Getting a Grip »

Monica Seles is a former number-one world professional tennis player who became the youngest-ever champion at the French Open in 1990, and went on to win nine Grand Slam singles titles. Tennis magazine lists Seles as the thirteenth greatest tennis player of all time, men or women. In October 2007, she was appointed a goodwill ambassador/spokesperson for the UN's Global Sports for Peace and Development Program Initiative. Despite her early elimination, Monica was a sentimental favorite on season six of Dancing with the Stars.

For those of you tuned into this past season's Dancing with the Stars, it's hard to believe that spectacularly fit former tennis champion Monica Seles struggled with binge-eating and depression.

Getting a Grip chronicles Monica's success on the tennis circuit where, at age sixteen, she became the youngest winner in French Open history. For three years she dominated the tour, racking up eight Grand Slam titles, and charming the media at post-match conferences with her trademark giggle. She seemed unstoppable until a deranged Steffi Graf fan plunged a knife into her back during a match in Hamburg and turned her life upside down. Her injuries healed but the emotional trauma was deep. With no support from the WTA and her number-one ranking falling, Monica sunk into a depression. Hiding from the media and disappearing from the tennis world, she turned to food for comfort. She spent more than two years in seclusion, trying to fight off the fog of despair.

Back in the public eye but far from recovered, she continued the battle against herself—grueling six-hour workouts were sabotaged by secretive late-night binges—and she was assaulted with criticism about her weight from her trainers, nutritionists, and, most brutally, the press. Playing with an extra thirty pounds and devastated after losing her father/coach to cancer, she was never able to regain her former dominance on tour.

After an excruciating injury forced her to take time off from tennis in 2003, Seles embarked on her own journey. She abandoned the arduous workouts and the punitive diets. As she uncovered the painful emotional reasons that had been the trigger for her binge-eating, she finally found the peace and balance she had been searching for.

Monica Seles's determination, amazing talent, and touching vulnerability make her story both incredibly human and inspiring. By sharing her own narrative, she hopes to motivate other people to take control of their lives and their own happiness.

Introduction 1

1 Blasting Through the Comfort Zone 5

2 Girls Don't Play Tennis 13

3 The Land of Plenty 21

4 Academy 101 27

5 She's Not All That 34

6 Back to Basics 37

7 The Training Wheels of Professional Tennis 44

8 The Big Time 47

9 The Grand Dame of Grand Slams 53

10 Hitting My Stride 56

11 Reaching the Top 63

12 Ego Check 70

13 In the Zone 81

14 Derailed 89

15 Another Hit 94

16 Keep Running 98

17 Happy? 102

18 Baby Steps 107

19 A Resolution 111

20 A Phone Call 114

21 On My Own 120

22 C'est la vie 126

23 The Search Continues 129

24 The Virtues of the Peanut 137

25 A Hag with a Frying Pan 145

26 A Girl's Best Friend 155

27 The A-Team 165

28 Roman Holiday 173

29 The Wolf's Mouth 179

30 Gladiator 187

31 Gold Isn't Everything 193

32 Injustice Served 201

33 A Chemical Army 204

34 Back in the Saddle 209

35 Diet Secrets of the Sumo Wrestler 218

36 Call Me Ox 224

37 A Pumpkin by Midnight 228

38 Live to Work or Work to Live? 231

39 A Well-Timed Rain Delay 237

40 A Passing of the Grunting Torch 241

41 Where Is the Panic Button? 246

42 Worth a Thousand Words 253

43 The Little Black Dress 257

44 Just Jump 262

45 A Certain Je Ne sais quoi 265

46 Embrace the Fear 271

47 Life 101 276

48 Home 280

Index 283