Monica Seles opens up about life-changing chronic neuromuscular disease - here are details of condition

Monica Seles myasthenia gravis: Monica Seles, the tennis legend and nine-time Grand Slam winner, has shared for the first time that she was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular autoimmune disease that causes muscle weakness, three years ago, as per a report.

Monica Seles Reveals How She First Noticed Symptoms Of Myasthenia Gravis

The International Tennis Hall of Famer said that she first noticed the symptoms while she was swinging a racket the way she had done multiple times during and after a career, as reported by ESPN.

She revealed that, "I would be playing with some kids or family members, and I would miss a ball. I was like, 'Yeah, I see two balls.' These are obviously symptoms that you can't ignore," as quoted in the report.


Seles, who played her last match in 2003, highlighted that she had never heard of the condition until consulting a doctor and being referred to a neurologist after noticing symptoms like double vision and weakness in her arms and legs, saying, "just blowing my hair out ... became very difficult," as quoted by the ESPN report.

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Speaking Out to Raise Awareness

The 51-year-old Seles pointed out that, "And, for me, this is when this journey started. And it took me quite some time to really absorb it, speak openly about it, because it's a difficult one. It affects my day-to-day life quite a lot," as quoted by ESPN.

She has decided to publicly speak about her diagnosis, with the aim of raising awareness about what is known as "MG", as per the report.

Seles described what it felt like after she was diagnosed with MG, saying, "When I got diagnosed, I was like, 'What?!'" adding, "So this is where -- I can't emphasize enough -- I wish I had somebody like me speak up about it," as quoted in the report.

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Understanding Myasthenia Gravis: What Is MG?

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke described that it is "a chronic neuromuscular disease that causes weakness in the voluntary muscles" and "most commonly impacts young adult women (under 40) and older men (over 60) but ... can occur at any age, including childhood," according to the ESPN report.

Monica Seles Adjusting to a ‘New Normal’ with MG

Seles, who won her first major trophy at age 16 at the 1990 French Open, has learned to live a "new normal" now, and emphasised that her health is another in a series of life steps that required adapting, as reported by ESPN.

She explained that, "I had to, in tennis terms, I guess, reset -- hard reset -- a few times," adding, "I call my first hard reset when I came to the U.S. as a young 13-year-old [from Yugoslavia]. Didn't speak the language; left my family. It's a very tough time. Then, obviously, becoming a great player, it's a reset, too, because the fame, money, the attention, changes [everything], and it's hard as a 16-year-old to deal with all that. Then obviously my stabbing -- I had to do a huge reset," as quoted in the report.

Seles highlighted that, "And then, really, being diagnosed with myasthenia gravis: another reset. But one thing, as I tell kids that I mentor: 'You've got to always adjust. That ball is bouncing, and you've just got to adjust.' And that's what I'm doing now," as quoted in the ESPN report.

FAQs

What is myasthenia gravis?
MG is an autoimmune disease that weakens voluntary muscles, making movement and daily tasks difficult, as per the ESPN report.

How did Monica Seles realize something was wrong?
She noticed symptoms like double vision and missing tennis balls during casual play.