Monica Seles has had some major personal news to reveal as the former nine-time Grand Slam champion has been diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular autoimmune disease.
Just before the start of this year's US Open, Seles - who enjoyed huge success in the early 1990s - decided to go public with the condition she was first diagnosedthree years ago. And the former world No. 1 is doing it because she wants to raise awareness about myasthenia gravis - a condition that she had never heard of before being diagnosed with it.
Myasthenia gravis is a condition that weakens muscles. In Seles' case, the first odd symptom she noticed was double vision. And after seeing a doctor and being sent to a neurologist, she received her diagnosis.
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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 cant ignore. 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 its a difficult one. It affects my day-to-day life quite a lot," the tennis legend told the Associated Press.
Seles on her diagnosis: I was like, 'What?!'
As mentioned above, the former world No. 1 didn't know that this particular condition even existed before receiving her diagnosis.
When I got diagnosed, I was like, What?! So this is where I cant emphasize enough I wish I had somebody like me speak up about it," the 51-year-old said.
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In the same interview, Seles said that the myasthenia gravis diagnosis "reset" her life. However, she also noted that she is "adjusting" to her new normalcy.
After the infamous stabbing incident in 1993, Seles returned to tennis in 1995 August - and while she officially retired in 2008 - her last pro match came in 2003.
