Tennis great Monica Seles makes brave autoimmune disease battle revelation
The great Monica Seles is facing a new challenge as the nine-time Grand Slam winner has revealed she has been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called myasthenia gravis.
Former world No 1 Seles started struggling with muscle weakness and double vision five years ago and the diagnosis was made two years later, but she chose to go public now to raise awareness ahead of the upcoming US Open.
In an interview with The Associated Press, the 51-year-old revealed: “I would be playing [tennis] 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.
“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.”
According to the NHS.co.uk, “myasthenia gravis is a rare long-term condition that causes muscle weakness. It most commonly affects the muscles that control the eyes and eyelids, facial expressions, chewing, swallowing and speaking. But it can affect most parts of the body.
“It can affect people of any age, typically starting in women under 40 and men over 60.”
Symptoms include weak arms, legs or neck; droopy eyelids, double vision, and problems chewing and difficulty swallowing.
There is no cure for the disease, but treatments can help manage symptoms and improve quality of life.
Seles experienced double vision and weakness in her legs and arms as she revealed that “just blowing my hair out … became very difficult”.
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After her diagnosis, the American decided to partner with Argenx, an immunology company headquartered in the Netherlands, to promote their Go for Greater campaign as she wants to help others who are struggling.
“When I got diagnosed, I was like, ‘What?!'” Seles said. “So this is where — I can’t emphasise enough — I wish I had somebody like me speak up about it.”
Seles rose to fame as a 16-year-old when she won the 1990 French Open, and by the time she was 20, she already had eight Grand Slams to her name, but she then faced one of her biggest challenges as she had to reset following a stabbing incident in 1993.
The Yugoslav-born American was stabbed with a knife by a deranged Steffi Graf fan during a match in Hamburg in 1993 and spent several years on the sidelines to recover before returning in 1995.
The following year, she won the last of her nine Grand Slams at the Australian Open, but Seles is all too familiar with having to reset.
“I had to, in tennis terms, I guess, reset — hard reset — a few times. I call my first hard reset when I came to the U.S. as a young 13-year-old (from Yugoslavia). Didn’t speak the language; left my family,” she admitted.
“It’s a very tough time. Then, obviously, becoming a great player, it’s a reset, too, because the fame, money, the attention, changes (everything), and it’s hard as a 16-year-old to deal with all that. Then obviously my stabbing — I had to do a huge reset.
Seles added: “And then, really, being diagnosed with myasthenia gravis: another reset. 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.’ And that’s what I’m doing now.”