Tennis Star Monica Seles On Her Autoimmune Diagnosis & Next Chapter
As a nine-time Grand Slam tennis champion, Monica Seles built her life on discipline, endurance, and an unshakable love for the game. But in recent years, she found herself facing a new and completely unexpected challenge.
It started subtly: unexplained leg and arm weakness, moments of double vision. At first, she chalked it up to fatigue, but when her symptoms continued to worsen over the course of a couple years, she knew it was beyond her ability to “just push through.”
Two words that made zero sense
Seles’ persistence led her to find a neurologist who finally listened to her as a patient who was really struggling—not just a former athlete who was used to peak performance.
Seles shared, “I knew that the symptoms I was experiencing were not normal and I could not live life like this.”
That’s when she received a diagnosis of myasthenia gravis, a rare autoimmune neuromuscular disease. The disease entails a breakdown between muscle and nerve communication, which can cause muscle weakness and affect eye movement, facial expressions, speaking, and walking.
The news brought mixed emotions. Seles was relieved to finally have a reason for her alarming symptoms, and she was overwhelmed at the challenge of accepting what she calls her “new normal.” She recalls, “We all have different days in our lives that we remember forever, and I've never heard these two words.”
Now these two words would change the entire trajectory of her life. While intimidating and isolating, her diagnosis led her on a path of research to help herself and find others who were doing the same.
This new reality reshaped both her personal and professional life. Tennis now looks different for her—but her love for the sport remains, and she still attends matches like the US Open to stay connected to the sport that defined her.
Not her first reset
This wasn’t Seles’ first time dramatically overhauling her health and mindset. In 1993, at the height of her tennis career, she was the victim of an on-court stabbing by a fan obsessed with her opponent, Steffi Graf.
After two years of mental and physical recovery, she bravely stepped back onto the court only to add another Grand Slam title to her resume. She continued playing the sport she loved with everything she had, collecting many notable triumphs along the way. In 2008, she officially retired from tennis.
It was 2019 and she was in her mid-fourties when she finally realized her myasthenia gravis symptoms weren’t something she could shake off and that it was time to seek help. Her history as a tennis legend made processing her diagnosis feel extra complicated. Explaining the news to her family and friends was only the first layer, while sharing it publicly was an even greater step.
Now, she’s at a point of acceptance that everyday will feel different. When asked what her fitness routine looks like now, Seles shared, “I'm over 50, you know, so I try to do a little bit of strength training and stay fit. But anybody that has my myasthenia gravis knows the unknown part of it. So, as I say, every day is a new day. I give myself grace periods and, you know, learn.”
The power of support
Seles’ support system has been central to living with the ups and downs of myasthenia gravis. She’s quick to acknowledge that for many people, invisible illnesses can come with a layer of isolation or disbelief from others, something she experienced herself before publicly announcing her diagnosis.
Her goal now is to raise awareness and help others navigate the difficulty of myasthenia gravis without feeling alone, and she’s pairing that with her love of tennis by partnering with Argenx at the U.S. Open Tennis Championship. Seles shares, “I mean for me, you know, I just love giving back to sport. I mean truly the sport has given so much to me in my life.”
“You know, it's been 30 years since I played my first U.S. Open. After the stabbing it was a huge reset in my life and this is another reset in my life where I can actually try to raise awareness about my myasthenia gravis and use my platform in a positive way,” said Seles.
She’s partnered with advocacy organizations to “put myasthenia gravis on the map” and spark conversations about it. A resource she often references is mg-united.com, a community hub that offers practical tips, recipes, symptom information, and personal stories from people living with myasthenia gravis.
Living with acceptance
There’s no “one-size-fits-all” playbook for life with myasthenia gravis. Symptoms can shift day to day, and management often requires adjusting expectations and practicing self-compassion. For Seles, that means listening to her body, staying engaged in the things she loves, and leaning on her support network without hesitation. She’s had to accept that there were “certain things I just couldn't do anymore” and lean on loved ones throughout the process.
“One thing I learned in this journey is to really be kind to myself and accept whatever my new normal is that day, you know,” reflects Seles.
Myasthenia gravis may not show on the surface, but their impact is real. Seles encourages everyone to honor their symptoms, seek trusted medical guidance, and find a community of people who are on the same path.