By Caroline Cheese

Seles has won one Grand Slam since her return after the stabbing

The events of 30 April 1993 ensured that Monica Seles' career will be defined not by her achievements as a player, but by a single, horrifying moment.

Ten years ago, the 19-year-old phenomenon was playing in a run-of-the-mill WTA Tour event in Hamburg, and was closing in on another comfortable win.

At 6-4 4-3 against Magdalena Maleeva, Seles took her seat by the umpire's chair for what would be the last time in over two years.

Guenter Parche, a 38-year-old lathe operator from eastern Germany, emerged from the crowd and carried out what remains one of the most shocking events in sport.

Seles was stabbed between the shoulder blades, and though the wound itself kept her out of competition for only three months, the emotional trauma prevented her from returning for a further 24.

I think about how much I lost in that one day Monica Seles

Her fears were hardly eased when Parche, who turned out to be a fan of Seles' main rival Steffi Graf, was given a two-year suspended sentence because of diminished responsibility.

At the time of the stabbing, Seles had won four of the previous five Grand Slams and was a worldwide phenomenon.

The raw power and ruthlessness of her game had set a new standard in women's tennis and her rivalry with Graf was tantalisingly poised.

On this day: The story as it broke

In Seles' absence, Graf won an incredible six Grand Slam titles, having picked up only three in the three years since her younger rival's emergence.

Meanwhile Seles, who had trained daily for most of her life and made her professional debut at the age of 14, was left to contemplate the sudden end of her reign as the world's best player.

Seles had won four of the last five Grand Slams before the stabbing

After returning in August 1995, she won one Grand Slam title and though she was a mainstay of the world's top 10, her role was relegated to that of a supporting player to the likes of the Williams sisters, Jennifer Capriati and Lindsay Davenport.

Now 29, Seles has learned not to regret the things she cannot change.

"I think about how much I lost in that one day when it happened but not in the 27 months I was out," she said.

"I had nothing to do with it, it was beyond my control - everything in my life that was in my control I was happy with."

With nine Grand Slam titles, Seles' on-court achievements are already enough to give her legendary status within tennis.

But it is for the events of 30 April 1993, and the strength of character it took for her to return to the court, that Seles will go down in history.