By Liza Horan

When Monica Seles walked the short grass on Bill Talbert Stadium Court at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I., last July, it was to take the podium for a speech honoring her agent and friend, the late Mark McCormack, who founded IMG. It was her first visit to the hall of fame, 20 years after she turned pro at age 14.

Her second trip is coming sooner than she thought: On July 10, Seles will be inducted to the hall along with other Class of 2009 inductees Andres Gimeno, Donald Dell and Dr. Robert "Whirwind"Johnson.

Though Seles had never been to the hallowed grass-court facility and museum at the Newport Casino—"I was just blown away by the history, by the beauty, by the elegance of the place," she said—she is a real tennis fan who displayed an old-school work ethic.

Seles was serious on the court, which led to her scoring the No. 1 ranking for 178 weeks and to winning nine major singles championships. But she was quick to giggle off the court. She did so today during in a press conference via phone upon the announcement of her election to the hall of fame, gushing when asked about the most fantastic event (beyond winning) that tennis has brought her.

"Meeting Sir Rod Laver in 2005...that was one of the things I just had to, like, pinch myself: Oh, my God, that's him in the (USTA) President's lounge at the U.S. Open," she recounted of the 2005 encounter.

Seles and Laver will meet again in July as the "Rocket," a 1981 inductee to the hall, will be honored as the only tennis player to win two career Grand Slams (1962 and 1969).

A non-tennis highlight for Seles was meeting Nelson Mandela in 2006 while in Johannesburg for a project with the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.

Seles has had a storied life, from growing up while traveling the world's tennis courts to getting stabbed on court. All of it was very public, yet she maintained a private persona. "I was a normal person in some extraordinary circumstances," she said today.
 
Now at 35, Seles is ready to say more—on how her self-worth was tied to tennis, how she dealt with the stabbing, and how her unhappiness in later years was evidenced by weight gain.

This past year Seles put her experiences and thoughts to paper for a book: "It's called Getting a Grip on My Body, My Mind and Myself," Seles said. "It's my journey from tennis, obviously my fame, the tragedy, my self-discovery, and, I think, a lot about that's geared towards women, too, about weight. I've lost a lot of weight since I stopped playing tennis, which is a big irony because in tennis you exercise so much."

On her upcoming induction to the hall of fame, Seles said, "It's just one of those things that as a little kid, when you start playing tennis, when you pick up the racquet, you never imagine where that racquet is going to take you. For me, at age 35, when my tennis career is behind me, I can't really even put in words what it means. It's just something that you look back and all the hard work, the sacrifices I had to do, my family had to do for me to be there, it was all worth it."

RELATED:
Press Release announcing the hall of fame inductees for 2009