The character arc of Monica Seles
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born on 2 December 1973 in Novi Sad, then Yugoslavia, into an ethnic Hungarian family. Between then and now sit a father who drew pictures to make her practice fun and gave her a two-handed shot off both wings, a junior title at eleven, a move to Florida at twelve, a thirty six match winning streak in 1990, the youngest French Open title ever at sixteen, eight majors before her twentieth birthday, 178 weeks at world number one, an attack on court in Hamburg on 30 April 1993, more than two years away from the game, a comeback in August 1995, a ninth major in Melbourne, an Olympic bronze, and the Hall of Fame. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Monica Seles?
Eight majors before twenty. Then somebody walked out of the crowd.
Her father was a professional cartoonist who coached her from the age of five and drew pictures for her to make the tennis more fun. He is the reason she hit two-handed off both wings, which almost nobody did. At eleven she won a junior tournament in Miami, which caught the eye of a famous coach, and at twelve she and her brother moved from Yugoslavia to Florida to train. Their parents followed nine months later.
The record she then set as a teenager is still barely believable. In 1990 she went on a thirty six match winning streak, won six consecutive tournaments, beat the world number one in Berlin and then beat her again in the French Open final, becoming the youngest champion in the history of that tournament at sixteen years and six months. She was the first woman to win her first six major finals. Between the 1990 French Open and the 1993 Australian Open she won eight of the eleven majors she entered, all of them before her twentieth birthday, which is still the Open Era record.
On 30 April 1993, in a quarterfinal in Hamburg, a man ran out of the crowd during the break between games and stabbed her in the back with a knife as she sat in her chair. The German authorities described him as confused and possibly disturbed, and said he had intended to injure her badly enough that her rival would return to the top of the rankings. He spent less than six months in pre-trial detention and was given two years of probation and treatment.
The wound healed in weeks. She did not play professional tennis for more than two years, and the record says she struggled with depression and an eating disorder in that time. She said later that from the time she was stabbed she did not think the security had changed, and that she would not go back to Germany, because the man had stabbed her intentionally and served no punishment for it.
She became an American citizen in 1994 and returned in August 1995. She won her first tournament back, the Canadian Open, dropping fewer games than any champion in the tournament history, and reached the US Open final a month later. In 1996 she won the Australian Open, her ninth major, at twenty two. She took an Olympic bronze in 2000, played her last match at the 2003 French Open, retired officially in 2008 and was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in January 2009. Players and historians have argued that without the attack she would have become the most accomplished woman ever to play.
The moments
Monica Seles's timeline.
The 1970s
Born in Novi Sad
Everyday. Novi Sad, and a Hungarian family.
Her father draws for her
Milestone, and it changed everything. He drew cartoons so practice would be fun.
The 1980s
A title at eleven
Milestone, and it changed her direction. Eleven years old, and somebody noticed.
Florida at twelve
Milestone, and it changed everything. Two children, a new country, and the parents nine months behind.
The 1990s
The youngest ever
Milestone, and it changed everything. Sixteen years and six months, and nobody has beaten it.
Eight majors, still a teenager
Milestone, and it changed everything. Eight majors before she turned twenty.
Stabbed on court
Setback, and it changed everything. Sitting in her chair, between games.
Why he did it
Setback, and it changed everything. He wanted her off the court, and he got two years of it.
Two years away
Setback, and it changed everything. The wound healed in weeks. The rest took years.
He is given probation
Setback, and it changed everything. Her own words about what he served.
Stay away, or come back
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: go back on court, taken, or stop at eight. She won the first tournament she entered, reached the US Open final a month later, and took a ninth major in Melbourne.
She wins her first back
Milestone, and it changed everything. First tournament back, and she won it losing fourteen games.
A US Open final
Milestone, and it changed her direction. Five weeks back, and in a major final.
A ninth major
Milestone, and it changed everything. Nine majors, and the last one came after all of it.
The 2000s
Olympic bronze
Milestone, and it changed her direction. A medal, for her second country.
Her last match
Setback, and it changed everything. The only first round she ever lost at a major.
The Hall of Fame
Milestone, and it changed everything. Fifty three titles, 178 weeks at number one, and the Hall of Fame.
She is in the Hall of Fame and on the lists of the greatest to have played. What she set moving is a question nobody can answer and everybody asks, which is what she would have won, and a fact that is not in doubt, which is that she came back from it and won a ninth.
Your turn
Every line draws a unique story.
Hers was interrupted at nineteen by something she had no part in, and she came back and won again anyway. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Monica Seles: frequently asked questions
What people ask about her line.
What is Monica Seles's character arc?
What happened to Monica Seles in Hamburg?
How many Grand Slams did Monica Seles win?
How young was Monica Seles at her first major?
Did Monica Seles come back after the attack?
What did Monica Seles say about her attacker?
Where does this timeline of Monica Seles's life come from?
More character arcs
Lives that rhyme with her.
Sources
- Monica Seles, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
- Her WTA record, as that biography sets it out.
- Her own 2011 comments on security and on Germany, as quoted there.
- The International Tennis Hall of Fame induction of 11 July 2009.