"I had a poster of Martina Navratilova over my bed as a little girl" - When Monica Seles opened up about her tennis inspirations
Monica Seles once revealed that she was a huge fan of tennis legend Martina Navratilova.
Navratilova and Seles stand as two of the most prominent figures in tennis. Navratilova, besides being an amazing player, is an activist who has done a lot for women's tennis and sports in general. Many fans have been looking up to her for years, including Seles.
In a 2003 interview with Sportstar, Seles reminisced about her tennis inspirations, naming Suzanne Lenglen, Maureen Connolly, Billie Jean King and Navratilova. She shared a childhood memory of having a poster of the 18-time Grand Slam champion above her bed, which she bought from Italy.
"I always said this: Suzanne Lenglen and Maureen Connolly. Each one did very different things for the game. But the big influence on me were Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova," Seles said.
"I had a poster of Martina over my bed as a little girl. Of course, my choices were limited because we could only get one magazine, and we had to get it from Italy. Billie Jean I only came to know through Fed Cup as my captain since 1996, and now I realise the magnitude of what that woman has done," she added.
Monica Seles had the chance to face her idol Martina Navratilova 17 times on the WTA Tour. Interestingly, Seles holds a 10-7 advantage in their head-to-head record.
Their first encounter took place in Dallas in 1989 and their last meeting occurred in Paris in 1993 with Navratilova emerging victorious in both instances.
Monica Seles on her greatest tennis achievement: "I don't feel I had one"
When asked about her greatest achievement in tennis during the same Sportstar interview, Monica Seles expressed that she felt she had none.
She said:
"I don't feel I had one. Seriously. I played the game, I loved the game. I really, truly, don't care about history. I don't care about the titles. I feel so fortunate to play a game that I loved that also got me money and fame, the chance to see the world. But what would be in my obituary? I have no idea."
However, the American did have a clear wish: to convey a message to kids through her career that the sole reason for choosing the sport should be a genuine love for it, rather than the pursuit of making a million dollars.
"The one thing I hope, though, is that the kids get a sense that I love the game," Monica Seles said.
"Please get the message out to kids. The only reason to play is because you love to. It's not because you want to make a million dollars. Not because you want to be on the cover of a magazine. You should play because the first thing you want to do in the morning is go out and hit that ball," she added.
After dominating the sport for nearly two decades, Monica Seles hung up her racquet in 2008 with nine Grand Slam singles titles under her belt, among other achievements.