Hitting the Ropes: Tripping Down Memory Lane
I just returned from Toronto recently. I flew there to meet my sports idol Monica Seles, who was making a rare public appearance at the Rogers Cup tennis tournament. It was a big thrill for me, she has always been my favorite female athlete (with apologies to the Glamazon) and I couldn’t believe I was going to see her play again.
I have admired Monica since I was in high school and although I couldn’t really afford tickets, I scrounged and saved for a long time to go to New York to see her play in the 1992 Virginia Slims Championships (a tournament she won). I saw her again in 1995 when she played an exhibition in Atlantic City, a match that celebrated Monica’s return to tennis after being stabbed (and almost killed) during a match two years prior.
It was awesome to see Monica return to competitive tennis in 1995, but nothing for her was ever really the same. Even her personal life suffered because of the trauma of the stabbing. Although Seles didn’t officially retire until 2008 her career stalled because of poor nutrition, age, and most importantly, a dominant new group of players spearheaded by the dynamic Williams sisters. I stopped watching because, to some degree, it was too painful to watch this once-proud champion’s career fall apart. At the time of her stabbing Monica was #1 in the world. How great could she have become? How much was taken away from her? As a fan those questions are painful. I can’t imagine how she deals with it.
So I hadn’t seen Monica play since 1995. Eighteen years is a long time. Throw in a chance to meet her and get a picture together, well, I had to be in Toronto. It was time to heal some of my memories and reconnect with one of my heroes.
In general the event lived up to the billing. The Rexall Center in Toronto is a great venue for professional tennis and I got to see a lot of exciting matches in my short 3 days there. I met Monica during an autograph session, got a photo with her, and had her sign a Seles baseball card I’ve had for over 20 years. I sat front row Monday night as she and Genie Bouchard (Canada’s #1 female player) lost an exhibition match to Serena and Venus Williams. (Note – I have no idea how they score these exhibition matches…the final was 8-5…your guess is as good as mine…)