Seles Has Exhibition Lined Up

As she has often done during her brief but tempestuous career, Monica Seles overshadowed nearly everyone else in women’s tennis Tuesday, blunting interest in the women’s French Open quarterfinals with the announcement that she will play an exhibition match against Martina Navratilova on July 29.

Seles, winner of eight Grand Slam tournaments and the French Open three times, has been absent from the WTA Tour since she was stabbed in the back during a match on April 30, 1993. The announcement would appear to presage her return to professional tennis.

The site of the exhibition has not been announced, but it will be in the New Jersey area, where Navratilova will be playing team tennis that week.

Little attention was paid to the women playing on Court A at the French Open, as Seles was making news. She was apartment hunting in Paris last weekend, but she reportedly did not attend matches at Roland Garros.

Seles, did, however, meet with WTA Tour officials here. There have been ongoing discussions about how the tour would accommodate her return. She lost her ranking and, under normal circumstances, would be required to play qualifying tournaments for acceptance into the main draw of a large event.

Navratilova has been the catalyst for facilitating Seles’ return. As president of the Players’ Association, Navratilova has helped devise a plan that would allow Seles to return and attempt to be fair to other players.

Navratilova is one of the few tennis insiders who speaks regularly to Seles.

Navratilova, who has retired from singles play, recently practiced with Seles at the Seles home in Sarasota, Fla. Seles holds a 10-7 record against Navratilova.

Seles will make her first public appearance in more than a year at the Special Olympics World Games in New Haven, Conn., on July 8 to conduct a tennis clinic.