MONICA SELES was assaulted while competing in a tennis tournament in 1993.
Günter Parche stabbed the young actress just as she was about to die. But who exactly was he?
Who was Günter Parche?
Günter Parche made headlines when he assaulted Monica Seles during a tennis match.
Monica was playing a quarter-final match against Bulgarian tennis player Magdalena Maleeva on April 30, 1993, when she was attacked.
During the second set’s drink break, Seles bent over to get some water before experiencing a discomfort in her back.
Parche had stabbed her with a nine-inch sword.
Parche, fortunately, missed Monica’s spine and critical organs, and a bodyguard intervened before he stabbed her again.
After the stabbing, Seles did not play tennis for nearly two years.
Who is Monica Seles?
Monica was born on December 2, 1973, and is a former world No. 1 tennis player who has represented both Yugoslavia and the United States.
She won nine major singles titles, eight as a youngster while representing Yugoslavia and one as an adult while representing the United States.
Seles announced his retirement from the sport in February 2008.
Why did Günter Parche attack Monica Seles?
Parche was a huge fan of Seles’s opponent, German tennis player Steffi Graf, which drove him to attack Monica.
Initially, it was suspected that the attack was politically motivated since Seles was from Yugoslavia and had received death threats in connection with the Yugoslav Wars.
However, German officials quickly dismissed this theory, describing her assailant as confused.
Parche allegedly planned to badly hurt Seles so that she would be unable to play tennis and Graf would reclaim the world No. 1 ranking.
Parche was charged after the incident but was held in pre-trial custody for less than six months.
He was deemed to be psychologically abnormal at his trial and sentenced to two years probation and psychological therapy.
Parche passed away at the age of 68.
He allegedly spent the last 14 years of his life at a nursing facility in Nordhausen, Germany, where he resided in a single room.
