Factbox: Former world number one Monica Seles
Factbox on former world number one Monica Seles who officially retired on Thursday.
Factbox on former world number one Monica Seles who officially retired on Thursday.
Born December 2, 1973 in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia (now Serbia) to ethnic Hungarian parents.
*After winning a junior tournament in Florida, Seles and her family move to the US where Monica trained at the famous Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy.
*1988 - Makes professional debut at Boca Raton in Florida, aged 14 years, three months. Loses in the second round to American Chris Evert.
* 1989 - As a 15-year-old unranked wildcard she wins her first WTA title in Houston, beating Evert in the final. She breaks into the top 10 in the world rankings less than year after beginning her career.
*1990 - Seles finishes year at number two in the world after winning 36 singles matches in a row and six titles including the French Open -- her first Grand Slam victory.
* 1991-92 - Tops the world rankings after a remarkable year in which she reached the final in all 16 events she entered, winning 10. Wins grand slam titles at the Australian, French and U.S. Opens and defends all three the following year.
*1993 - Seles is stabbed in the back with a knife during a quarter-final match at the Hamburg Open by a German man, Guenter Parche, a fan of German rival Steffi Graf. Seles does not play for 28 months.
* 1994 - Becomes a U.S. citizen. Goes on to represent her adopted country in the Fed Cup, winning it in 1996 and 2000.
* 1995 - After more than two years out of action, Seles wins her first tournament back, the Canadian Open. Wins her fourth Australian Open in 1996, her last grand slam title.
*1999 - Suffers stress fracture to her right foot and misses the latter part of the year which she ends sixth in the rankings.
*2003 - An injury-ravaged season ends with Seles finishing outside of top 10 for the first time. Suffers first-round exit at Roland Garros at the hands of Russian Nadia Petrova, her last competitive appearance.
*2005 - Plays two exhibition series against Martina Navratilova in New Zealand, losing both games, but declaring herself ready to begin the comeback trail. Despite starting several training programs aimed at a return, foot problems keep Seles away from the court and she finally quits in February 2008.