following month at the US Open, Seles reached the final defeating world No.10 Anke Huber, No.4 Jana Novotná, No.3 Conchita Martínez (all in straight sets), but lost to Graf in the final, 6–7, 6–0, 3–6.

In January 1996, Seles won her fourth Australian Open, beating Anke Huber in the final. Her pivotal match was the semifinal vs rising American star Chanda Rubin who led her 5-3 in the final set, and had 2 break points to lead 5-1. Seles came back from 2 points from defeat to triumph and reach the final. This was to be Seles' last Grand Slam title, as she struggled to recapture her best form on a consistent basis. Seles was the runner-up at the US Open to Steffi Graf again in 1996. Her last Grand Slam final came at the French Open in 1998. In the run to the final she had defeated world no. 3 Jana Novotná in three sets and world no. 1 Martina Hingis in straight sets, but lost to Sánchez Vicario in the three-set final.

While she did not reach another Grand Slam singles final, she did consistently reach the quarterfinal and semifinal stages in those tournaments and was a fixture in the WTA Tour's top 10. In 2002, her last full year on the tour, she finished the year ranked world no. 7, defeated Venus Williams, Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati, Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters, and Lindsay Davenport, and reached at least the quarterfinals at each Grand Slam tournament.

Monica Seles competed at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, where she beat Sabatini in a third round match before losing to Jana Novotná in the quarterfinals. Four years later, at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Seles captured her first Olympic medal, a bronze in singles. She defeated Jelena Dokic in the bronze medal match, after pushing eventual gold medalist Venus Williams to a tough 3 setter in the semis, losing 6-3 in the final set.

After becoming a U.S. citizen in 1994, Seles helped the U.S. team win the Fed Cup in 1996, 1999, and 2000.

Hiatus and retirement

Seles in the 2007 exhibition against Martina Navratilova in New Orleans, Louisiana

In the spring of 2003, Seles sustained a foot injury. She was forced to withdraw during the second set of a match against Nadia Petrova at the Italian Open. Then, a couple of weeks later and still injured, she lost in straight sets to the same player in the first round of the 2003 French Open. It was the only time she ever lost a first-round match at a Grand Slam. She never again played an official tour match.^[16]

In February 2005, Seles played two exhibition matches in New Zealand against Navratilova. Despite losing both matches, she played competitively and announced that she could return to the game early in 2006; however, she did not do so. She played three exhibition matches against Navratilova in 2007. On April 5, she defeated Navratilova in Houston, Texas, on clay, 7–6 (1), 2–6, 10–1 (tiebreak).^[17] On September 14, Seles defeated Navratilova on an indoor court in New Orleans, Louisiana, 6–2, 6–4. On September 16, she beat her on clay in Bucharest, Romania, 3–6, 6–3, 10–7 (tiebreak).^[18]

In December 2007, Seles told the press that Lindsay Davenport's successful return to the tour had inspired her to consider her own limited comeback to play Grand Slam tournaments and the major warm-up events for those tournaments. However, on February 14, 2008, Seles announced her official retirement from professional tennis.^[19]

In January 2009, Seles was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.^[20]

Assessment

Seles was listed as the 13th greatest player of all time (men and women) by (U.S.) Tennis magazine and was also one of 15 women named by Australian Tennis magazine as the greatest champions of the last 30 years (players were listed chronologically).

In 2012, Tennis Channel created a list of the "100 Greatest Of All Time" tennis players. Seles was listed at #19.

Seles's career was affected by the stabbing incident; her trajectory was indicative of continuing future greatness. During the height of her career (1990 French Open through the 1993 Australian Open), she won 8 of the 11 Grand Slam singles tournaments she contested.

Seles' outfit at the Tennis Hall of Fame Museum at the Newport Casino, Newport, Rhode Island

Until her loss to Martina Hingis at the 1999 Australian Open, Seles had a perfect record at the event (33–0), which is the longest undefeated streak for this tournament (although Margaret Court won 38 consecutive matches there from 1960 to 1968 after losing a match in 1959). It also marked her first defeat in Australia, having won the Sydney tournament in 1996. Seles was the first female tennis player to win her first six Grand Slam singles finals: 1990 French Open, 1991 Australian Open, 1991 French Open, 1991 US Open, 1992 Australian Open, and 1992 French Open. Seles was also the first female player since Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling in 1937 to win the women's singles title three consecutive years at the French Open. (Chris Evert, however, won the title the four consecutive times she played the tournament: 1974, 1975, 1979, and 1980; in 2007, Justine Henin won her third consecutive French Open singles title.) With eight Grand Slam singles titles before her 20th birthday, Seles holds the record for most Grand Slam singles titles won as a teenager in the Open Era.

Shortly after her retirement, Sports Illustrated writer Jon Wertheim summed up her later career:

Yet, transformed from champion to tragedienne, Seles became far more popular than she was while winning all those titles. It became impossible to root against her. At first, out of sympathy. Then, because she revealed herself to be so thoroughly thoughtful, graceful, dignified. When she quietly announced her retirement last week at age 34, she exited as perhaps the most adored figure in the sport's history. As happy endings go, one could do worse.^[21]

Seles was a popular player, winning the inaugural Sanex Hero of the Year award in 2002. This award was voted by fans around the world. She was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009.^[22]

Equipment and endorsements

In the early 1990s, Seles signed a $4-million endorsement contract with Fila to promote its footwear and tennis apparel.^[23] She used a Prince original graphite racquet on court.^[24] In August of the 1990 season, Seles switched to a Yonex racquet.

When she returned to the tour in 1995 after the stabbing sabbatical, Seles wore apparel by Nike and used a Yonex racquet on court.

In the 2000s, Seles wore apparel by Yonex and used Yonex SRQ Ti-800 Pro Long racquet on court.^[25]

Autobiography

On April 21, 2009, Seles released her memoir Getting A Grip: On My Body, My Mind, My Self which chronicles her bout with depression and food addiction after her stabbing, her father's cancer diagnosis and eventual death, her journey back to the game and a life beyond tennis.^[26]

Personal life

Since 2009, Seles has been dating billionaire Tom Golisano, some 32 years her senior.^[27]^[28] The two announced their engagement on June 5, 2014.^[29]

Entertainment

In 1996, Seles made a guest appearance in the TV sitcom The Nanny.^[30] She also appeared in 2008 in the TV series Dancing with the Stars as one of the contestants.^[31]

Career statistics

Main article: Monica Seles career statistics

Grand Slam singles finals: 13 finals (9 titles, 4 runners-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1990	French Open	Clay	Steffi Graf	7–6^(8–6), 6–4
Winner	1991	Australian Open	Hard	Jana Novotná	5–7, 6–3, 6–1
Winner	1991	French Open (2)	Clay	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	6–3, 6–4
Winner	1991	US Open	Hard	Martina Navratilova	7–6^(7–1), 6–1
Winner	1992	Australian Open (2)	Hard	Mary Joe Fernández	6–2, 6–3
Winner	1992	French Open (3)	Clay	Steffi Graf	6–2, 3–6, 10–8
Runner-up	1992	Wimbledon	Grass	Steffi Graf	2–6, 1–6
Winner	1992	US Open (2)	Hard	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	6–3, 6–3
Winner	1993	Australian Open (3)	Hard	Steffi Graf	4–6, 6–3, 6–2
Runner-up	1995	US Open	Hard	Steffi Graf	6–7^(6–8), 6–0, 3–6
Winner	1996	Australian Open (4)	Hard	Anke Huber	6–4, 6–1
Runner-up	1996	US Open	Hard	Steffi Graf	5–7, 4–6
Runner-up	1998	French Open	Clay	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	6–7^(5–7), 6–0, 2–6

Singles performance timeline

**Key**
W	F	SF	QF	R#	RR	Q#	A	P	Z#	PO	G	F-S	SF-B	NMS	NH

(W) Won tournament; reached (F) final, (SF) semifinal, (QF) quarterfinal; (R#) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; competed at a (RR) round-robin stage; reached a (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent from tournament; played in a (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; won a (G) gold, (F-S) silver or (SF-B) bronze Olympic medal; a (NMS) downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament; or (NH) tournament not held.

To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated either at the conclusion of a tournament, or when the player's participation in the tournament has ended.

Tournament	W–L	SR	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
			Yugoslavia							United States
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open	43–4	4 / 8	A	A	A	W	W	W	A	A	W	A	A	SF	A	QF	SF	2R
French Open	54–8	3 / 11	A	SF	W	W	W	A	A	A	QF	SF	F	SF	QF	A	QF	1R
Wimbledon	30–9	0 / 9	A	4R	QF	A	F	A	A	A	2R	3R	QF	3R	QF	A	QF	A
US Open	53–10	2 / 12	A	4R	3R	W	W	A	A	F	F	QF	QF	QF	QF	4R	QF	A
Win–Loss	180–31	9 / 40	0–0	11–3	13–2	21–0	27–1	7–0	0–0	6–1	17–3	11–3	14–3	16–4	12–3	7–2	17–4	1–2

Records

These records were attained in Open Era of tennis.
Records in bold indicate peer-less achievements.

Grand Slam	Years	Record accomplished	Player tied
Australian Open—French Open	1990–93	Simultaneous holder of 3 consecutive Australian Open and French Open titles	Stands alone
Australian Open	1991	Won title on the first attempt	Virginia Wade
Australian Open	1991–93	3 consecutive titles	Margaret Court Evonne Goolagong Cawley Steffi Graf Martina Hingis
Australian Open	1991–99	33 consecutive wins	Stands alone
French Open	1990–92	3 consecutive titles	Justine Henin
French Open	1990	Youngest ever champion (16 years old)	Stands alone
Grand Slam tournaments	1992	Reached all four Grand Slam finals in a calendar year	Margaret Court Chris Evert Martina Navratilova Steffi Graf Martina Hingis Justine Henin

References

↑ Pronounced in Hungarian and Serbo-Croatian
↑ "Grossly Abbreviated". Canadian Online Explorer. 2007-07-01. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
↑ "Titokban lett magyar állampolgár Szeles Mónika (Szeles Mónika has become a Hungarian citizen in secret)". Heti Világgazdaság (in Hungarian). 2007-06-07. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
1 2 3 "1993: Tennis star stabbed". On This Day 30 April 1993 (BBC). 1993-04-30. Retrieved 2011-07-17.
↑ William Lee Adams (June 22, 2011). "30 Legends of Women's Tennis: Past, Present and Future – Monica Seles". TIME. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
↑ http://www.wtatennis.com/players/player/7354
↑ Najbolja jugoslovenska teniserka Monika Seleš (1.deo) - Naša Mala Mo!;Studio, 1990
↑ Seles, Monica with Nancy Ann Richardson (1996) Monica From Fear to Victory
↑ O'Sullivan, John (2011-04-09). "Seles still has issues with security". Sport (The Irish Times). Retrieved 2011-04-15.
↑ Wood, Stephen (November 16, 2000). "WTA Under Fire from Seles". BBC Sport (BBC).
↑ Seles, Monica (1996). Monica: From Fear to Victory.
1 2 3 4 "Comeback: Back stabbers". New York Magazine (New York Media, LLC): 78. 31 July 1995. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
↑ "Seles is back in the limelight". The Irish Times. 26 June 1996. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
↑ Torok, Sebastián. "Gaby Sabatini. "Ahora disfruto de todo lo que no hice cuando jugaba"". canchallena.com (in Spanish).
↑ "NY Times: It's not easy being a third wheel". Retrieved 8 July 2015.
↑ Monica Seles playing activity WTA Tour website
↑ Seles Sighting: Monica plays Martina in exhibition
↑ "Monica Seles defeats Martina Navratilova in exhibition match in Bucharest". Womenstennisblog.com. 2007-09-17. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
↑ "Seles Announces Retirement From Professional Tennis". Sonyericssonwtatour.com. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
↑ Robbins, Liz (January 16, 2009). "Seles Is Elected to Hall of Fame". The New York Times.
↑ Wertheim, Jon (2008-02-20). "Tennis Mailbag: Saluting Seles". SportsIllustrated.com. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
↑ Seles Elected to Hall of Fame ESPN.com, January 15, 2009
↑ Horovitz, Bruce (June 26, 1990). "Athletic Firms Going to the Net in Quest for Next Tennis Celebrity". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
↑ Perrotta, Tom (June 30, 2012). "Finding the spin may be a racquet". The Australian. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
↑ "WHAT THEY'RE WEARING (AND HITTING WITH) AT THE U.S. OPEN". SportsBusiness Journal. 28 August 2000. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
↑ Kearl, Mary (July 2009). "Getting a Grip: From Stabbing to Bingeing: Monica Seles's Recovery". AOL Health. Retrieved July 2009.
↑ Wilson, Greg. "Monica Seles Courting Billionaire, 67". NBC New York. Retrieved 2011-12-20.
↑ Abelson, Max (December 20, 2011). "Bankers Seek to Debunk Attack on Top 1%". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2011-12-20.
↑ Benny, Michael (June 5, 2014). Upstate Billionaire Tom Golisano reveals engagement to tennis star Monica Seles. WTVH. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
↑ "The Nanny". Lakeland Ledger. March 11, 1996. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
↑ "Meet Dancing Stars Monica Seles and Cristian de la Fuente". TV Guide. March 14, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2012.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Monica Seles.

Monica Seles at the Women's Tennis Association
Monica Seles at the International Tennis Federation
Monica Seles at the Fed Cup
BBC Sport profile
Monica Seles at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
Monica Seles at the Internet Movie Database

Monica Seles (Achievement predecessor & successor)

Sporting positions
Preceded by Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf	World No. 1 March 11, 1991 - August 4, 1991 August 12, 1991 - August 18, 1991 September 9, 1991 - June 6, 1993 August 15, 1995 - November 3, 1996 (with S. Graf) November 18, 1996 - November 24, 1996 (with S. Graf)	Succeeded by Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Svetlana Kitić Mateja Svet	Yugoslav Sportswoman of the Year 1985 1990	Succeeded by Mateja Svet None
Preceded by Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	WTA Most Improved Player 1990	Succeeded by Gabriela Sabatini
Preceded by Steffi Graf	WTA Player of the Year 1991–1992	Succeeded by Steffi Graf
Preceded by Steffi Graf	ITF World Champion 1991–1992	Succeeded by Steffi Graf
Preceded by Merlene Ottey	United Press International Athlete of the Year 1991, 1992	Succeeded by Wang Junxia
Preceded by None	Best Female Tennis Player ESPY Award 1993	Succeeded by Steffi Graf
Preceded by None	Best Female Athlete ESPY Award 1993	Succeeded by Julie Krone
Preceded by Meredith McGrath Mary Pierce	WTA Comeback Player of the Year 1995 1998	Succeeded by Jennifer Capriati Sabine Appelmans
Preceded by Bonnie Blair	Flo Hyman Memorial Award 2000	Succeeded by Lisa Leslie

Monica Seles in the Grand Slam Tournaments

Women’s tennis players who won two or more Grand Slam singles titles in one calendar year

Four wins

1953: Maureen Connolly Brinker 1970: Margaret Court 1988: Steffi Graf

Three wins

1928: Helen Wills Moody (FO&WI&US)
1929: Helen Wills Moody (FO&WI&US)
1962: Margaret Court (AO&FO&US)
1965: Margaret Court (AO&WI&US)
1969: Margaret Court (AO&FO&US)
1972: Billie Jean King (FO&WI&US)
1973: Margaret Court (AO&FO&US)
1983: Martina Navratilova (AO&WI&US)
1984: Martina Navratilova (FO&WI&US)
1989: Steffi Graf (AO&WI&US)
1991: Monica Seles (AO&FO&US)
1992: Monica Seles (AO&FO&US)
1993: Steffi Graf (FO&WI&US)
1995: Steffi Graf (FO&WI&US)
1996: Steffi Graf (FO&WI&US)
1997: Martina Hingis (AO&WI&US)
2002: Serena Williams (FO&WI&US)
2015: Serena Williams (AO&FO&WI)

Two wins

1925: Suzanne Lenglen (FO&WI)
1927: Helen Wills Moody (WI&US)
1930: Helen Wills Moody (FO&WI)
1931: Cilly Aussem (FO&WI)
1932: Helen Wills Moody (FO&WI)
1939: Alice Marble (WI&US)
1946: Pauline Betz Addie (WI&US)
1949: Margaret Osborne duPont (FO&US)
1950: Louise Bough Clapp (AO&WI)
1952: Maureen Connolly Brinker (WI&US)
1954: Maureen Connolly Brinker (FO&WI)
1956: Shirley Fry Irvin (WI&US)
1957: Althea Gibson (WI&US)
1958: Althea Gibson (WI&US)
1959: Maria Bueno (WI&US)
1960: Darlene Hard (FO&US)
1963: Margaret Court (AO&WI)
1964: Margaret Court (AO&FO)
1964: Maria Bueno (WI&US)
1967: Billie Jean King (WI&US)
1968: Billie Jean King (AO&WI)
1971: Evonne Goolagong Cawley (FO&WI)
1974: Chris Evert (FO&WI)
1975: Chris Evert (FO&US)
1976: Chris Evert (WI&US)
1980: Chris Evert (FO&US)
1982: Martina Navratilova (FO&WI)
1982: Chris Evert (AO&US)
1985: Martina Navratilova (AO&WI)
1986: Martina Navratilova (WI&US)
1987: Martina Navratilova (WI&US)
1994: Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (FO&US)
2000: Venus Williams (WI&US)
2001: Jennifer Capriati (AO&FO)
2001: Venus Williams (WI&US)
2003: Serena Williams (AO&WI)
2003: Justine Henin (FO&US)
2006: Amélie Mauresmo (AO&WI)
2007: Justine Henin (FO&US)
2009: Serena Williams (AO&WI)
2010: Serena Williams (AO&WI)
2012: Serena Williams (WI&US)
2013: Serena Williams (FO&US)

AO=Australian Open, FO=French Open, WI=Wimbledon, US=US Open

Australian Open women's singles champions

French Open women's singles champions

US Open women's singles champions

Female tennis players who have won 3 or more Grand Slam singles titles in one year

1928–29: Helen Wills Moody (3) 1953: Maureen Connolly Brinker (4) 1962–65–69–70–73: Margaret Court (3–3–3–4–3) 1972: Billie Jean King (3) 1983–84: Martina Navratilova (3) 1988–89–93–95–96: Steffi Graf (4–3–3–3–3) 1991–92: Monica Seles (3) 1997: Martina Hingis (3) 2002–15: Serena Williams (3)

Monica Seles Achievements

Women's Tennis Association (WTA) world No. 1 singles players

Chris Evert (1975/1985 – 260 w) Evonne Goolagong (1976 – 2 w) Martina Navratilova (1978/1987 – 331 w) Tracy Austin (1980 – 22 w) Steffi Graf (1987/1997 – 377 w) // Monica Seles (1991/1996 – 178 w) Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (1995 – 12 w) Martina Hingis (1997/2001 – 209 w) Lindsay Davenport (1998/2006 – 98 w) Jennifer Capriati (2001/2002 – 17 w) Venus Williams (2002 – 11 w) Serena Williams (2002/2016 – 290 w) Kim Clijsters (2003/2011 – 20 w) Justine Henin (2003/2008 – 117 w) Amélie Mauresmo (2004/2006 – 39 w) Maria Sharapova (2005/2012 – 21 w) Ana Ivanovic (2008 – 12 w) Jelena Janković (2008/2009 – 18 w) Dinara Safina (2009 – 26 w) Caroline Wozniacki (2010/2012 – 67 w) Victoria Azarenka (2012/2013 – 51 w)

WTA rankings incepted on November 3, 1975 (year first held/year last held – number of weeks (w)) current No. 1 in bold, as of week of April 25, 2016

WTA Year-end championships winners singles

Florida Sports Hall of Fame

A–C	1972 Miami Dolphins Ruth Alexander Michelle Akers Bobby Allison Donnie Allison Ottis Anderson Dave Andreychuk Don Aronow Paul Azinger Catie Ball Walter Lanier "Red" Barber Rick Barry Andy Bean Deane Beman Patty Berg Fred Biletnikoff Otis Birdsong Otis Boggs Wade Boggs Nick Bollettieri Tommy Bolt Pat Borders Julius Boros Tony Boselli Don Bosseler Bobby Bowden Scot Brantley Pat Bradley Derrick Brooks Jerome Brown Bill Buchalter Nick Buoniconti Lew Burdette Norm Carlson Steve Carlton Harold Carmichael JoAnne Carner Jimmy Carnes Don Carter Gary Carter Rick Casares Charles Casey Tracy Caulkins Wes Chandler Chandra Cheeseborough Dean Chenoweth Torchy Clark Jerry Collins Cris Collinsworth Pete Cooper Lee Corso Jim Courier Dave Cowens Gene Cox Larry Csonka Hugh Culverhouse Fran Curci

D–I	Darryl Dawkins Andre Dawson Gene Deckerhoff Jim Dooley Herb Dudley Angelo Dundee Hugh Durham James Everett Chris Evert J. Rex Farrior Forest K. Ferguson Joe Fields Sam Finley Don Fleming Raymond Floyd Eddie Flynn Bill France, Sr. Bill France, Jr. Betty Skelton Erde Ron Fraser Shirley Fry Rowdy Gaines Jake Gaither Willie Galimore Don Garlits Steve Garvey Ben Geraghty Althea Gibson Artis Gilmore Lafayette G. Golden Mary Ann Gonzalez Curt Gowdy Ray Graves Hubert Green Peter Gregg Bob Griese Andy Gustafson Jack Hairston Nicole Haislett Jack Harding Doris Hart Bill Hartack "Bullet" Bob Hayes Hurley Haywood Ted Hendricks Nash Higgins Hulk Hogan Nancy Hogshead Dick Howser Marcelino Huerta Wayne Huizenga Fred Hutchinson Michael Irvin

J–Q	Julian Jackson Davey Johnson Jimmy Johnson Deacon Jones Joe Justice Jim Kelly Bernie Kosar Nick Kotys Al Lang Floyd E. Lay Bernie Little Larry Little Pop Lloyd Al López Greg Louganis Dan Marino Mike Martin Tino Martinez Bob Masterson Walter "Tiger" Mayberry Dick Mayer Jack "Cy" McClairen Tim McDowell Tom McEwen Bill McGrotha Hal McRae Steve Melnyk George Mira Hubert Mizell Nat Moore Earl Morrall Perry Moss Gardnar Mulloy Bob Murphy Robert Allan Murphy Needles Jack Nelson Jack Nicklaus Greg Norman Tom Nugent Stephen C. O'Connell George R. Olsen Buck O'Neil Charles Owens Dick Pace Arnold Palmer John Pennel Newt Perry Bill Peterson Lou Piniella Dick Pope, Jr. Dick Pope, Sr. Edwin Pope Boog Powell Paul Quinn

R–Z	Tim Raines Jim Rathmann Dot Richardson Rick Rhoden Bobby Riggs Ken Riley Joe Robbie Glenn "Fireball" Roberts Robin Roberts Chi-Chi Rodríguez Tony Romeo Al Rosen Pete Sampras Deion Sanders Doug Sanders Gene Sarazen Herb Score Howard Schnellenberger Pancho Segura Earnie Seiler Monica Seles Ron Sellers Lee Roy Selmon Rip Sewell Frank Shorter Don Shula Hal Smeltzy Emmitt Smith Freddie Solomon Steve Spurrier George Steinbrenner Payne Stewart Lyn St. James Roger Strickland Pat Summerall Don Sutton Mark Swiconek Charlie Tate Zack Taylor Vinny Testaverde Gino Torretta James Van Fleet Dale Van Sickel Don Veller Dick Vitale Don Wallen Paul Waner Paul Warfield Glenn Wilkes Ted Williams Mary Wise Danny Wuerffel Early Wynn Garo Yepremian Jack Youngblood Babe Didrikson Zaharias

Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year

1931: Helene Madison
1932: Babe Didrikson Zaharias
1933: Helen Jacobs
1934: Virginia Van Wie
1935: Helen Wills
1936: Helen Stephens
1937: Katherine Rawls
1938: Patty Berg
1939: Alice Marble
1940: Alice Marble
1941: Betty Hicks
1942: Gloria Callen
1943: Patty Berg
1944: Ann Curtis
1945: Babe Didrikson Zaharias
1946: Babe Didrikson Zaharias
1947: Babe Didrikson Zaharias
1948: Fanny Blankers-Koen
1949: Marlene Hagge
1950: Babe Didrikson Zaharias
1951: Maureen Connolly
1952: Maureen Connolly
1953: Maureen Connolly
1954: Babe Didrikson Zaharias
1955: Patty Berg
1956: Pat McCormick
1957: Althea Gibson
1958: Althea Gibson
1959: Maria Bueno
1960: Wilma Rudolph
1961: Wilma Rudolph
1962: Dawn Fraser
1963: Mickey Wright
1964: Mickey Wright
1965: Kathy Whitworth
1966: Kathy Whitworth
1967: Billie Jean King
1968: Peggy Fleming
1969: Debbie Meyer
1970: Chi Cheng
1971: Evonne Goolagong
1972: Olga Korbut
1973: Billie Jean King
1974: Chris Evert
1975: Chris Evert
1976: Nadia Comăneci
1977: Chris Evert
1978: Nancy Lopez
1979: Tracy Austin
1980: Chris Evert
1981: Tracy Austin
1982: Mary Decker
1983: Martina Navratilova
1984: Mary Lou Retton
1985: Nancy Lopez
1986: Martina Navratilova
1987: Jackie Joyner-Kersee
1988: Florence Griffith-Joyner
1989: Steffi Graf
1990: Beth Daniel
1991: Monica Seles
1992: Monica Seles
1993: Sheryl Swoopes
1994: Bonnie Blair
1995: Rebecca Lobo
1996: Amy Van Dyken
1997: Martina Hingis
1998: Pak Se-ri
1999: United States women's national soccer team
2000: Marion Jones
2001: Jennifer Capriati
2002: Serena Williams
2003: Annika Sörenstam
2004: Annika Sörenstam
2005: Annika Sörenstam
2006: Lorena Ochoa
2007: Lorena Ochoa
2008: Candace Parker
2009: Serena Williams
2010: Lindsey Vonn
2011: Abby Wambach
2012: Gabby Douglas
2013: Serena Williams
2014: Mo'ne Davis
2015: Serena Williams

Best Female Athlete ESPY Award winners

1993: Seles 1994: Krone 1995: Blair 1996: Lobo 1997: Van Dyken 1998: Hamm 1999: Holdsclaw 2000: Graf 2001: Jones 2002: V. Williams 2003: S. Williams 2004: Taurasi 2005: Sörenstam 2006: Sörenstam 2007: Mowatt 2008: Parker 2009: Liukin 2010: Vonn 2011: Vonn 2012: Griner 2013: S. Williams 2014: Rousey 2015: Rousey

Dancing with the Stars (U.S. season 6)

Kristi Yamaguchi Jason Taylor Cristián de la Fuente Marissa Jaret Winokur Mario Shannon Elizabeth Marlee Matlin Priscilla Presley Adam Carolla Steve Guttenberg Monica Seles Penn Jillette

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 15578530 LCCN: n93123807 ISNI: 0000 0001 0873 1893 GND: 11936140X NDL: 00620140

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