Monica Seles will never forget April 30, 1993. It’s the day that turned her life upside down, derailed her career – and changed the course of women’s tennis history.
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A split second, the then 19-year-old Seles wrote years later in her biography “Always Get Up Again,” made “a different person” out of her.
In that split second 30 years ago, the best tennis player in the world at the time was stabbed on the Center Court at Rothenbaum in Hamburg. The perpetrator was a fanatical fan of her great rival Steffi Graf – who therefore suffered from the events in a different way.
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1993: Attack on Monica Seles during a break
The assassin, the recently deceased, unemployed lathe operator Günter Parche, took advantage of a change of sides in the game between Seles and Magdalena Maleeva. From behind, he stabbed the world number one, who was sitting on the bench, with a knife between her spine and shoulder blade.
Luckily, the knife “only” penetrated two centimeters into the back; Seles had just leaned far forward. The stewards and spectators wrestled Parche to the ground, Seles gave a sharp scream, got up and staggered towards the net.
Seles grabbed her back, saw the blood on her hand, but didn’t realize what had happened.
In the ambulance, her thoughts were racing, “and the word ‘stabbed’ kept coming to mind,” Seles remembers: “I had never used that word before and never thought of it.”
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The attack changed everything for Monica Seles, who was about to make tennis history.
Seles was on his way to becoming a record champion
The world number one from Yugoslavia had already triumphantly won eight Grand Slams with her power tennis.
Seles seemed destined to shape her own era, well on her way to setting her sights on Margaret Court’s major record (24) and breaking many other historical records.
Seles’ rise broke the dominance that Germany’s century-old athlete Graf, who was four years older, had exercised over the sport in the late 1980s.
Monica Seles and Steffi Graf in an early duel in 1990
In the mentally confused assassin’s worldview, this was exactly a scenario that he wanted to prevent with violence.
Assassin Günter Parche remained free
“I couldn’t bear the thought that anyone could beat Steffi Graf,” said Parche during his interrogation: “For me, Steffi is the top woman. Her eyes shine like diamonds. She is an absolute dream woman.” For him she is “almost like God”.
The psychiatric report diagnosed Parche as having “an unreal idealization with probably unconscious sexual elements and a fanaticism that went as far as self-sacrifice.”
A controversial decision that the German judiciary made at the time: Parche was not convicted in Hamburg of attempted murder, but of grievous bodily harm. Parche was given probation, and Seles’ worldview was further cracked: “I can’t understand why this person didn’t have to pay for his crime.”
Monica Seles was the victim of an assassination attempt on April 30, 1993
The external wound healed quickly for Seles, but it still took years before the once tough fighter with the two-handed driving strokes returned to the tennis court.
Steffi Graf also found herself in an unpleasant situation
While Seles fought for her return and her best form, a resurgent Graf became an unrivaled dominator and Grand Slam series winner. The fact that the bloody act played a role put Graf in an unpleasant position.
“People kept asking me about Monica, and in the end I felt complicit,” said Graf in an interview with Focus a few months later.
After Graf’s French Open victory in 1993, she was also criticized for not mentioning Seles in her victory speech. She actually had intended to say “comforting” words to Seles and simply forgot about it in the excitement, Graf assured: “I’m not a machine.”
The underlying accusation that she had not done enough to express her sympathy hit her hard: “Whenever I am asked about the topic, I always give an answer! I was affected enough by it myself because the attacker was a fan of mine.” The situation “hurt incredibly.”
Seles reached world-class level again and also celebrated a Grand Slam victory at the Australian Open in 1996 against Anke Huber. But she never again became such an exceptional player as she was before the attack before she retired in 2008.
Companion and rival Navratilova has repeatedly expressed the belief that Seles would have become the Grand Slam record winner without the assassination attempt.
The bitter, oppressive realization in historical retrospect: assassin Parche has achieved his goal.
Seles also suffered psychological injuries
Worse still: Seles’ mental life also became permanently out of control after the crime, she developed major psychological problems herself, a previously latent eating disorder worsened, and she temporarily gained up to 30 kilograms.
Monica Seles was a guest at the tournament in Indian Wells in March
Seles – an American citizen since 1994 – is now leading a new life and is married to billionaire Tom Golisano, 32 years her senior and former owner of the NHL club Buffalo Sabres. She has overcome her eating disorders and is now, among other things, the brand ambassador for a medication that has helped her.
Graf ultimately ended her career with 22 major titles, surpassed only by Court and later Serena Williams (23). As is well known, she now lives in the USA with her husband Andre Agassi and their two adult children Jaden Gil and Jaz Elle. (BACKGROUND: How Steffi saved Count Andre Agassi from a deep fall)
Assassin Parche died – as it only became known months later – in August 2022 in a nursing home in Thuringia.
With Sports Information Service (SID)
2024-04-30 06:54:26
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