Tennis legend Monica Seles revealed that she has been dealing with myasthenia gravis (MG) — a neuromuscular autoimmune disease — since 2022, the nine-time Grand Slam tournament champion told The Associated Press.
“I would be playing with some kids or family members, and I would miss a ball. I was like, ‘Yeah, I see two balls.’ These are obviously symptoms that you can’t ignore,” Seles said. “And, for me, this is when this journey started. And it took me quite some time to really absorb it, speak openly about it, because it’s a difficult one. It affects my day-to-day life quite a lot.”
The disorder, which affects 150 to 200 people per million globally, causes weakness in voluntary muscles of women under 40 and men over 60, though it can impact anyone at any age. Seles, 51, said she experienced double vision and arm and leg weakness causing simple daily activities like "just blowing my hair out" to become difficult.
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Seles, an International Tennis Hall of Famer who won 53 times on the WTA Tour, said that after being diagnosed, she needed to do another "reset" in her life.
Her first reset, she said, came after coming to the U.S. as a 13-year-old from Yugoslavia and adjusting to a new country and new language without her family. She then had to deal with all that comes with being a famous professional athlete.
A "huge reset" was needed, Seles said, following the 1993 incident in Hamburg, Germany, where she was stabbed by a man during a tournament. Now, after her diagnosis, she is again making another life adjustment.
"But one thing, as I tell kids that I mentor: ‘You’ve got to always adjust. That ball is bouncing, and you’ve just got to adjust,’” Seles said. "And that’s what I’m doing now.”
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