“Everything went on like nothing happened” Monica Seles was bewildered with Hamburg Open not being suspended after a Steffi Graf fan stabbed her


“Everything went on like nothing happened” Monica Seles was bewildered with Hamburg Open not being suspended after a Steffi Graf fan stabbed her

Monica Seles

April 30 in tennis history always remains an unfortunate date as it marks the horrific stabbing incident of Monica Seles during her quarter-final match in Hamburg in the 1993 season. Seles was up against Magdalena Maleeva and was headed towards victory having claimed the first set and leading the second set with one game’s lead.

With the event happening in Germany, and given the rise of the teenager Monica who had absolutely dominated the majors in the past three seasons since she became a Grand Slam winner for the first time at the 1990 French Open, many were expecting it to be a classic Seles against Steffi Graf finals.

Graf had been cruising on the WTA Tour until 1990 when Monica put brakes on her parade and in the next three years, apart from back-to-back Wimbledon titles in 1991 and 1992, Steffi failed to take home any major and also lost her World No.1 rank to Monica after having spent a consecutive 186 weeks at the top, a feat not bettered since then. Seles had become a real threat to Graf and one Steffi obsessed fan, Gunther Parche, could not fathom a teenager dethroning his favourite player and the German pride.

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During a small break for players after the end of the 7th game in the quarter-finals where Monica was leading 4-3 against Magdalena, Gunther managed to sneak through the security and stabbed Monica with a knife with the blade going almost 1.5 inches in Monica’s shoulders before the security and other spectators nabbed Gunther.

“I remember sitting there, towelling off, and then I leaned forward to take a sip of water, our time was almost up and my mouth was dry. The cup had barely touched my lips when I felt a horrible pain in my back. My head whipped around towards where it hurt and I saw a man wearing a baseball cap, a sneer across his face. His arms were raised above his head and his hands were clutching a long knife. He started to lunge at me again. I didn’t understand what was happening,” wrote Seles in her autobiography, ‘Getting a Grip’.

“Tennis is just another business where money comes first” Monica Seles on the Hamburg tournament deciding to continue

Monica Seles stabbed, Gunter Parche being apprehended by security and spectators
Monica Seles stabbed, Gunter Parche being apprehended by security and spectators

Ever since the incident, Monica has talked openly about what she went through after the horrible act. She overcame depression and a food eating disorder during her 2-year hiatus from the sport before making her comeback mid-season in August 1995 and going on to win the 1996 Australian Open, the only major she won after the stabbing.

“When I look back, I’m sure my career, in terms of achievement, would’ve been different if I hadn’t been stabbed, and I’ll always wonder why I’m the only one in history who that ever happened to,” Monica had told Chicago Tribune during an interview in 2004.

Speaking in another interview with the L’Equipe in 2009, Monica had said, “I was candidly sure that the tournament had stopped straight after the attack. But no, everything went on as if nothing had happened. Tennis is just another business where money comes first.”

While Steffi retired in 1999, Monica retired from the sport at the age of 34 in 2008 having played her last official match in an injured state in the first-round exit at the 2003 French Open, the only time during her illustrious career that she suffered a first-round defeat in a Grand Slam event.

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