Monica Seles: “Naomi Osaka is like me, actually, better!”

Monica Seles said that Naomi Osaka is her heir. Seles talked about the Japanese tennis star with Chris Evert, on the official WTA Tour website. She hopes that Naomi will be able to return soon after her motherhood.

Seles explained: “Of the younger generation, Naomi Osaka is the player who most reminds me of someone like me, even better. She can still improve a lot, she has to hit the ball first, …bam bam!

I’m amazed though how well she moves in court, she is simply a sensational tennis player. When I saw her hit, I naturally went Wow! I love aggressive men and women players. I always like to watch those who play like this.

Back in my time and growing up, I wish I had developed a even more aggressive tennis, in terms of getting to the net. I loved a player like Ashleigh Barty who was able to shuffle the cards on the table, always coming up with creative schemes and playing early.”

Monica on her family

Monica also talked about her family, who were instrumental in developing her love of tennis.

She told: “Well, my father and brother used to play in my former country Yugoslavia in the tennis club. My father worked so hard and had very little free time, but when he had any, the first thing was to play tennis. It was an athlete all his life and fortunately, he always had the belief that he treated my brother and I equally.

My father, being the creative person that he was, managed to put a net between two cars in the parking lot of our apartment building and that’s how I learned to play tennis, continuing to practice my shots also on the wall near the building we lived in. It all started like this, in the simplest way possible.”

Karoly Seles, who died prematurely in ’98 from a tumor, was the point of reference for her daughter throughout her life.

Seles said: “Going back to the beginning, I never imagined that one day I would reach all these milestones. But for me, the one thing that has always been constant is the love for the game. I have to thank my father for that because he it’s always ensured, even in moments of mad pressure, that I enjoyed playing tennis and enjoyed the process.”