"She beat me when she was 15, I've never seen anyone play like that" - When Chris Evert spoke about being outclassed by a young Monica Seles
Monica Seles has been one of the most noteworthy players in the history of tennis. She took fans and players by surprise ever since her first professional appearance in 1989.
Chris Evert was among the many players who were shocked by the teenager's prowess. The former World No. 1 played against Seles at the 1989 Houston Open, where she was overpowered by the then 15-year-old American and lost the match in three sets.
In a conversation with ABC News in 2009, Chris Evert reminisced on the exquisite quality that the nine-time Grand Slam champion possessed back in the day.
"She beat me when she was 15. I've never seen anybody play like that in my life," Evert expressed.
While things were looking good for Seles, life turned on its heads when a fan stabbed her from behind during her match against Magdalena Maleeva at the Citizens Cup in Hamburg, Germany.
Speaking about the hardships Seles had to face after the horrifying incident, Evert said:
"She was on top of the world and then she was in the gutter after that. She wasn't in the best shape and was also older. I mean she wasn't a 15-year-old anymore."
"Emotionally, I was just not ready to come back" - Monica Seles on her mental health struggles after stabbing incident
Monica Seles found it extremely difficult to get back to playing professional tennis as she was traumatized after the stabbing incident. While the four-time Australian Open champion recovered physically from the wound, she could not easily get back to her normal mental self.
"The injury itself, I guess, I could have come back after the six-seven months period and play but emotionally, I was just not ready to come back," Seles said in her interview with ABC News.
Seles revealed that she did not want to cope with the harsh reality she was facing back then and did whatever she could to numb her feelings.
"I think anything to numb myself really, cause all I just didn't want to feel and I didn't want to face the reality," she expressed.
The American stated that she realized she had to have a complete makeover in terms of her physical well-being to battle against the top players.
"I realized the time that I was away from the sport, a new generation was coming up and the generation was taller, much stronger, much more powerful and obviously a lot more attractive. I wasn't enough to play good anymore. I just had an absolute freak out moment. This is not where I've envisioned myself to be," she said.
Monica Seles since then has fought her way back into the sport with self-determination and willpower. The American went on to finish off her career with nine Grand Slams and a total of 53 singles titles across all tournaments.