Steffi Graf fan who altered tennis history by stabbing Monica Seles, dies

Gunther Parche who became infamous after stabbing Monica Seles in 1993 dies.

Steffi Graf fan who altered tennis history by stabbing Monica Seles, dies

Steffi Graf, Monica Seles and the man who stabbed Monica Seles, Mr. Gunther Parche (Image Credit: FirstSportz)

The man who stabbed Monica Seles during her quarter-final match of the Citzen Cup in Hamburg, Germany on April 30,1993 died. He was 68 years old at the time of death. This news was reported by the German press.

Gunther Parche stabbed then World No.1 Monica Seles with a nine-inch long knife. She was playing against Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria in this match. When she sat on her chair for drinks break in the second set, Mr. Parche sneaked past the barricades and tried to attack the tennis star with the knife.

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However, at the same time, she leaned forward and the knife could not pierce beyond two centimetres. He missed her spine and vital organs and before he could attempt another attack on her, a bodyguard by the time came forward to protect her.

FS Video

Eminent sports journalist Ben Rothenberg shared this news on social media. He also shared an article regarding this news.

“German media reports Günter Parche has died at 68. Parche completely changed the course of tennis history 30 years ago when he stabbed WTA #1 Monica Seles on court during a match in Hamburg. Seles was hugely dominant, winning 7 of the previous 9 slams,” the caption read.

Mr. Parche was the fan of 22-time Grand Slam champion Steffi Graf. But at this time, Monica Seles had dislodged the German star by winning 8 Grand Slam titles including the Australian Open and French Open thrice and the US Open twice. He feared that if Monica Seles continued her incredible run, she would not let his favorite tennis player win another trophy.

After the event, Mr. Parche was charged, although his pre-trial imprisonment only lasted a little over six months. He was judged to have a psychiatric disorder during his trial and received a two-year probationary term as well as counselling. He was trained as a lathe operator and soon set free.

Mr. Parche spent the last 14 years of his life in a single room in a nursing home in Nordhausen, Thuringia, Germany. Here he also received palliative care and for the last four weeks of his life, he was only bed-ridden.

Meanwhile, Monica Seles did not featured in another professional match for the next two years after this incident.

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The repercussions of this incident on the sport

Monica Seles talking about the stabbing incident (Image Credit: FirstSportz)
Monica Seles talking about the stabbing incident (Image Credit: FirstSportz)

When this stabbing incident happened, Monica Seles was on the top of the world. She along with Steffi Graf, and Martina Navratilova was the top most players on the Tour. However, this incident left Monica Seles scarred for life.

This incident shocked the world. The security of the players was beefed up following this incident. In the Wimbledon 1993, the chairs of the players was positioned in such a way that its back be towards the chair umpire rather than earlier practice of keeping it towards the spectators.

Monica Seles made her comeback in 1995. As a special gesture, then WTA President Martina Navratilova proposed to offer No.1 ranking with Steffi Graf to the Yugoslavia-born American player. WTA with the support of Steffi Graf decided to award Monica Seles world No.1 co-ranking. She did win the 1996 Australian Open ladies singles title and retired from professional tennis in 2011.

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