Monica Seles came to Abu Dhabi and had a speech at Zayed University on March 6, 2014. She visited ZU as part of Mubadala’s Inspirational Women 2014 project to support healthy and active lifestyles.
She encouraged ZU student to be healthy and have active lifestyles, and she told them about her personal and vocation life.
Monica Seles was born on December 2, 1973, in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia, to Hungarian parents. Her father taught her to play tennis in a parking lot when she was 5 years old. When she grew up, she became intent on beating her brother, who was No. 1 ranked junior tennis player in the country at the time. Her mother and her grandmother thought that girls shouldn’t spend so much time playing tennis.
She was only girl playing sports at school and the world’s youngest Yugoslavian tennis player. She was encouraged by her father and brother but her mother had the idea that tennis is not suitable for girls. “Thanks to my dad because he encouraged me,” said Ms. Seles
By the age of 13, Monica Seles started the career of playing tennis and she was the No. 1 junior tennis player in the world. At 16, she became the youngest person to win the French Open. At age 17, she was the youngest player at the time to ever rank No. 1 in the world.
Monica Seles was attacked in a match in 1993, a man stabbed her back with a knife.
After the attack she kept playing and teaching at tennis health centers. But after the deaths of her father and coach, she decided to retire.
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