Monica Seles, one of the greatest tennis players of all time, has revealed the autoimmune neuromuscular disease she suffers from and was diagnosed with three years ago.
“I have myasthenia gravis… When I was diagnosed, I thought, ‘What?'”, shared the 51-year-old former tennis player.
“I was playing with children or with family members and I missed the ball. I saw two balls. These are symptoms that cannot be ignored. And for me, that’s where it all started
The famous nine-time Grand Slam tournament winner and former child prodigy (she won her first Grand Slam title at the age of 16) explained that she noticed the first symptoms of this autoimmune neuromuscular disease while playing tennis.
“I was playing with the kids or with family and I would miss hitting the ball. I saw two balls. These are symptoms that cannot be ignored. And for me, that’s where it all started,” he told Associated Press.
Monica Seles: “In tennis I had to start from scratch several times, and that’s what I’m doing now”
Monica Seles, who was world number one for 178 weeks and played her last match in 2003, admitted she had never heard of myasthenia gravis until she consulted her doctor, who referred her to a neurologist after noticing symptoms of double vision and weakness in her hands.
Monica Seles, who was stabbed on the court by a fan during the Hamburg tournament on April 30, 1993, describes her health as just another challenge she faced in life and described that “even drying my hair has become difficult”.
“On the tennis court, I had to start from scratch several times. My first big change was when I came to the United States (from Yugoslavia) at the age of 13. I didn’t speak the language, I left my family. It was a very difficult time. Then, of course, becoming an elite player was also a change, because fame, money, attention… all that changes your life, and it’s hard to deal with that at 16. Then of course my injury… and then I had to start from scratch. And that’s what I’m doing now,” she said.
The symptoms of myasthenia gravis, the autoimmune neuromuscular disease suffered by Monica Seles
The Clinica Universidad de Navarra describes myasthenia gravis as “an autoimmune disease of the neuromuscular junction, which means that it is our own body that attacks the muscle cell, specifically the acetylcholine receptors and related structures, therefore, muscle activation is difficult. The main symptom is weakness with fatigability, i.e. it worsens with physical activity and throughout the day, improving with rest. It is a pathology that appears in two different age groups. It can appear in young people (<40 years) being more frequent in this case in women, but also in older people, being here equally frequent in men and women”.
Today, myasthenia gravis is treatable and new drugs are being developed for more effective treatment.
Its most common symptoms are muscle weakness and fatigue, drooping eyelids and double vision.
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