Wow, I don't think I've ever seen her looking so svelte! I guess they're honoring her in Canada! Now, if only she'd come back for one more shot at competitive tennis! Love you, Monica!

http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/photo?slug=cpt...cpth121&prov=ap

http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/photo?slug=cpt...cpth119&prov=ap

These pictures make me so happy, and then again so sad. Okay, not really sad, but, oh shucks, thinking what couldashouldawoulda been. Love Monica and glad to see her smiling like this. I don't think anyone really garners as much discussion on this board as Monica, but maybe Hingis. And the Williams a close third.

Hey, why is she swinging a racquet one-handed?

She looks great. Very nice. I'm sure Monica's swinging the racket one-handed because she's hitting balls to the crowd. If she belted some of her two-handed shots at the crowd, things might turn real ugly real fast!

I'm so happy for her. and I wish she could come back too. But she has always said that her foot is the reason for her not playing.

It's like Jesus said, "The spirit is willing. But the body is weak."

I wish she would practice and make just one spectacular come back though...

Monica did an event in Manhattan about six weeks ago and had the crowd buzzing about how damn GOOD she looked. It's amazing that NOT playing and training has her looking the best she's looked since she came back from the stabbing.

Like everyone else, though I would love it if she could come back and give it one last shot on the tour......

She does look great. I hate to admit it but perhaps being away from tour is what she's needed. She started so young, had so much success, went through such extreme highs and lows (need I explain?) that perhaps tennis now takes a back seat to her LIFE. Of course we all want her back, but if she couldn't compete at the highest level, I'm not sure she'd be happy or it'd be worth it. It's great to see that she's out there, and I'd be very curious to know what her intentions are...

"I'm sure Monica's swinging the racket one-handed because she's hitting balls to the crowd. If she belted some of her two-handed shots at the crowd, things might turn real ugly real fast!"


That's hysterical! It would be hilarious if all of a sudden she started pelting the crowd with 2-fisted shots circa 1991-92! No one would be smiling and everyone would be black and blue! It'd make for a great blooper show!

Love you Monica!

[ August 16, 2005, 10:51 AM: Message edited by: playerten73 ]

Yeah....it would be a great blooper if she came out wearing that blue dress with the stain on it while carrying a cigar. Then she could.....oh, wait....that's a different Monica.... wink

There has never been, nor will there ever be anyone like her. In my mind she is the greatest who ever played the game. All the graf, or williams, or hingis fans in the world could never argue that sentiment away. May she find her true pot of gold in whatver venture she chooses next, and may that knife-wielding psycho live to see her reach new heights. Here's to you Monica...you will always have those who love you, and all that you have given to to the game. Salut!

I love Mon too. and I do think she helped take the game to a new level and change how the game is played. and had she not been stabbed. No telling how she would have done.

But I also do hik that one other person deserves the same accolades you give to Monica and perhaps even more. That would be Martina Navratilova.

She too changed the game and she dominated the sport like no one ever will again.

If fandom was based solely on on court performance, I'd agree that Martina deserves as much praise and love, if not more. But as much as Martina has done both inside and outside the sport, I've always found her personality to be a bit chilly (beyond the unfortunate lesbian-baiting of the press).

Monica was always so much easier to love and a much more sympathetic figure. Who couldn't root for her during the final of the 98 French Open Final, just weeks after her father's death. As great as Martina was, I was far happier when Monica won the Canadian Open right after her comeback, then when Martina won any of her many slams.

Agreed with the field of Monica Seles fans! I miss her in the draws and the mix too. Though, I will say it's much easier/relaxing now watching the womens tour without her, I used to be on the edge of my couch when she played, so anxious for her to win!

I agree with those that say being off the tour may have been what Monica needed to just get her head/body together. The pressure of not touring, playing, the spotlight, the ranking and the camera's may have given her the ability for the first time since her early teens to just live.

Her stress fracture in her foot and the possibility of permanent injury I'm sure is what has kept her from a return. That coupled with the tide permanently changing and evolution doing what it must to champions and new generations. Just as the tides changed when Evert/Navratilova were playing when Graf/Seles came along, then the Williams sisters/Hingis came along, then the surge of the Russians/Belgians. Even a true champion like Monica knows when the sands of time have evolved to a new generation/level of play. While her ground strokes from both wings are as punishing/accurate as ever, her movement and the pace of the ball coming back have drastically changed.

I think Monica's retirement, though never announced, celebrated, grieved is official. Actually, it doesn't surprise me that she never officially announced "retirement" from the tour as her perfect personality and jovial disposition wouldn't allow a press conference of that nature. I think her letting the press focus on today's WTA tour and her making appearances for charity events, and endorsing the Canadian Rogers Cup is perfect for the great champion.

She will always be the champion in my eyes and an inspiration to get out there and play all the time the way I love to do.

Kudos to Monica Seles, already in my Tennis Hall of Fame, past and present. :cool:

monica rocks....always was my favorite. good to see she is happy. that short angled backhand winner was just amazing!

Eligibility for the hall of fame starts five years after a player is retired? Right? If Monica never plays professionally again, or doesn't actually announce her retirement, how does her eligibility get handled?

I expect they'll put her in the hall five years after her last professional match, even if she hasn't officially retired. After all, there's nothing stopping a player already in the Hall from playing, like Martina N.