Monica Seles recounts her battle: "I have myasthenia gravis"

Already world No. 1 in the WTA rankings, winner of nine Grand Slam tournaments as well as three Finals editions, an Olympic bronze medal and three Fed Cups with the United States, Monica Seles is facing a battle with a neuromuscular disease that is affecting her quality of life, myasthenia gravis.

She was diagnosed with the disease in 2022, but Seles, who turned 51 last Dec. 2, decided to deal with it initially in private, choosing now to come out of the closet to raise awareness of the direct and collateral consequences of autoimmune diseases. In an interview with the Associated Press, Monica Seles recounted her everyday life, starting with her first symptoms.

“I was playing with my family, all of a sudden I missed a ball because I could see two – the three-time Roland Garros champion recounted.

-These are symptoms you can&#8217t ignore, that&#8217s where my journey began. It took me a long time to really be able to accept it and talk about it openly, because it is really difficult. It affects my daily life a lot”.

“Even just drying my hair has become very difficult over these years– explained Seles -When I was diagnosed with the disease, I couldn’t understand it at first. It was at that moment, and I can only emphasize this, that I wished I had someone next to me to talk about it openly”.

“I have had to do many resets in my life: one at age 13, when I came to the U.S. from Yugoslavia, another when I found myself, not yet in my twenties, dealing with fame, money and attention. Then the’stabbing in Hamburg… another reset. Finally the diagnosis of myasthenia gravis: not easy, but I always tell the kids I mentor that you have to adapt, just as tennis players do on the court in front of the bouncing ball”.