Former world number one Monica Seles announced her official retirement from professional tennis at the age of 34 on Thursday.

Seles won nine grand slam singles titles and 53 tournaments in her career. She had not played competitively since 2003.

The native Yugoslav won her first grand slam at the 1990 French Open and became world number one in 1991, staying top of the rankings until April 1993 when she was stabbed during a match in Hamburg, Germany.

She became a US citizen in 1994 and did not play again until August 1995.

Seles claimed her ninth grand slam title at the 1996 Australian Open to finish with a major haul of four Australian, three French and two US Open titles.

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