00:00What seemed like just an ordinary routine break between games soon turned into something much
00:05darker. The broadcast had cut away to the score when an ear-piercing scream rang out through the
00:11stadium. Monica Sellis felt an intense and sudden pain shoot through her back and as she turned
00:17around she saw a man standing there with a knife in his hand. A hero in the crowd acted quickly,
00:23putting the attacker in a chokehold and taking him down while the other crowd members disarmed
00:27him. Monica stood for a moment dazed and then collapsed on the court and was rushed to the
00:31hospital. At the time she was ranked first in women's tennis and when the police questioned
00:36the man about why he did it they discovered he was a fan of Steffi Graf who was ranked second
00:41and
00:41was Monica's biggest rival on the court. The crazed fan was attempting to take Monica out so that
00:47Steffi could take her place and hold the number one spot. Thankfully the knife had narrowly missed her
00:52spine and her vital organs. Doctors stitched the wound, Monica recovered and she left the hospital
00:57in the weeks that followed. But the psychological trauma wouldn't heal so easily. Monica disappeared
01:02from the spotlight for two years. She lost her number one ranking, she lost lucrative sponsorship
01:07deals and she felt rejected from the sport. And some fans assumed that she'd quit professional tennis
01:12entirely. However, after seeing a psychologist and getting the help she needed with managing her PTSD,
01:18she was finally ready to re-emerge at the 1995 US Open. And when she did, she realized she hadn't
01:25been
01:25rejected at all. And Monica was overwhelmed with the welcome that she got. 28 months after the darkest
01:31moment of her life, Monica Sellis returns as the brightest of the bright lights.
