"Monica was a girl who was laughing all the time, all that is gone" - When Monica Seles' father lamented her personality change after stabbing ordeal

Monica Seles' father Karolj once expressed sorrow over the changes in his daughter's personality after the tragic stabbing incident that drastically altered the trajectory of her career. He lamented that Seles, who used to laugh constantly, no longer displayed the same joyful spirit.

By the time she triumphed at the 1993 Australian Open, Seles had cemented herself as the dominant force in women's tennis after winning eight Major titles by the age of 19 and dethroning Steffi Graf as the World No. 1. However, her career took a devastating turn just a few months later when an obsessed fan of Graf, Gunter Parche, stabbed her in the back during her quarterfinal encounter at the Citizen Cup in Hamburg, Germany.

Although the Yugoslav-born American physically healed from the injury within weeks, she chose to step away from the professional tennis circuit for two years. Seles also adopted a reclusive personality and only made a handful of public appearances, acknowledging being haunted by the sound of her scream and struggling with sleepless nights.

In a 1995 interview with Sports Illustrated, Monica Seles' father Karolj shed light on the emotional toll the attack had on his daughter, disclosing that the former World No. 1 lived with crushing fear and would often break down after memories of the stabbing resurfaced. He also shared that Seles had lost all the joy and laughter that previously defined her cheerful personality.

"Then she's thinking of the stabbing and she goes to pieces again," he said. "Monica was a girl who was laughing all the time, having fun. All that is now gone."

Monica Seles' father Karolj played an instrumental role in her tennis success, having introduced her to the sport when she was just five years old and serving as her coach. The nine-time Grand Slam champion tragically lost her father in 1998 when he passed away at the age of 64 after a five-year battle with stomach cancer.

Monica Seles on her late father nurturing her love for tennis: "He never made it for me like it was something I had to do, it was just something fun"

Monica Seles - Source: Getty

In a 2009 press conference shortly before her induction to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Monica Seles emotionally credited her late father Karolj for nurturing her love for tennis by making the sport a fun activity.

The former World No. 1 acknowledged that her father's efforts to make tennis more enjoyable allowed her to retain her sanity and continue her career for as long as she did.

"But really, without him, I would have never nurtured my tennis. He and my brother were the first to really introduce me to the sport. But without my dad's love for the game and really just making it fun, he never made it for me like it was something I had to do. It was just something fun," Monica Seles said.

"I think that's what helped me stay in the game so long and also I think to keep my sanity," she added.

Along with her father Karolj, Monica Seles acknowledged her mother Ester, and brother Zoltan's contributions to her success, emphasizing that her family deserved the "biggest credit" for their unwavering support.