Manhattan College will host Monica Seles, formerly ranked as the No. 1 tennis player in the world, on Tuesday, March 11 as part of its yearlong Women’s Lecture Series celebration. Throughout her career, Seles won nine Grand Slam Titles and held the No. 1 world ranking for 178 consecutive weeks.
Seles retired from professional tennis in 2008, ending a dramatic yet successful career. Seles won 53 singles titles and 6 doubles tournaments. She won her first Grand Slam Title at the age of 16 and first became No. 1 in the world in March of 1991. In 1993, Seles’s career took a tragic turn when she was stabbed in the back by a fan during a match in Germany, which kept her off the court for more than two years. Remarkably, Seles returned to the game and won her ninth Grand Slam Title in 1996.
Since her retirement, Seles has published two books including the 2009 national best seller, Getting a Grip: On My Mind, My Body and Myself. The book focuses on Seles’s journey of being a tennis superstar, dealing with tragedy, loss and self-discovery. Seles also wrote a young adult fiction book titled, The Academy - Game On and will release a sequel in April titled, The Academy - Game of Love.
Seles was inducted into the World Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009 and the U.S. Open Court of Champions in 2013. She is also chairman of the World Sports Forum of the Global Millennium Development Foundation, a board member of the Laureus Sports for Good Foundation and Institute for Civic Leadership, and an Ambassador for The Dwight Global Leaders Academy.
The lecture will be held on March 11 at 7 p.m. in Hayden Hall, room 100. The event is free and open to the public. Following the lecture, there will be a short meet and greet and photo opportunity with Seles.
The Women’s Lecture Series celebrates 40 years of co-education at Manhattan College and is sponsored by the Dean of Student’s Civility Project. For more information, please contact John Bennett, Director of Student Activities at john.bennett@manhattan.edu.