Veteran Seles finally calls time on stellar tennis career
Friday, 15 Feb 2008 09:03
Monica Seles was one of tennis' greatest talents in the early 1990s
Former world number one Monica Seles has officially announced her retirement from professional tennis at the age of 34.
Despite not having played competitively for nearly five years due to a persistent injury, Seles had been reluctant to officially bring an end to her professional career.
"Tennis has been and will always be a huge part of my life," Seles said.
"I have for some time considered a return to professional play, but I have now decided not to pursue that."
She added: "I will continue to play exhibitions, participate in charity events and promote the sport but I will no longer plan my schedule around the WTA tour."
Seles said she would pursue other opportunities in life, and thanked her "wonderful, loyal" fans for their support throughout her career.
"They have inspired me in the good times and comforted me in the bad times," she explained.
"I will miss them all as much as I will miss competing in the game of tennis."
Born in the old Yugoslavia and raised and coached in the United States from the age of 13, Seles shot to fame in 1990 when she won the French Open grand slam as a 17-year-old.
She also rose to the top of the world rankings in 1991 and was one of the world's most dominant young players.
However, arguably the most famous event in Seles' career was when a crazed spectator ran on court when she was playing a tournament in Germany in April 1993 and stabbed her in the back.
The horrifying incident, which was blamed on a fan of Steffi Graf who apparently wanted the German to regain her place at the top of the world rankings, left the tennis world shocked and Seles was forced to take nearly two-and-a-half years away from the tour.
Upon her return Seles won one final grand slam title in Melbourne in 1996 but failed to regain the blistering form of her early career.
Eventually an ongoing foot injury, which has hampered her for several years, forced her to step back from the tour in 2003.
She now hangs up her racket with nine grand slam titles - the only one missing from her collection being Wimbledon, where she was a finalist in 1992.