"Difficult for us as the players to choose what to do" - When Steffi Graf defended Monica Seles' No. 1 ranking not being preserved after her stabbing

Monica Seles' stabbing remains one of the biggest black marks in tennis history. The event derailed the young star's career, with her losing the World No. 1 ranking during her recovery and never looked at her brilliant best ever again.

On April 30, 1993, then-World No. 1 Seles took on Magdalena Maleeva in the Citizen Cup in Germany. She won the first set and was up 4-3 in the second set when a fan, later identified as Gunter Parche, stabbed Seles with a nine-inch blade.

Despite being just 19 years old then, Seles was on a run of 22 straight singles titles and had eight Grand Slam titles to her name. She was expected to dominate the WTA tour for at least a decade and more.

However, her time at the top of the sport, and the rankings, came crashing down in the immediate aftermath.

On the sidelines of the 1993 US Open, Steffi Graf was asked for her thoughts on the decision to not freeze Seles' World No. 1 ranking during her rehabilitation. The German defended the move, saying that the issue was handled well, though she refused to call it good or bad.

"You got to understand, all of us, we have to play all year long. I mean, we all have to struggle through injuries, through our problems and through tough matches and through tough tournaments. You know, it has been a very sad incident and it is tough for everybody, but I think it is difficult for us as the players to choose what to do," she said at a press conference.

"I think it is not up to us, the players, and I think the way it has been handled, I mean, it is difficult to say if it is the right thing or not, but I think it has been handled as good as possible," she added.

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Martina Navratilova played pivotal role in Monica Seles' return to action as World No. 1

Monica Seles is a nine-time Grand Slam champion.

Despite her ranking not getting frozen, when Monica Seles returned to action in 1995, she did so with the World No. 1 ranking to her name. This was mainly thanks to Martina Navratilova's efforts.

Navratilova, then the president of the WTA tour Players Association, ensured that Seles sat at the top spot in the WTA rankings, alongside Steffi Graf, when she started playing again.

"When Monica got stabbed and couldn't play, we lost our No. 1 player and our No. 1 star. The only way for her to come back was as the No. 1, because that's how she left," Navratilova explained back then. (via The New York Times)