‘It affects my day-to-day life quite a lot’ — Grand Slam legend Monica Seles shares medical condition diagnosis of myasthenia gravis

Tennis legend Monica Seles recently shared her experience of having to live her life now with a condition called myasthenia gravis — a neuromuscular autoimmune disease. 

In a recent interview, the athlete shared that she felt the symptoms of this disease while doing the sport she loves–tennis. Seles was swinging the racket the way she had done many times before, until she felt that something had changed. 

Seles admitted: “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.” 

“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 added. 

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the illness is “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.” For Seles, she had never heard of the condition before, not until she saw a neurologist after having double vision and weakness in her arms. 

After her diagnosis, she expressed: “So this is where — I can’t emphasise enough — I wish I had somebody like me speak up about it.”

As an act of taking part for those who experience the same, Seles is partnering with argenx, an immunology company headquartered in the Netherlands, to promote their campaign. 

 

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Monica Seles’s athletic career

During her peak tennis career, Seles won nine Grand Slam titles and also gained a place in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. 

She won her first major award at the age of 16 at the 1990 French Open. She then played her last match back in 2003. She was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis three years ago. 

It has been 30 years since Seles made a comeback at the 1995 US Open, where she reached the final. This was more than two years after she was attacked by a man with a knife during a tournament in Germany. 

“The way they welcomed me … after my stabbing, I will never forget… Those are the moments that stay with you,” she declared. 

Netizens expressed their support to Seles by saying: “As a fellow warrior, I can’t thank you enough for spreading awareness of MG! I am impressed with your courage and strength to do this!! We got this!”, and “You’re the best, Monika! Thank you for all you have done and continue to do! ❤️.”