Latest news with #Seles
Straits Times
a day ago
- Health
- Straits Times
Monica Seles faces yet another challenge: living with an autoimmune disease
Monica Seles (right), nine-time Grand Slam champion, giving advice during the tennis clinic organised by the Singapore Tourism Board in 2016. She was in Singapore as an ambassador for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. NEW YORK – For several years, one of the great tennis champions of the modern era has existed as a kind of ghost. Monica Seles won nine Grand Slam titles, seven of them before her 19th birthday. With her two-handed groundstrokes from both sides and her ability to paint lines from anywhere, she defined the term 'phenom.' She spent 91 consecutive weeks at No. 1, playing 34 tournaments in that time. She reached the final in 33 of them. In April 1993, Seles and Steffi Graf were duelling for supremacy at the top of the sport when a fan fixated on Graf stabbed Seles at an event in Germany. She came back from over two years of physical and mental turmoil and promptly won another Grand Slam tournament title, even as the place where she displayed her tennis skills no longer felt safe. Seles, in a word, reset, while carrying the weight of what had happened. She retired from tennis in 2008, continuing to play exhibitions alongside other luminaries, including John McEnroe and Chris Evert. She played regularly, mentoring younger players. But since 2019, Seles, 51, who was born in Yugoslavia, has largely disappeared from public view. Around that year, she started experiencing double vision and extreme weakness in her arms and legs. She would see two balls coming at her on the tennis court instead of one. 'I thought, 'OK, just push through it,'' Seles said in a video call from her home in Florida. 'But a couple of instances happened when – on court and in daily life – I realised there was something going on.' After a time, she sought medical advice, which was not easy to come by as 2019 turned into 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic began. Her doctor referred her to a neurologist. After two years of tests and scans, she was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, or MG, a chronic autoimmune disease that affects 150 to 200 people per million worldwide. The immune system attacks the neuromuscular junction – the pathway through which nerves and muscles communicate. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. 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'Patients can present with fatigue, and then health care providers have no idea what to do with that,' Beth Stein, director of neuromuscular diseases at St Joseph's Health in New Jersey, said in an interview. What ensues is a kind of reverse scavenger hunt, where physicians conduct a series of tests that eliminate mortal threats such as brain tumours. Antibody tests can confirm MG, but some patients do not possess them. 'When I first got my diagnosis, I'd never heard of it in the news or from anybody else,' Seles said. For Seles, MG has brought on another reset – the process tennis players go through from point to point, game to game, set to set and match to match throughout their careers. Her return to competitive tennis after her stabbing came at the 1995 Canadian Open. She won the title, losing 14 games along the way. She lost a titanic US Open final to Graf before resetting again to win the Australian Open in 1996. The process, in the micro and macro, defined her career and, to some extent, her life. 'After coming out from my former country to the IMG Academy, I had to totally reset,' she said. 'When I became No. 1, it was a huge reset because everybody treats you differently. Then obviously when I got stabbed, that was a huge reset. And then when I was diagnosed, it was a huge reset. 'The day-to-day part of managing it, depending on my symptoms, is really adjusting, you know. I think anybody else who has myasthenia gravis knows it's a continuous adjustment.' Some days, Seles can play tennis and pickleball and walk her dogs. She makes sure to play with people who understand what she is living with. Still, 'some days are very extreme,' Seles said. That can be hard to take for a world-class athlete. Sports are a part of her DNA, and Seles wondered who she would be if she was not able to train and compete. Again, she drew on her experiences in tennis and some of the challenges she has faced in life. 'After my stabbing, I had to deal with that internally for quite a few years to process it, and my MG diagnosis was kind of very similar,' she said. 'I had to understand my new normal of day-to-day life, what I can do workwise and different things.' Seles plans to attend the US Open in New York later in August to do an event to raise awareness about her condition. She will also catch some tennis while she is there. The sport remains a big part of her life, and she follows it closely. During her interview, she was counting down the hours to the Canadian Open final featuring Victoria Mboko and Naomi Osaka, thinking through the storylines of a teen sensation taking on a four-time Grand Slam champion on a journey back toward the top of the sport. (Mboko won.) 'Women's tennis right now,' she said. 'None of us know who's going to win whatever tournament is up next, and that's great.' She was following Venus Williams' comeback particularly closely. The Wimbledon semi-final between Aryna Sabalenka and Amanda Anisimova tantalised her, while her heart sank for Anisimova when Iga Swiatek beat her 6-0, 6-0 in the final. 'Former players, you know, you've been on both sides of it,' she said. 'When I got bageled, I can remember those matches 30 years later, but also when I won my Grand Slams. As a former player, it's really interesting to watch it from that angle, let's say, as compared to, you know, when my mum watches it as a fan.' She would like to do some television commentary. She has done some previously, and loved it. 'I personally love listening to Chrissy, obviously,' Seles said of Chris Evert, 'because she can cover so many different generations and the expertise. She has so much life experience, which I think for the younger generation is so important to hear.' Indeed, she does. Still, there may be no one in tennis who has more life experience than Seles. NYTIMES
The Star
2 days ago
- Health
- The Star
Tennis great Monica Seles reveals she has myasthenia gravis
Seles (right) watching one of the 2024 BNP Paribas Open semifinals at Indian Wells, California, US. She recently opened up about her myasthenia gravis three years after being diagnosed. — TNS Monica Seles first noticed the symptoms of myasthenia gravis – a neuromuscular autoimmune disease – while she was swinging a racket the way she'd done so many times during and after a career that included nine Grand Slam titles and a place in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. "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 can't ignore,' Seles said. "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 it's a difficult one. "It affects my day-to-day life quite a lot.' The 51-year-old, who won her first major trophy at age 16 at the 1990 French Open and played her last match in 2003, said she was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis three years ago and is speaking publicly about it for the first time ahead of the 2025 US Open to raise awareness about the disease. The US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke calls it "a chronic neuromuscular disease that causes weakness in the voluntary muscles' and "most commonly impacts young adult women (under 40) and older men (over 60) but ... can occur at any age, including childhood'. Seles said she'd never heard of the condition until seeing a doctor and being referred to a neurologist after noticing symptoms such as double vision and weakness in her arms – "just blowing my hair out ... became very difficult,' she said – and legs. "When I got diagnosed, I was like, 'What?!'' said Seles, who is partnering with argenx, an immunology company headquartered in the Netherlands, to promote their Go for Greater campaign. "So this is where – I can't emphasise enough – I wish I had somebody like me speak up about it.' It's been three decades since Seles returned to competition at the 1995 US Open, making it to the final, more than two years after she was attacked by a man with a knife at a tournament in Hamburg, Germany. "The way they welcomed me ... after my stabbing, I will never forget,' she said about the fans in New York. "Those are the moments that stay with you.' She talks about learning to live a "new normal' nowadays and characterised her health as another in a series of life steps that required adapting. "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 US as a young 13-year-old (from Yugoslavia). "Didn't speak the language; left my family. 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," she said. "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.' – By Howard Fendrich/AP
New York Post
5 days ago
- Health
- New York Post
The rare disease tennis legend Monica Seles says had her seeing double on the court
Monica Seles, the nine-time Grand Slam champ who once dominated the court with her signature two-handed style, is facing a new kind of opponent — and this one isn't standing on the other side of the net. The 51-year-old International Tennis Hall of Famer recently revealed she's been quietly battling myasthenia gravis, a rare neuromuscular disease, for the past three years. 'It took me quite some time to really absorb it, speak openly about it, because it's a difficult one,' Seles told the Associated Press. 'It affects my day-to-day life quite a lot.' Advertisement 5 Monica Seles is a Serbian–American former professional tennis player who retired in 2008. Getty Images The tennis legend broke her silence just days before the 2025 US Open kicks off in Flushing Meadows, hoping to raise awareness about the chronic condition she'd never heard of until it landed in her own court. Here's everything you need to know. What is myasthenia gravis? Advertisement It's a rare autoimmune disorder that causes muscle weakness, often affecting those that control your eyes, face, neck, arms and legs, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The condition strikes when the body's immune system turns on itself, producing antibodies that block or destroy the receptor sites your muscles need to receive signals from the brain in order to move. With fewer working receptors, the message doesn't get through — leading to a communication breakdown between brain and body. As a result, the muscles feel weak and tire out fast, even from everyday tasks. 5 Myasthenia gravis causes muscle weakness that fluctuates and worsens with activity. buraratn – Advertisement What are the symptoms of myasthenia gravis? For more than half of those with the condition, the first signs affect the eyes, often causing double vision or drooping eyelids, per the Mayo Clinic. About 15% experience early symptoms that affect their face and throat muscles, which can: Make speech slurred or soft, sometimes sounding nasally, depending on which muscles are affected. Cause trouble chewing and swallowing, making it harder to eat, drink or take pills. Change facial expressions, like turning a smile into a snarl. Advertisement Myasthenia gravis can also weaken the neck, arms and legs, making it tough to lift things, walk steadily or even hold your head up. Seles first noticed that something was wrong when symptoms started showing up on the court. 5 Seles will make an appearance at the 2025 US Open to raise awareness about myasthenia gravis. Getty Images for American Express '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 can't ignore,' she told the AP. Then came the muscle weakness. 'Just blowing my hair out … became very difficult,' the tennis champ said. The weakness usually worsens the more you use the affected muscles but can improve with rest, which can sometimes make diagnosis difficult. 'Patients can present with fatigue and then healthcare providers have no idea what to do with that,' Dr. Beth Stein, director of neuromuscular diseases at St. Joseph's Health in New Jersey, told The Athletic. Who's at risk for myasthenia gravis? Advertisement It can strike anyone, but it's most often diagnosed in women under 50 and men over 65, according to the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America. It's also slightly more common in people of African descent, though it affects all racial and ethnic backgrounds. 5 Drooping eyelids and a weakened smile are common symptoms of myasthenia gravis, often in the early stages of the disease. LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS – While still considered rare — affecting roughly 37 out of every 100,000 Americans — cases are on the rise. Experts believe this is at least partly because people are living longer lifespans and better tools have been developed to diagnose it. What's the outlook for someone with myasthenia gravis? Advertisement There's no cure, but the condition can usually be managed with treatment, especially if it's detected early, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Treatment may include medications that suppress the immune system or intravenous immunoglobulin, a blood product that helps reduce the attack on the nervous system. 5 Seles was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease three years ago. GC Images Advertisement Doctors might also remove the thymus gland surgically, which can sometimes improve symptoms by altering the immune response. Another option is plasmapheresis, a procedure that filters out abnormal antibodies from the blood and replaces them with healthy ones from donors. For Seles, every day is about adapting. 'Some days are very extreme,' she told the AP. Other days, she plays tennis, pickleball and walks her dogs. Advertisement 'As I tell kids that I mentor: 'You've got to always adjust. That ball is bouncing, and you've just got to adjust,'' Seles said. 'And that's what I'm doing now.' Is myasthenia gravis fatal? Generally, no. Most people with myasthenia gravis have a normal life expectancy, but in rare cases, it can cause life-threatening complications. That includes myasthenic crisis, a severe weakening of the muscles that control breathing, which can lead to respiratory failure and other medical emergencies In such cases, a ventilator may be needed until muscle strength improves with treatment.
Irish Examiner
6 days ago
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Monica Seles adapting to ‘new normal' after being diagnosed with neuromuscular disease
Monica Seles says she was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis — a neuromuscular autoimmune disease — three years ago. The nine-time grand slam singles champion says she first noticed symptoms of the disease while she was swinging her racket. '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 can't ignore,' Seles said. '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 it's a difficult one. It affects my day-to-day life quite a lot.' Seles, who won her first major, the 1990 French Open, at the age of 16 and played her last match in 2003, said she was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis three years ago and is speaking publicly about it for the first time before this month's US Open to raise awareness of the condition. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke calls it 'a chronic neuromuscular disease that causes weakness in the voluntary muscles' and 'most commonly impacts young adult women (under 40) and older men (over 60) but … can occur at any age, including childhood'. There is currently no known cure. The 51-year-old said she'd never heard of the condition until she was referred to a neurologist after noticing symptoms such as double vision and weakness in her arms – 'just blowing my hair out … became very difficult,' she said – and legs. 'When I got diagnosed, I was like, 'What?!'' said Seles. 'So this is where — I can't emphasize enough — I wish I had somebody like me speak up about it.' The disease can also cause difficulty in swallowing, speaking and affect facial expressions. It's been three decades since Seles returned to competition at the 1995 US Open, making it to the final, more than two years after she was stabbed at a tournament in Germany. 'The way they welcomed me … after my stabbing, I will never forget,' Seles said about the fans in New York. 'Those are the moments that stay with you.' Seles says she is learning to live a 'new normal' and characterized her health as another in a series of life steps that required adapting. '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 US as a young 13-year-old [from Yugoslavia]. Didn't speak the language; left my family. 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 said. '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.' Seles won nine grand slam singles titles during her playing career, with Wimbledon being the only major she missed out on, although she did reach the final in 1992. Her 178 weeks at No 1 is sixth all-time in WTA history. — The Guardian
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First Post
6 days ago
- Health
- First Post
What is myasthenia gravis? Former tennis star Monica Seles opens up about her autoimmune diagnosis
Former world no.1 Monica Seles has come out to raise awareness about myasthenia gravis, a rare neuromuscular autoimmune disease, she got diagnosed with in 2022. Former world no.1 and nine-time Grand Slam champion Monica Seles has revealed her ongoing battle with myasthenia gravis, a rare neuromuscular autoimmune disease, she got diagnosed with in 2022. The 51-year-old has decided to raise awareness about the disease and is speaking openly about it in the lead-up to the US Open 2025, which is scheduled to start on August 24. What is myasthenia gravis? Myasthenia gravis, or MG, is a chronic autoimmune disorder that disrupts nerve-muscle connections. It causes weakness and fatigue in voluntary muscles. It has varied symptoms like double vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, and the one suffering from it can face difficulty swallowing. Moreover, there will be muscle weakness in the arms, legs or neck. The immune system could not detect the original threat and mistakenly attacks nerve receptors. As of now, there is no cure for the disease, but there are treatment options like medication and therapy that can manage symptoms and improve quality of life. Also Read | STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Monica Seles on her battle with myasthenia gravis Discussing the same, Monica Seles revealed when she first noticed the symptoms of MG. She divulged that it happened when she was swinging a racket the way she'd done so many times during, and after, an illustrious career. '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 can't ignore,' Seles said. '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 it's a difficult one. It affects my day-to-day life quite a lot.' She told the Associated Press. The 51-year-old Seles, who won her first major trophy at age 16 at the 1990 French Open and played her last match in 2003, said she was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis three years ago and is speaking publicly about it for the first time ahead of the U.S. Open, which starts on Aug. 24, to raise awareness about what is known as MG. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke calls it 'a chronic neuromuscular disease that causes weakness in the voluntary muscles' and 'most commonly impacts young adult women (under 40) and older men (over 60) but … can occur at any age, including childhood.' Seles said she'd never heard of the condition until seeing a doctor and being referred to a neurologist after noticing symptoms such as double vision and weakness in her arms — 'just blowing my hair out … became very difficult,' she said — and legs. 'When I got diagnosed, I was like, 'What?!'' said Seles, who is partnering with argenx, an immunology company headquartered in the Netherlands, to promote their Go for Greater campaign. 'So this is where — I can't emphasize enough — I wish I had somebody like me speak up about it.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD It's been three decades since Seles returned to competition at the 1995 U.S. Open, making it to the final, more than two years after she was attacked by a man with a knife at a tournament in Hamburg, Germany. 'The way they welcomed me … after my stabbing, I will never forget,' Seles said about the fans in New York. 'Those are the moments that stay with you.' She talks about learning to live a 'new normal' nowadays and characterized her health as another in a series of life steps that required adapting. '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. 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 said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD '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,'' she added. 'And that's what I'm doing now.' (With inputs from AP)
