Monica Seles first noticed the symptoms of serious myasthenia – an autoimmune neuromuscular disease which she discussed during a recent interview with the Associated Press – while she was swinging a racket as she had done so many times during and after, a career that included nine nine Grand Slam titles And a place at the temple of renowned international tennis.
“I would play with children or family members, and I would miss a ball. I said to myself: “Yeah, I see two bullets. These are obviously symptoms that you cannot ignore, “said Seles. “And, for me, that’s when this trip started. And it took me a while to really absorb it, talk about it openly, because it is difficult. It affects my daily life a lot.”
Monica Seles speaks during her enthronement at the Champions Court at a ceremony before the Women’s Women’s Women’s Final 2013, 2013, on September 8, 2013, in New York. (AP photo / Darron cummings, file)
Seles of 51, who won her first major trophy at the age of 16 at the 1990 French Open in 1990 and played her last game in 2003, said that she was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis three years ago and spoke publicly for the first time in front of the United States Open, which begins on August 24, to raise awareness of what is known as MG.
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Cerebral Vascular Accidents calls it “a chronic neuromuscular disease which causes weakness of the voluntary muscles” and “has an impact most often on young adults (under 40) and older men (over 60) but … can occur at any age, including childhood.”
Monica Seles returns the ball to Conchita Martinez from Spain during the semi-finals at US Open, on September 8, 1995 in New York. (AP photo / Elise amendola, file)
Seles said that she had never heard of the state before seeing a doctor and being referred to a neurologist after noticing symptoms such as double vision and weakness of her arms – “I just exhausted … became very difficult,” she said – and legs.
“When I was diagnosed, I said to myself:” What?! “” Said Seles, who joins Argenx, an immunology company whose headquarters is in the Netherlands, to promote their Go for more campaign. “This is where – I cannot emphasize enough – I would like someone like me to talk about it.”
Seles have been returned to the US Open in 1995 for three decades, going to the final, more than two years after being attacked by a man with a knife during a tournament in Hamburg, Germany.
“The way they welcomed me … After my stab wounds, I will never forget,” said Seles about New York fans. “These are the moments that stay with you.”
She speaks of learning to live a “new normal” these days and has characterized her health as another in a series of life steps that required adaptation.
Monica Seles of the United States holds the trophy and a toy kangaroo after winning the female final on Anke Huber in Germany at the Australian Open Tennis championships in Melbourne, January 27, 1996. (AP Photo / Steve Holland, file)
“I had, in terms of tennis, I suppose, reset – hard reinitialization – several times. I call my first reset lasts when I came to the United States as a young 13-year-old child (from Yugoslavia). Pattern – I had to make a huge reset, ”said Seles.
“And then, really, be diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis: another reset. But one thing, as I say to the children that I mentor:” You must always adapt. This ball bounce back, and you just have to adjust yourself “,” she added. “And that’s what I’m doing now.”
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More tennis AP: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
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