Germany’s Steffi Graf faced a formidable battle in the late 1980s in…
At the age of sixteen, Seles became the number one ranked player in the world, threatening all of the top players of the day, including Graf, Martina Navratilova, and Chris Evert. However, on April 30, 1993, while Seles was seated in her chair during a German match, Gunter Parche, a fan of Graf, leaped onto the court and gave her a backstab wound. The fan wanted to see Graf return to the top spot in the world rankings.
After the incident, Seles was physically and emotionally wrecked, and he avoided the court for over three years. When she came back in late 1995, Graf was waiting for her in the US Open final, which Graf won 7-6(6), 0-6, 6-3.
At the net and during the trophy presentation, the two players struck up a conversation. However, Seles paused before saying that she needed Graf’s consent to disclose anything when questioned about her conversation with Graf later in the press conference.
Once more, journalists tried their luck by posing the identical query to Graf and disclosing Seles’ response. In response, the 22-time Grand Slam victor said:
Former world number one Kim Clijsters recognized Steffi Graf and Monica Seles as her role models and the tennis stars that encouraged her to pick up the game on March 8, this year, in honor of International Women’s Day.
