STORIES
Sports
DONATE

Monica Seles

by Morgan from Columbus, Indiana

"To believe in yourself and to follow your dreams, to have goals in life and a drive to succeed, and to surround yourself with the things and the people that make you happy - this is success!"
Monica when she was little. (www.google.com)
Monica when she was little. (www.google.com)

Monica Seles is an excellent tennis player along with being a true hero and inspiration. With courage, hope, and perseverance, she has overcome many obstacles that have come her way.

Monica playing tennis. (www.google.com)
Monica playing tennis. (www.google.com)

Monica Seles was born in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia on December 2, 1973. She started playing tennis at age six. She only started playing tennis because she saw how much fun her brother was having when he played so she wanted to play, too. When Monica was eleven years old, she was named Female Athlete of the Year in Yugoslavia. She continued to play tennis and do well until April 30, 1993. On that day, she was stabbed in the back during a changeover in Germany. Fortunately, she was lucky enough not to have been paralyzed or even killed. After twenty-seven months, she started playing tennis again.

Monica after winning! (www.google.com)
Monica after winning! (www.google.com)

After recovering from her stabbing, a few years later her father passed away of cancer in 1998. She then took a break from tennis for awhile. But that didn’t stop Monica from returning to play tennis. In 2000, she won the Olympic Bronze Medal in Australia against Jelena Dokic. Then, during a tournament in Oklahoma City, she had foot problems. After battling so many obstacles, she needed to retire in May 2003. Monica has had many accomplishments during her tennis carrier including winning fifty-three W.T.A. tour singles titles. Monica has also won six doubles titles, four Australian Opens, three French Opens at Roland Garros, two US Opens, and she was also the youngest player to be ranked number one.

Monica has been an inspiration to her fans and also to me. She has inspired me to always go for my dream and to not give up hope. Monica has also taught me that if one or two or five horrible things happen to you, that you should always continue your dream because it's what you love to do.

Monica has showed that if you follow your dreams, that you can make a difference. She definitely did that because you don’t realize what some people have to do just to fight for what they love to do. Monica Seles definitely loved to play tennis.

Page created on 10/24/2009 2:16:20 PM

Last edited 10/24/2009 2:16:20 PM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.