"There's so much joy in playing the sport": Monica Seles embracing influencer role

Influencing the next generation is an enormous position of prestige. Nine-time major champion Monica Seles has embraced the role, and then some.

“Being a role model is always a great honor a great privilege,” Seles told Nina Pantic in Miami. “It carries a lot of weight because I had my own role models, like Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert.”

Seles was a special guest at the Citi Taste of Tennis event in Miami, with fellow Hall of Famer Lindsay Davenport leading the guest list at the Taste of Tennis event two weeks earlier in Indian Wells. This month marks Women’s History Month, making it even more fitting that the two Hall of Famers made impactful appearances in the tennis world.

“I think it's so important for all of us to give back to the sport,” Seles said. “As a young girl growing up in my former country of Yugoslavia, I never imagined playing a sport that I love to play with my dad would give me all these opportunities.

“I've always tried to stay mindful of that and just to let the younger generation know there's so much joy in playing the sport.”

Seles made having a powerful physical game and tough mental mindset traits that other women would look to emulate.

“Seles was my favorite player growing up and I wanted to be like her when I was 10 years old and was just fascinated with her mental strength,” Venus Williams shared with Pantic. “I remember watching her come back from 5-0 or 6-0 down in a French Open tiebreaker. When I got to play her, I had just fashioned so much of my game after her. And she's an amazing person.”

Taste of Tennis was the brainchild of mother-daughter duo Judi and Penny Lerner over 20 years ago. The mission is to expose players to the best tastes of the cities they travel to. Local chefs put on a spread of drinks and foods for guests, which include a mix of current and former players,

“I started doing Taste of Tennis when I was really young,” Davenport said. “And now that I'm really old, it's fun to come back!”

When I got to play her, I had just fashioned so much of my game after her. And she's an amazing person. Venus Williams on Monica Seles

This year has been extra special with Davenport and Seles doing Q&As, walking the blue carpet, and mingling with players and guests alike. It’s been a great opportunity for players from current and future generations to rub shoulders with some of the best in history.

“I think these figures are really someone to look up to,” said world No. 6 Anett Kontaveit, who attended both Taste events in March. “They've done so much for the sport and it's great to have people like them around.”

Seles won seven Grand Slam titles before her 20th birthday and would add two more before playing her last match in 2003. The Yugoslavian-turned-American won 53 total titles and spent 178 total weeks at No. 1.

“Seles is a great icon,” Kontaveit said. “She has had such a great influence on tennis and I really respect her so much for that.”

She burst onto the scene as a teenager in the early 1990s with an aggressive baseline playing style, made stronger by having two hands on the racquet on both sides and emphasized with a signature grunt.

“Obviously before me, we had Navratilova playing a very aggressive form, and then we had Steffi Graff with her strong forehand great movement,” Seles said. “I came along, then we had Jennifer Capriati, who hit just as hard as I did.

“And then Serena and Venus, they brought the level of the game to an even higher level.”

Seles was inducted into the International Hall of Fame in 2009. Venus, though not in any rush, is guaranteed to follow in her footsteps.

“It was a huge honor to be in the Hall of Fame,” Seles said. “As a kid, if you'd have told me about it, I would say no, it's not possible. When I got inducted, I decided to donate all my trophies.

Hopefully, any young kid that walks through the International Tennis Hall of Fame Museum gets inspired to pick up a racquet and play the sport that's truly one you can play for a lifetime.”