Fans send outpouring of support after Monica Seles goes public with sad revelation

Tennis fans are sending messages of support to American legend Monica Seles after the nine-time grand slam champion revealed for the first time she’s been dealing with a rare neuromuscular autoimmune disease. Speaking to The Associated Press on Tuesday, the 51-year-old revealed she was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis (MG) in 2022.

The disease affects between 150-200 per million people around the world, and causes weakness in voluntary muscles. It usually affects women under 40 and men over 60, although it can impact anyone at any age.

Seles said she’d been experiencing episodes of double vision and had weaknesses in her arm and leg. Simple activities like “blowing her hair out” became increasingly difficult. And it was while she was swinging a racquet that her issues were fully laid bare.

“I would be playing with some kids or family members, and I would miss a ball. I was like, ‘Yeah, I see two balls.’,” she revealed. “These are obviously symptoms that you can’t ignore.

“And for me, this is when this journey started. And it took me quite some time to really absorb it, speak openly about it, because it’s a difficult one. It affects my day-to-day life quite a lot.”

Seles is speaking publicly for the first time ahead of the US Open – which starts on August 24 – in the hope she can raise awareness. “When I got diagnosed, I was like, ‘What?!’” she said. “So this is where – I can’t emphasize enough – I wish I had somebody like me speak up about it.”

Monica Seles forced to ‘reset’ yet again

Seles said she’s been trying to fine her “new normal”, but is no stranger to overcoming adversity. She left her family and moved to the US from Yugoslovia when she was just 13, and was at the centre of an awful incident in 1993 when she was stabbed by a crazed fan during a match in Germany. She took two years out of the game before returning in 1995.

“I had to, in tennis terms I guess, reset – hard reset – a few times,” she said. “I call my first hard reset when I came to the US as a young 13-year-old. 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.

“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. And that’s what I’m doing now.”

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Seles is a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame and won 53 titles on the WTA Tour from 1989 to 2008. The former World No.1 won the Australian Open four times – in 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1996. She also won three French Open crowns and two US Open titles.

Fans took to social media to wish her the best after learning of her battle with Myasthenia Gravis for the first time on Tuesday. The ‘Tennis Now’ account wrote: “Our thoughts are with you legend.” While dozens of fans went messages of support.