Monica Seles was officially inducted into the Rogers Cup Hall of Fame at a special ceremony at the 2009 Rogers Cup.

The induction was the icing on the cake of Seles’ special night. Prior to being honored, the former world number one, who had officially retired in 2008, played one more match in Canada, the country where she played her first match after being stabbed.

Partnered with Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak, Seles took the court for an exhibition doubles match against Martina Navratilova and Serena Williams, and lost 6-3. (source: Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

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Former world number one Monica Seles, 35, was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday.

Seles’ career was marked by the stabbing in 1993, but as much as we associate Seles with that incident we always think of her more than impressive tennis career, and unfortunately of how much more successful it could have been had it not been for the incident in Hamburg.

The Yugoslavian-born American who officially retired from tennis last year, won nine Grand Slam singles titles, including four Australian and three French Opens. She is still the youngest French Open champion – when she won the trophy in 1990 she was only 16 years and six months old. Her final Grand Slam title came in 1996 at the Australian Open.

Seles won 53 singles titles and six doubles titles and spent a total of 178 weeks on top of the rankings. She finished 1991 and 1992 as world No.1. (source: Reuters, photo courtesy of Life)

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Monica Seles plans to publish her memoirs and has sold her autobiography to Avery, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA).

In this revealing memoir, the former world number one will explore her remarkable journey of brilliant tennis, fame, tragedy, loss and self-discovery. After years of having every aspect of her training, diet and life dictated and scrutinized by others, Monica took control, deciding what she wanted from life and set out to obtain it.

Now that Seles has overcome the struggles that made her overweight and unhappy, she wants to share her journey with the world.

"On February 14th, I officially retired from professional tennis, closing one chapter of my life," said the nine-times Grand Slam champion.

"I’m now opening a new chapter where I hope to share how I found balance, strength and happiness in my life after a rollercoaster ride of exhilarating accomplishment and sometimes overwhelming tragedy. Avery is giving me the opportunity to put this journey in words, and I’m thrilled to be working with them."

Monica Seles’ memoir is scheduled for publication in March 2009. (via On the Baseline)

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Monica Seles and partner Jonathan Roberts scored the lowest points on their first two performances on Dancing with the Stars and were hence eliminated from the show.

Even though the nine-time Grand Slam champion is not nearly good a dancer as she’s a tennis player, she was given a standing ovation by the judges and the studio audience.

Seles, who described herself as tone deaf, admitted that the involvement with the show enabled her to develop a new appreciation of dance. She also enjoyed the feminine costumes, hairdos and makeup.

"I never had to shimmy, shake my bootie on the tennis court in a gold sequin dress," said Seles. "But that was what was so great about being on the show."

"I've got an amazing partner in Jonathan. We had an absolute blast. On the tennis court I never had makeup or had my hair done. I never had a chance to go to my prom. I got to live out my fantasy." (via ABC News)

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For all of you who don't have ABC or who were simply not at home to watch Monica Seles hit the stage on Monday's Dancing with the Stars, here's how it looked.

The nine-time Grand Slam champion considers herself totally untalented for dancing, and even said she didn't know a tango from a mango, but she gave her best, and looked graceful in the show. Monica took this challenge very seriously, considering it her prom, because for her real prom she played the French Open final.

Tennis fans have all been excited to see Monica in Dancing With the Stars, as well as some of her colleagues. (via Down the Line)

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