Tennis legend Monica Seles first experienced the symptoms of myasthenia gravis — a neuromuscular autoimmune disorder she talked about in a recent interview with The Associated Press — while she was swinging a racket the way she'd doing it so many times throughout, and after, a career that featured nine Grand Slams and a spot in the International Tennis Hall of Fame.&nbsp;“I would be playing with some kids or family members, and I would miss a ball. I was like, ‘Yeah, I see two balls.’ These are obviously symptoms that you can’t ignore,” Seles was quoted saying to AP. “And, for me, this is when this journey started. And it took me quite some time to really absorb it, speak openly about it, because it’s a difficult one. It affects my day-to-day life quite a lot.” &nbsp;Seles, 51, who won her first major championship when she was 16 at the 1990 French Open and last competed in 2003, said she was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis three years ago and is publicly disclosing it for the first time before the US Open, which begins on August 24, to draw attention to what is known as MG.<h2>What is myasthenia gravis?</h2>The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke refers to it as "a chronic neuromuscular disease that causes weakness in the voluntary muscles" and "most frequently affects young adult women (under 40) and older men (over 60) but. can occur at any age, including childhood." Seles said she'd never previously heard of the condition when she visited a doctor and was referred to a neurologist after experiencing symptoms including double vision and weakness in her arms — "just blowing my hair out. became very difficult," she was quoted saying— and legs.&nbsp;I was like, 'What?!' when I got diagnosed," Seles, who is working with argenx, an immunology firm based in the Netherlands, to advocate for their Go for Greater campaign, said. "So this is where — I can't stress enough — I wish I had someone like me say something about it. It's been three decades since Seles returned to competition at the 1995 US Open, making it to the final, more than two years after she was attacked by a man with a knife at a tournament in Hamburg, Germany.&nbsp;“The way they welcomed me. after my stabbing, I will never forget,” Seles said about the fans in New York. “Those are the moments that stay with you.” She discusses learning to have a "new normal" today and described her health as another in a long line of life transitions that called for adjusting.&nbsp;“I had to, in tennis terms, I guess, reset — hard reset — a few times. I refer to my first hard reset when I arrived in the US as a young 13-year-old (from Yugoslavia). Didn't speak the language; left my family.” It's a really difficult period. Then, of course, becoming an incredible player, it's a reset, too, because the fame, money, the spotlight, all that changes (everything), and it's difficult for a 16-year-old to cope with everything. Then obviously my stabbing — I had to do a massive reset," Seles was further quoted saying. "And then, literally, being diagnosed with myasthenia gravis: another do-over. But one thing, as I say to kids that I mentor: 'You've got to always tinker. That ball is bouncing, and you've just got to tinker,'" she said. "And that's what I'm doing now.

Tennis legend Monica Seles opens up about battle with myasthenia gravis

Tennis legend Monica Seles first experienced the symptoms of myasthenia gravis — a neuromuscular autoimmune disorder she talked about in a recent interview with The Associated Press — while she was swinging a racket the way she'd doing it so many times throughout, and after, a career that featured nine Grand Slams and a spot in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. “I would be playing with some kids or family members, and I would miss a ball. I was like, ‘Yeah, I see two balls.’ These are obviously symptoms that you can’t ignore,” Seles was quoted saying to AP. “And, for me, this is when this journey started. And it took me quite some time to really absorb it, speak openly about it, because it’s a difficult one. It affects my day-to-day life quite a lot.” Seles, 51, who won her first major championship when she was 16 at the 1990 French Open and last competed in 2003, said she was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis three years ago and is publicly disclosing it for the first time before the US Open, which begins on August 24, to draw attention to what is known as MG. What is myasthenia gravis? The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke refers to it as "a chronic neuromuscular disease that causes weakness in the voluntary muscles" and "most frequently affects young adult women (under 40) and older men (over 60) but. can occur at any age, including childhood." Seles said she'd never previously heard of the condition when she visited a doctor and was referred to a neurologist after experiencing symptoms including double vision and weakness in her arms — "just blowing my hair out. became very difficult," she was quoted saying— and legs. I was like, 'What?!' when I got diagnosed," Seles, who is working with argenx, an immunology firm based in the Netherlands, to advocate for their Go for Greater campaign, said. "So this is where — I can't stress enough — I wish I had someone like me say something about it. It's been three decades since Seles returned to competition at the 1995 US Open, making it to the final, more than two years after she was attacked by a man with a knife at a tournament in Hamburg, Germany. “The way they welcomed me. after my stabbing, I will never forget,” Seles said about the fans in New York. “Those are the moments that stay with you.” She discusses learning to have a "new normal" today and described her health as another in a long line of life transitions that called for adjusting. “I had to, in tennis terms, I guess, reset — hard reset — a few times. I refer to my first hard reset when I arrived in the US as a young 13-year-old (from Yugoslavia). Didn't speak the language; left my family.” It's a really difficult period. Then, of course, becoming an incredible player, it's a reset, too, because the fame, money, the spotlight, all that changes (everything), and it's difficult for a 16-year-old to cope with everything. Then obviously my stabbing — I had to do a massive reset," Seles was further quoted saying. "And then, literally, being diagnosed with myasthenia gravis: another do-over. But one thing, as I say to kids that I mentor: 'You've got to always tinker. That ball is bouncing, and you've just got to tinker,'" she said. "And that's what I'm doing now.

The 51-year-old former tennis player, who won her first major trophy when she was 16 at the 1990 French Open and played her last match in 2003

Petra Kvitova says a meeting with former world number one Monica Seles at Wimbledon last year, where they discussed returning to the sport after a knife attack, had been one of the most important of her life.

Kvitova suffered cuts to her left hand while defending herself during a home invasion in 2016, while Seles was stabbed in the back during a match in Hamburg in 1993 which kept her off the court for more than two years.

"We met each other and decided we were looking to talk about what we'd been through," the Australian Open finalist told reporters at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells on Wednesday.

"It was nice to meet someone who has been through something very similar," she said.

"It was a big surprise that she wanted to talk with me and say nice words. It was one of the biggest things I've ever heard and from such a legend, to hear what happened to her."

Seles returned to the game after the attack and won the 1996 Australian Open but never fully regained the dominant form that saw her win nine majors as a teenager.

Kvitova completed her recovery, which required surgery, ahead of schedule but said she was not sure she would ever be able to completely put the attack behind her.

"With my experience, I am not sure if I am going to be 100 percent one day and I'm not sure if she is either," she said.

"But hopefully she is happy and can enjoy her life as much as she can."

Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion who is currently ranked third in the world, fell to world number one Naomi Osaka in the Australian Open final in January and to Belinda Bencic in the final of last month's Dubai Tennis Championships.

The powerful lefty will look to win her 27th WTA title when she takes on either Venus Williams or Andrea Petkovic on Friday in her first match of the tournament, where she is the third seed.

Petra Kvitova says a meeting with former world number one Monica Seles at Wimbledon last year, where they discussed returning to the sport after a knife attack, had been one of the most important of her life.

Petra Kvitova says a meeting with former world number one Monica Seles at Wimbledon last year, where they discussed returning to the sport after a knife attack, had been one of the most important of her life. Kvitova suffered cuts to her left hand while defending herself during a home invasion in 2016, while Seles was stabbed in the back during a match in Hamburg in 1993 which kept her off the court for more than two years. "We met each other and decided we were looking to talk about what we'd been through," the Australian Open finalist told reporters at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells on Wednesday. "It was nice to meet someone who has been through something very similar," she said. "It was a big surprise that she wanted to talk with me and say nice words. It was one of the biggest things I've ever heard and from such a legend, to hear what happened to her." Seles returned to the game after the attack and won the 1996 Australian Open but never fully regained the dominant form that saw her win nine majors as a teenager. Kvitova completed her recovery, which required surgery, ahead of schedule but said she was not sure she would ever be able to completely put the attack behind her. "With my experience, I am not sure if I am going to be 100 percent one day and I'm not sure if she is either," she said. "But hopefully she is happy and can enjoy her life as much as she can." Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion who is currently ranked third in the world, fell to world number one Naomi Osaka in the Australian Open final in January and to Belinda Bencic in the final of last month's Dubai Tennis Championships. The powerful lefty will look to win her 27th WTA title when she takes on either Venus Williams or Andrea Petkovic on Friday in her first match of the tournament, where she is the third seed.

Petra Kvitova says meeting with Monica Seles was key after attack

April 30, 1993,&nbsp;will be remembered as the&nbsp;darkest day in history of tennis as former world number one women's tennis player, Monica Seles, was&nbsp;stabbed in the back during a quarter-final match in Hamburg.

She had received a 1.5 cm deep wound and was immediately rushed to the hospital. The doctors said that she was very lucky as the weapon did not hurt her lungs and shoulder blades.

As per some media reports,&nbsp;the attack was politically motivated as she belonged to Serbia, the reports also mentioned that she used to receive death threats in connection with the Yugoslav conflict.

It was later revealed by Hamburg police after investigating the case that the attacker was a 38-year-old man who belonged to East Germany.

The police also mentioned that the convict looked very confused and appeared a mentally unstable person. There were speculations that he was a fan of Seles' rival Steffi Graf and did the terrible incident over Monica-Steffi rivalry.

Watch the video of the tragic incident here:

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Following the&nbsp;incident, Seles did not return to the court for almost next two years and meanwhile, her rival, Steffi Graf overtook her.

Monica Seles won nine Grand Slam singles titles, eight of them while representing Yugoslavia, and the final one while representing the United States.&nbsp;

She played her last professional match at 2003 French Open but officially retired in the year 2008.&nbsp;

Seles' attacker was a 38-year-old man from the former East Germany

April 30, 1993, will be remembered as the darkest day in history of tennis as former world number one women's tennis player, Monica Seles, was stabbed in the back during a quarter-final match in Hamburg. She had received a 1.5 cm deep wound and was immediately rushed to the hospital. The doctors said that she was very lucky as the weapon did not hurt her lungs and shoulder blades. As per some media reports, the attack was politically motivated as she belonged to Serbia, the reports also mentioned that she used to receive death threats in connection with the Yugoslav conflict. It was later revealed by Hamburg police after investigating the case that the attacker was a 38-year-old man who belonged to East Germany. The police also mentioned that the convict looked very confused and appeared a mentally unstable person. There were speculations that he was a fan of Seles' rival Steffi Graf and did the terrible incident over Monica-Steffi rivalry. Watch the video of the tragic incident here: × Following the incident, Seles did not return to the court for almost next two years and meanwhile, her rival, Steffi Graf overtook her. Monica Seles won nine Grand Slam singles titles, eight of them while representing Yugoslavia, and the final one while representing the United States. She played her last professional match at 2003 French Open but officially retired in the year 2008.

On this day: Ex-world no. 1 Monica Seles was stabbed in 1993, allegedly by a Stefi Graf fan

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Tennis legend Monica Seles opens up about battle with myasthenia gravis

Petra Kvitova says meeting with Monica Seles was key after attack

On this day: Ex-world no. 1 Monica Seles was stabbed in 1993, allegedly by a Stefi Graf fan