WHO'S BEEN THE MOST UNLUCKIEST PLAYER IN TENNIS?

MONICA SELES... THE BEST EVER?

GUNTER PARCHE

Gunter Parche was sitting in the stands watching the world's number one player, Monica Seles,  play her quarter-final match against Hungary's Magdalena Maleeva in Hamburg, Germany. No one in the crowd could have imagined that Parche's aim that day was to get as close to Seles as possible, then stab her with the long boning knife he was hiding in his jacket.

During a change of ends, Parche made his way down from his seat to courtside and, with the players seated close to the advertising hoardings, stabbed Seles between her shoulder blades to a depth of 1.59 inches.

THE SELES DOMINANCE

Imagine you are only 16 years old and have just won the French Open Singles title. In an era that had Steffi Graf (arguably the best female player of all time), Seles put together a record that was nothing short of phenomenal. She had won 8 Grand Slam titles before the age of 20.

From January 1991 until February 1993 Seles won 22 titles out of the 33 tournaments she entered (a 92.9% winning percentage), and a 55-1 winning record in Grand Slams (98%).

WHERE IS SHE NOW?

Seles spent two years away from tennis after the stabbing incident but returned to the tour in August of 1995 to play the Canadian Open, which she won, beating Amanda Coetzer in the final and setting a record for the fewest number of games dropped by the champion throughout the tournament (14). She was back!

The following month Seles reached the final of the US Open, beating 3 top ten players along the way, but lost to Steffi Graf in the final.

In 1996 Seles won her fourth Australian Open title beating Anke Huber in the final. Later that same year, she lost in the final of the US Open to Steffi Graf. In 1998 Seles reached what was to be her last Grand Slam final at the French Open, just weeks after losing her Father Koralj, to cancer.

Her father had been her early coach growing up in her native Yugoslavia and her inspiration for playing the game. After his death, she was never the same again.

For Monica Seles, the stabbing in Hamburg, Germany, at first halted a phenomenal period at the top of the sport, but her beloved father's death further curtailed an amazing career that could have seen her recognized as the best female tennis player to ever play the game.

Seles is now married and lives in the US where she has become a US citizen. 

Tim Adams, writing in the Guardian Newspaper said that Monica Seles, had she not been attacked, would have become the "Greatest female tennis player to ever pick up a racquet."

BRIAN BAKER... WHAT IF?

You may not have heard of Brian Baker. I wouldn't blame you if you haven't. By December of 2018, Baker had just completed his 14th major back surgery, to add to the numerous other knee and elbow surgeries during his career.

But this is not just a story of a frequently injured tennis player requiring multiple surgeries. Baker's story is one of "what could have been" had he been able to stay healthy throughout his tennis career.

 

As a junior, Baker was ranked number 2 in the world in Singles and #5 in Doubles. He reached the French Junior Finals losing to Stanislav Wawrinka in 3 sets (5-7 6-4 3-6), beating Marcos Baghdatis and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on route to the final.

THE DOCTOR WILL SEE YOU NOW

On turning professional Baker made an immediate impact, beating ninth-seeded Gaston Gaudio at the US Open. But in 2007, after establishing a career-best ranking of number 172 in the world, Baker 

was kept out of the game for almost 6 years and underwent 5 surgeries that included; 3 surgeries to his hips, one elbow surgery, and another surgery to cure a sports hernia.

During his time away from pro tennis Baker later said his love for tennis never waned, and he continued to play social tennis with his father back in his home state of Tennessee.

A REMARKABLE RUN 

In 2011 Baker felt that his body was better and that he would resume playing again so he entered a Futures tournament in Pittsburgh. He competed as an unranked qualifier, did in fact qualify, and won the tournament without dropping a set.

A few months later he entered the Knoxville Challenger, where he again qualified and made the final. In early 2012 Baker won 3 Futures and a Challenger. 

After winning another Challenger title, the Savannah Challenger, Baker was awarded a wild card in the 2012 French Open.

But before the French, Baker played the qualifying event at the Open de Nice Cote d'Azur ATP event in southern France. He played through the qualifying rounds without losing a set and faced Sergey Stakhovsky in the first round, losing the first set before recovering to win the match in 3 sets.

Baker then proceeded to beat Gael Monfils, Mikhail Kujushkin, and Nikolay Davydenko to enter his first ATP Tour event final and eventually lose in the final to Nicolas Almagro who was the defending champion. The loss to Almagro ended a 15 match winning streak for Baker.

At the French, Baker beat Xavier Malisse in straight sets in the first round but lost to Gilles Simon in five sets in the second round. Despite the loss to Simon, Bakers exploits were described as "one of the most remarkable comebacks in modern times"

Two weeks later Baker was competing in the qualifying event at Wimbledon, where he won through three rounds to make the main draw of the world's most prestigious tournament. In the first round, he beat Rui Machado in straight sets, and Jarkko Nieminen in the second round, also in straight sets. In the third round, Baker beat Benoit Paire of France in 4 sets. 

His amazing run at Wimbledon was ended by Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany.

Baker ended 2012 ranked #61 but had earlier reached a career-high ranking of #52 in October of 2012.

Sadly injuries began to affect his performances on-court over the next few years, and in 2018 he underwent his 14th surgery (back).

Tennis is a tough sport physically. The demands placed on the body are severe and with no off-season, often players are forced to play injured or return to the game after injury too early just to maintain their rankings. Who knows how far Brian Baker would have gone had his body been able to hold up to the demands of professional tennis.

Baker worked as an assistant coach of the men's tennis team at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. He also studied for business and finance degrees at the university.

MAUREEN CONNOLLY... LITTLE MO

"...I was a strange little girl armed with hate, fear, and a golden racquet"

A PRODIGIOUS TALENT

By the time she retired from tennis at the age of 19 "Little Mo" had already won 9 Grand Slam titles and was the first woman to win all 4 Grand Slam titles in the same year.

Maureen Connolly's first love was horseback riding but her mother couldn't afford the cost of horse riding lessons (Maureen's Mother and Father divorced when she was three years old) and so placed her in tennis lessons instead.

By the age of 11, she was already making a name for herself at local tournaments in the San Diego area due to her powerful groundstrokes. A local newspaper writer began calling her "Little Mo", likening her firepower to the battleship USS Missouri, which was known as "Big Mo". The name Little Mo stuck with her throughout her life.

At the age of 14, Little Mo won 56 consecutive matches, and the following year became the youngest player to win the US 18's Nationals.

By the age of 16, Little Mo won the US Open, becoming the youngest player to achieve that feat. The following year she won the Wimbledon singles title and defended her US Open crown.

UNSTOPPABLE

In 1953 Maureen Connolly won all the Grand Slam tournaments in the same year, a feat that had only been achieved before by Donald Budge in the men's game. In all four Grand Slam events that year, she only lost an incredible one set! 

Connolly won the last nine consecutive Grand Slam tournaments she played in, including 50 consecutive singles matches.

Two weeks after winning her third Wimbledon title, Connolly was involved in a horseback riding accident which seriously damaged her right leg and prevented her from ever playing competitive tennis again. Soon after she announced her retirement from tennis and at the same time her plans to marry Norman Brinker, a member of the US Olympic equestrian team. The couple settled in Texas and had two daughters, Cindy and Brenda.

In 1957 Little Mo published her autobiography titled Forehand Drive, wherein she described her tennis career;

"I have always believed greatness on a tennis court was my destiny, a dark destiny, at times, where the court became my secret jungle and I, a lonely, fear-stricken hunter. I was a strange little girl armed with hate, fear, and a Golden Racket."

In 1966 Connolly was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. On June 4th of 1969, she underwent a third operation for a stomach tumor. She died nearly 3 weeks later on June 21st.

Numerous tennis competitions still exist today bearing her name, and she has had a school named after her. A television movie on her career was shown in 1978.

 In 2019 the US Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp in her honor.