Monica Seles Reveals Diagnosis of Autoimmune Disease
Tennis legend Monica Seles has made public her battle against myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune neuromuscular disease that causes weakness in voluntary muscles. The former tennis player, winner of nine Grand Slam titles, was diagnosed three years ago, but until now had not spoken openly about her condition. Seles, 51, shared her experiences with The Associated Press, detailing how she noticed the first symptoms while playing tennis, a sport she dominated during her career.The tennis player, who won her first major title at the 1990 French Open at the age of 16 and played her last match in 2003, decided to speak publicly to raise awareness about myasthenia gravis (MG). The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke describes MG as “a chronic neuromuscular disease that causes weakness in the voluntary muscles” and “most commonly affects young adult women (under 40) and older men (over 60), but… it can occur at any age, including childhood”. It was revealed to them that they had never heard of the disease until they consulted a doctor and were referred to a neurologist after noticing symptoms such as double vision and weakness in their arms and legs. “When I was diagnosed, I said, ‘What?!’. That’s why, I can’t emphasize enough, I wish I had someone like me to talk about it,” added Seles. Now, Seles has learned to live a “new normal” and describes her health as another step in life that requires adaptation. “I had to, in tennis terms, I guess, restart, a difficult restart, several times,” said Seles. “I call my first difficult restart when I arrived in the United States as a 13-year-old [from Yugoslavia]. I didn’t speak the language; I left my family. It’s a very hard time. Then, obviously, becoming a great player, it’s also a restart, because fame, money, attention, changes [everything], and it’s difficult for a 16-year-old to deal with all that. Then, obviously, my stabbing, I had to do a big restart.” “And then, really, being diagnosed with myasthenia gravis: another reset. But one thing, as I tell the kids I mentor: ‘You always have to adapt. That ball is bouncing and you just have to adapt.’ And that’s what I’m doing now.”“I was playing with children or family, and I missed a ball. I saw two balls. These are obviously symptoms that you can’t ignore. And, for me, this is where this journey began. And it took me quite a while to really assimilate it, to speak openly about it, because it’s difficult. It affects my daily life a lot,” explained Seles.
Monica Seles
