WTA hails Seles' historic career with a greatest-hits list

Pinning its publication on the 30-year anniversary of Monica Seles' 36-match winning streak on tour, the WTA shared a wham-bam "top 10 hits" piece that salutes the southpaw legend's career.

That run makes for a fitting memory-lane stroll now, given that she hoisted the Miami trophy and five others over six successive tournaments.

Seles enthusiasts will relish in the remembrance of her 1990-92 timeframe, when she wielded (with both fists) a staggering 55-1 record at major events. (She missed a Wimbledon due to injury but famously made the 1992 final, which she dropped to rival Steffi Graf.)

This photo-driven 10-pointer serves a few notices, or reminders for those who were alive and actively tennis-fanning then: 1) Seles was sharp, intense, and positively ruthless on court; 2) she was equally gracious and enjoyed the exhilaration of post-match ceremonies; and 3) she often left foes, such as the background-pictured Graf, Martina Navratilova, and others, wondering what to do and candidly grimacing as their shriek-trademarking foil received one item of hardware after another.

Therein, readers also find a range of Seles' styles over time, outfitted in early years by Fila—in some iconic looks—and in later years in Nike gear. (She would then move to Yonex before playing her last tour match in 2003, a few years before fully retiring.)

So for those feeling the void of professional tennis at present, in this time (perhaps era) of COVID-19 and the coronavirus, enjoy a couple of Seles' all-time greatest matches, the 1993 Australian Open championship against Graf, above, and, a three-set quarterfinal throwdown at the 1991 then–Lipton Championships versus a relative upstart, 14-year-old Jennifer Capriati.

As Mary Carillo said in the latter match's TV broadcast, the WTA Tour at the time had gone "from cat and mouse to just cat against cat. No one wants to be the mouse." May we see such a return to WTA tension and thrill as soon as possible.