Inspiring story of the day: “My dad was my best friend, my coach, my protector” - How Monica Seles turned childhood cartoon lessons, family grief, and historic trauma into tennis resilience
Monica Seles built her tennis career around power, speed and two-handed groundstrokes, but the story behind that game began in a very simple place: a parking lot in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia, with her father Karolj Seles. He drew cartoon characters on tennis balls so his young daughter would enjoy practice. Years later, Seles became a nine-time Grand Slam champion before a stabbing at a tournament in Germany left her away from tennis for more than two years. Her father’s illness added another painful chapter. Still, Seles returned and won the 1996 Australian Open , her ninth and final major title.
How did Karolj Seles turn Tom and Jerry into a lesson for Monica SelesMonica Seles started playing tennis as a child after watching her older brother Zoltan play. Her father, Karolj, was a cartoonist, not a professional tennis player, but he quickly found a way to make the sport exciting for his daughter.
The family had limited access to proper courts in Novi Sad, so Karolj set up a makeshift court near their home. He even tied a net between cars in the parking area. Instead of making practice feel like work, he turned it into a game.
Karolj drew Tom and Jerry on tennis balls. Monica would try to hit the ball as part of the game. He also placed small toys around the practice area, giving her another reason to aim carefully.
Seles later remembered the simple idea in a way that showed how much she enjoyed those early days. “First I would hit Tom and then I would hit Jerry,” she told the Los Angeles Times in 1990.
That playful approach mattered. Karolj also encouraged her to use two hands on both her forehand and backhand. What began as a practical choice for a young child became one of the most recognizable parts of Seles’ game.
The Guardian later recalled how Karolj used the cartoon drawings to keep his daughter interested during long practice sessions. The idea was never simply to make her train harder. He wanted her to enjoy what she was doing.
That relationship helped shape more than her technique. It gave Seles a way to connect tennis with happiness long before the sport became her profession.
What happened to Monica Seles after the 1993 stabbing in HamburgBy 1993, Seles was one of the biggest names in women’s tennis. She had won eight Grand Slam singles titles and was the world No. 1. Then her career changed in seconds.
On April 30, 1993, Seles was playing Magdalena Maleeva at the Citizen Cup in Hamburg, Germany. During a changeover, Günter Parche, an obsessed fan of Seles’ rival Steffi Graf, ran toward the court and stabbed Seles in the back.
The wound was serious but did not cause permanent physical damage. The emotional effect was much harder to overcome.
Seles stayed away from competitive tennis for more than two years. She later spoke openly about fear, depression and the difficulty of feeling safe again. Her father, meanwhile, was dealing with cancer.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times in 1995, Seles explained how seeing children with cancer changed the way she looked at her own struggles. “I was thinking of myself and my father. You see these children, dealing with cancer since the age of 7. They run and play. They are happy for each day.”
That period also brought problems with food. Seles later said she used food to deal with the emotional pain caused by the stabbing and her father’s illness. The battle was no longer only about getting back onto a tennis court. She was trying to rebuild a life that no longer felt as safe as it had before.
How did Monica Seles return to tennis after the attack and her father’s illnessSeles eventually decided that the stabbing could not be allowed to take tennis away from her completely. She returned to competition in August 1995 after about 27 months away.
Her comeback was immediate. She won the Canadian Open and then reached the US Open final, where she faced Graf. Although she lost that match, reaching the final showed that Seles could still compete at the highest level.
Her next major test came at the 1996 Australian Open.
Seles reached the final in Melbourne and faced Anke Huber. She won the match and lifted her ninth Grand Slam singles trophy. It was her first major title since the stabbing and, ultimately, the last Grand Slam title of her career.
The timing made the victory especially meaningful because her father was seriously ill with cancer. Karolj had been far more than her coach. He had been the person who first put a racket in her hands, created those cartoon-filled practice sessions and helped shape the game that took her to the top of tennis.
There is an important detail that is sometimes lost in retellings of the comeback: Karolj did not watch the 1996 Australian Open final live. Contemporary reports said he was too ill, although Seles believed he would watch after learning the result.
Karolj Seles died of cancer in 1998, shortly before Monica reached the French Open final. By then, the connection between father and daughter had become one of the defining parts of her story.
Why does Monica Seles’ story still inspire tennis fansSeles’ career numbers are impressive on their own. She became the youngest French Open champion at the time when she won the title in 1990 at 16, reached world No. 1 and collected nine Grand Slam singles titles.
But her story is remembered for more than trophies.
She was a teenager at the height of her career when a spectator’s attack took her away from the sport she had loved since childhood. She then had to deal with fear, depression, problems with food and the serious illness of the father who had been beside her from the beginning.
Yet she returned.
The 1996 Australian Open did not restore everything she had lost before the stabbing. She never again reached the same level of dominance she had shown before the attack. But that does not make the comeback smaller. In many ways, it gives the victory a different meaning.
Seles had to find a reason to step back onto a tennis court that no longer felt safe. She had to accept that her career and her life would not return to exactly what they were before April 1993.
Her father had taught her tennis through games, drawings and imagination. Later, when life became much harder, those early lessons about finding joy in the game helped her return to it.
That is what makes Monica Seles’ story stand out. Her greatest comeback was not simply about winning another Grand Slam. It was about choosing to love the sport again after something terrible had made her afraid of it.
How did Karolj Seles turn Tom and Jerry into a lesson for Monica SelesMonica Seles started playing tennis as a child after watching her older brother Zoltan play. Her father, Karolj, was a cartoonist, not a professional tennis player, but he quickly found a way to make the sport exciting for his daughter.
The family had limited access to proper courts in Novi Sad, so Karolj set up a makeshift court near their home. He even tied a net between cars in the parking area. Instead of making practice feel like work, he turned it into a game.
Karolj drew Tom and Jerry on tennis balls. Monica would try to hit the ball as part of the game. He also placed small toys around the practice area, giving her another reason to aim carefully.
Seles later remembered the simple idea in a way that showed how much she enjoyed those early days. “First I would hit Tom and then I would hit Jerry,” she told the Los Angeles Times in 1990.
That playful approach mattered. Karolj also encouraged her to use two hands on both her forehand and backhand. What began as a practical choice for a young child became one of the most recognizable parts of Seles’ game.
The Guardian later recalled how Karolj used the cartoon drawings to keep his daughter interested during long practice sessions. The idea was never simply to make her train harder. He wanted her to enjoy what she was doing.
That relationship helped shape more than her technique. It gave Seles a way to connect tennis with happiness long before the sport became her profession.
What happened to Monica Seles after the 1993 stabbing in HamburgBy 1993, Seles was one of the biggest names in women’s tennis. She had won eight Grand Slam singles titles and was the world No. 1. Then her career changed in seconds.
On April 30, 1993, Seles was playing Magdalena Maleeva at the Citizen Cup in Hamburg, Germany. During a changeover, Günter Parche, an obsessed fan of Seles’ rival Steffi Graf, ran toward the court and stabbed Seles in the back.
The wound was serious but did not cause permanent physical damage. The emotional effect was much harder to overcome.
Seles stayed away from competitive tennis for more than two years. She later spoke openly about fear, depression and the difficulty of feeling safe again. Her father, meanwhile, was dealing with cancer.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times in 1995, Seles explained how seeing children with cancer changed the way she looked at her own struggles. “I was thinking of myself and my father. You see these children, dealing with cancer since the age of 7. They run and play. They are happy for each day.”
That period also brought problems with food. Seles later said she used food to deal with the emotional pain caused by the stabbing and her father’s illness. The battle was no longer only about getting back onto a tennis court. She was trying to rebuild a life that no longer felt as safe as it had before.
How did Monica Seles return to tennis after the attack and her father’s illnessSeles eventually decided that the stabbing could not be allowed to take tennis away from her completely. She returned to competition in August 1995 after about 27 months away.
Her comeback was immediate. She won the Canadian Open and then reached the US Open final, where she faced Graf. Although she lost that match, reaching the final showed that Seles could still compete at the highest level.
Her next major test came at the 1996 Australian Open.
Seles reached the final in Melbourne and faced Anke Huber. She won the match and lifted her ninth Grand Slam singles trophy. It was her first major title since the stabbing and, ultimately, the last Grand Slam title of her career.
The timing made the victory especially meaningful because her father was seriously ill with cancer. Karolj had been far more than her coach. He had been the person who first put a racket in her hands, created those cartoon-filled practice sessions and helped shape the game that took her to the top of tennis.
There is an important detail that is sometimes lost in retellings of the comeback: Karolj did not watch the 1996 Australian Open final live. Contemporary reports said he was too ill, although Seles believed he would watch after learning the result.
Karolj Seles died of cancer in 1998, shortly before Monica reached the French Open final. By then, the connection between father and daughter had become one of the defining parts of her story.
Why does Monica Seles’ story still inspire tennis fansSeles’ career numbers are impressive on their own. She became the youngest French Open champion at the time when she won the title in 1990 at 16, reached world No. 1 and collected nine Grand Slam singles titles.
But her story is remembered for more than trophies.
She was a teenager at the height of her career when a spectator’s attack took her away from the sport she had loved since childhood. She then had to deal with fear, depression, problems with food and the serious illness of the father who had been beside her from the beginning.
Yet she returned.
The 1996 Australian Open did not restore everything she had lost before the stabbing. She never again reached the same level of dominance she had shown before the attack. But that does not make the comeback smaller. In many ways, it gives the victory a different meaning.
Seles had to find a reason to step back onto a tennis court that no longer felt safe. She had to accept that her career and her life would not return to exactly what they were before April 1993.
Her father had taught her tennis through games, drawings and imagination. Later, when life became much harder, those early lessons about finding joy in the game helped her return to it.
That is what makes Monica Seles’ story stand out. Her greatest comeback was not simply about winning another Grand Slam. It was about choosing to love the sport again after something terrible had made her afraid of it.
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