Tennis legend Monica Seles has revealed she was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease three years ago. 

The 51-year-old, renowned for securing nine Grand Slam titles during her tennis career, has revealed her diagnosis of myasthenia gravis—a neuromuscular autoimmune disorder that weakens voluntary muscles—marking her first public discussion about the condition.

Now, ahead of the US Open, which begins on August 24, the Serbian-American spoke out on the disease for the first time to raise awareness. 

Seles, who gained fame by claiming her first major victory at just 16 during the 1990 French Open, shared with The Associated Press that her initial symptoms emerged while she was wielding a tennis racket.

‘I would play with kids or family, and suddenly miss balls. I thought, “I see two balls,” which were symptoms that couldn’t be ignored,’ explained Seles, who experienced a traumatic stabbing incident during a 1993 match.

‘For me, that marked the beginning of this journey. It took a long time for me to accept it and talk openly about it because it significantly impacts my daily life,’ Seles admitted.

Tennis legend Monica Seles has revealed she was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease

The Hall of Famer won nine grand Slam titles throughout her career on the court

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke describes it as ‘a chronic neuromuscular condition causing voluntary muscle weakness,’ typically affecting young women under 40 and older men over 60, but it can manifest at any age, even in childhood.

Seles said that she had been completely unaware of the condition before she saw a doctor over her symptoms. 

‘Upon diagnosis, my reaction was, “What?!” noted Seles, who collaborates with argenx, a Netherlands-based immunology firm, to advocate for their Go for Greater campaign. ‘This is why I can’t stress enough how valuable it would have been to hear someone like me speaking about it,’ she expressed.

She was referred to a neurologist after noticing double vision and weakness in her arms. Seles revealed that even drying her hair had become a challenge. 

The International Tennis Hall of Famer admitted that she has had to take time to adjust to her ‘new normal,’ learning to live life with her condition. 

‘I had to, in tennis terms, I guess, reset — hard reset — a few times. I call my first hard reset when I came to the U.S. as a young 13-year-old (from Yugoslavia). Didn’t speak the language; left my family. It’s a very tough time. 

‘Then, obviously, becoming a great player, it’s a reset, too, because the fame, money, the attention, changes (everything), and it’s hard as a 16-year-old to deal with all that. Then obviously my stabbing — I had to do a huge reset,’ Seles said.

‘And then, really, being diagnosed with myasthenia gravis: another reset. But one thing, as I tell kids that I mentor: ‘You’ve got to always adjust. That ball is bouncing, and you’ve just got to adjust,’ she added. ‘And that’s what I’m doing now.’ 

The retired star won her first Slam at the age of 16 in France, becoming the youngest to do so

Seles said that she first noticed symptoms, including double vision, while swinging a racket

At 16, Seles became the youngest Grand Slam winner when she defeated Steffi Graf in the final of the 1990 French Open. 

There then followed her period of dominance which saw her win two more Roland Garros titles, three Australian and two US Opens. Only defeat by Graf in the Wimbledon final of 1992 stopped her from clinching the calendar Slam that year.

However, her on-court charge came to a shuddering halt in 1993 when, aged 19, she was attacked by a crazed fan while playing in Germany. 

While playing the quarter final match in a tournament in Hamburg against Magdalena Maleeva, Guenter Parche, an unemployed German man, stabbed Seles in the back. 

He plunged a nine-inch serrated boning knife one-and-a-half inches into Seles’ upper back, just millimeters away from her spine.

Images from the day show the tennis idol being stretchered off the court and whisked to hospital. Her attacker was wrestled to the ground.

It later became clear that Parche had attacked her because he was a deranged fan of Graf, Seles’s fiercest rival. 

A psychiatric evaluation later declared that he had wanted to ‘teach Monica Seles a lesson’, commenting on her athletic figure, saying she was ‘not pretty. Women shouldn’t be as thin as a bone’.

On April 30th 1993, Seles, was stabbed by Guenter Parche, an unemployed German who had an obsession with fellow player Steffi Graf

The Tennis Hall of Famer admitted that she has had to take time to adjust to her ‘new normal’

Yet, by sheer will and determination, Seles mad a miraculous recovery, making her return to tennis at the 1995 Canadian Open, which she won, before competing at the US Open. 

Seles, who had become a US citizen in 1994, made it to the final at Flushing Meadows but ultimately lost to Graf. 

‘The way they welcomed me … after my stabbing, I will never forget,’ Seles said about the fans in New York. ‘Those are the moments that stay with you.’ 

Seles got back to a point where she won the Australian Open in 1996 and made the final of Roland Garros two years later. In 2003, she retired from tour tennis, not long after having sustained a foot injury.