8 Grand Slams at 18 y.o.? Has anybody aside from Monica Seles ever did this?

[rogerfederer26]

I couldn't think of any other player who has won so much Grand Slams at such a fast place other than Seles.









1993 Australian Open Final


Cliff Drysdale: "Graf has won eleven grand slam championships."
Mary Carillo: "Seles has played 20 less but she's already won seven of them."



1993 Australian Open Final

Mary Carillo: "How much can you say about this woman? She is a remarkable - she has that remarkable instinct, when under the gun, when under pressure, to attack. She's got the instincts of a doberman. You know, when confronted, she attacks. It's the natural thing for her to do. I just, as I say, I've never seen her like before. I've seen great players, obviously, great champions. But time and again we've seen Monica in trouble, we've seen her play less than her best tennis, and in the end, I mean, she just basically says, 'All right, gimme the ball, gimme the ball.' And she hits winners. It's great stuff."

[TENNISism]

M.Connoly was an extradinary player. Seles won 1st title at age 16 and won 8 at age 19(not 1. Graf won 1st slam at age 17 and 11 at age 20. Both are excellent legends.

[davey25]

Both Seles and Connolly had 7 slam titles at the time of their 19th birthdays. Connolly was by far the better teenaged player though. Connolly entered exactly 9 slams from ages 16 to 19 and won all 9 before her crippling accident which never allowed her to play again. By far the greatest teenaged player ever. Seles entered 11 slams from ages 16 to 19 and won 8 of them, including skipping one she was certain to lose as well. Connolly was unbeatable on every surface, Seles was incapable of winning squat on grass and in her only final at Wimbledon was humiliated 6-2, 6-1, one of the worst defeats ever by a #1 in a W final. Connolly did not lose a single set to a main rival in a slam all those years, Seles barely won many of her matches vs key rivals in slams.

The best 15-16 year old player ever was Hingis who won 3 of the 4 slams she played as a 16 year old in 1997, reaching the finals of the other. Youngest player to ever win a slam. Also at 15 was winning tournaments, rising the top 5, nearly won the U.S Open and WTA Championships, and was already beating all the top women including 22 year old Monica Seles who took a 6-2, 6-0 beating from the 15 year old phenom.

[samboy01]

Seles had 8 slams at age 19, but still could have played a few more slams before her 19th year was over. Graf's 11 slam came at age 23/24, not 20. What are you smoking? Anyways nobody comes close to Seles, we were robbed, to many fans she will always be the GOAT. And before someone speaks about Wimbledon, I've said it again she only had played it 3 times and already had a better record there than Graf & Navratilova in their first 3 tries. Enough said.

[Berundi]

Nobody was better than Seles to be sure.

[davey25]

Originally Posted by samboy01

Seles had 8 slams at age 19, but still could have played a few more slams before her 19th year was over. Graf's 11 slam came at age 23/24, not 20. What are you smoking? Anyways nobody comes close to Seles, we were robbed, to many fans she will always be the GOAT. And before someone speaks about Wimbledon, I've said it again she only had played it 3 times and already had a better record there than Graf & Navratilova in their first 3 tries. Enough said.

ROTFL what is with your Graf obsession. I never mentioned Graf at all in this thread. The greatest teenaged player by far is Maureen Connolly which the stats prove. Seles does not even come close to Connollys level of domination over the field as a teenage.

And you are for some bizarre reason even mentioning Navratilova the latest blooming womens Champion in history in a thread about teenage phenoms. You are hopeless. Who cares how Graf and Navratilova did at Wimbledon as teenagers. Connolly won every Wimbledon she played from age 16 to 19 along with every other slam which is what reflecs on the OPs claim or question that Seles was the greatest teenaged player ever. She clearly was not.

The greatest teenage player ever by far:

[samboy01]

Also something that davey doesn't seem to understand. Even though I think that Graf's 2 matches against Seles on grass are far from conclusive (one was in 1989 when Seles was 15, and the other one Seles didn't have the usual intensity because of the grunting controversy), I still acknowledge that Graf would always be the favorite over Seles on grass.

However, Nadal would always be the favorite over Federer on clay, but that didn't mean that Federer could never win the French. He did, even if he didn't have to beat Nadal, and that doesn't take away anything from him. It's like me saying because Seles beat Graf twice at the AO, it means that Graf would never win the AO again. Please.

Seles reached the final at Wimbledon beating Navratilova along the way, and at 16 she had reached the quarters and even gave a better match to Garrisson then Graf did. So she was probably the 2nd best grass court player after Graf. It's not as if she played it 10 times before the stabbing and couldn't win it. She did STUNNING at Wimbledon in terms of the amount she played, even better than Graf & Navratilova at Wimbledon at the same age. Everything else that happened after with the fat Seles that cameback with a broken career is irrelevant to what would have happened without that horrible incident.

[Lionheart392]

Originally Posted by davey25

ROTFL what is with your Graf obsession. I never mentioned Graf at all in this thread. The greatest teenaged player by far is Maureen Connolly which the stats prove. Seles does not even come close to Connollys level of domination over the field as a teenage.

And you are for some bizarre reason even mentioning Navratilova the latest blooming womens Champion in history in a thread about teenage phenoms. You are hopeless. Who cares how Graf and Navratilova did at Wimbledon as teenagers. Connolly won every Wimbledon she played from age 16 to 19 along with every other slam which is what reflecs on the OPs claim or question that Seles was the greatest teenaged player ever. She clearly was not.

The greatest teenage player ever by far:

samboy01 = frisco of course.
Again you're right, Graf has nothing to do with this thread and yet s/he has to bring her up and start the whole debate again. It's disturbing.

[Berundi]

Didn't they play with a shuttlecock in Connolly days?

[davey25]

Originally Posted by samboy01

Also something that davey doesn't seem to understand. Even though I think that Graf's 2 matches against Seles on grass are far from conclusive (one was in 1989 when Seles was 15, and the other one Seles didn't have the usual intensity because of the grunting controversy), I still acknowledge that Graf would always be the favorite over Seles on grass.

However, Nadal would always be the favorite over Federer on clay, but that didn't mean that Federer could never win the French. He did, even if he didn't have to beat Nadal, and that doesn't take away anything from him. It's like me saying because Seles beat Graf twice at the AO, it means that Graf would never win the AO again. Please.

Seles reached the final at Wimbledon beating Navratilova along the way, and at 16 she had reached the quarters and even gave a better match to Garrisson then Graf did. So she was probably the 2nd best grass court player after Graf. It's not as if she played it 10 times before the stabbing and couldn't win it. She did STUNNING at Wimbledon in terms of the amount she played, even better than Graf & Navratilova at Wimbledon at the same age. Everything else that happened after with the fat Seles that cameback with a broken career is irrelevant to what would have happened without that horrible incident.

Idiot. Once again this thread has nothing to do with Graf or Navratilova. It is asking who has achieved more than Seles at the same age and that is clearly Maureen Connolly who already had a Calendar Grand Slam at age 18 and won every single slam event she played after her 16th birthday.

[samboy01]

Connoley's dominance might have been better, but Seles' era was tougher that's for sure. Seles had Graf, Navratilova, Sanchez, Sabatini, Novotna, Martinez, Coetzer, Huber, Capriati, Pierce, back then the top 10 was huge. In Connoleys' era, it wasn't as competitive. Plus, like I said many times if Seles' career stopped with an injury or anything like that, it would be part of things. But she got stabbed on the tennis court in order to take her from the top, that's why it's different, it was a crime that came upon her simply because she was too good, not part of her regular life.

[samboy01]

You keep repeating yourself, but Seles' era was tougher than Connoley's era. And you DID mention Graf because you talked again about the 1992 Wimbledon final as if it would have definied Seles' career at wimbledon even if she wasn't stabbed.

[davey25]

Originally Posted by samboy01

Connoley's dominance might have been better, but Seles' era was tougher that's for sure. Seles had Graf, Navratilova, Sanchez, Sabatini, Novotna, Martinez, Coetzer, Huber, Capriati, Pierce, back then the top 10 was huge. In Connoleys' era, it wasn't as competitive. Plus, like I said many times if Seles' career stopped with an injury or anything like that, it would be part of things. But she got stabbed on the tennis court in order to take her from the top, that's why it's different, it was a crime that came upon her simply because she was too good, not part of her regular life.

Other than Graf who Seles played only 7 times and 4 times in slams in 3+ years here are the others you mentioned:

Navratilova- was already 33 years old when Seles first began her rise. When Seles first ever reached #1 was the ripe age of 34. You know the age virtually every other great player of the last 40 years was RETIRED.

Sanchez- someone who Seles fanatics would surely claim would have ended as a 1 slam only winner without the Seles stabbing.

Sabatini- an underachieving mental flake, another 1 slam wonder who was owned by Graf, Seles, aging Navratilova, and aging Evert.

Novotna- same as Sabatini but even less accomplished, and only a big threat on grass.

Martinez- a clay court specialist who was owned by Graf, Seles, Pierce, Sabatini, and Sanchez on clay.

Capriati- a pre pubescent 14 and 15 year old who nearly beat Seles at the U.S Open then went awry with drug use and other problems and was soon off the tour for years.

Pierce- Pierce was nowhere near her prime back then. She didnt even begin to flourish into a name people even knew until she left her abusive and horrible father.

Huber and Coetzer- hahahahahah. What is next, you are going to mention the Maleeva sisters.


Now lets look at who Maureen faced:

Doris Hart- one of the few women in history to complete the Career Slam. 6 time Slam singles Champion. Legendary doubles player as well.

Louise Brough- 4 time Wimbledon singles Champion, and would have won 6 or 7 without teenaged Connolys compete dominance including on grass (too bad for her Seles wasnt there instead of Connolly). 6 time Slam singles Champion despite almost always missing Australia. Legendary doubles player also.

Margaret Du Pont- 3 time U.S Open singles Champion. 6 time Slam singles Champion despite also rarely venturing to Australian Open. And another doubles great.

Shirley Fry- Like Doris Hart another who completed the Career Slam. Another doubles great as well.

Althea Gibson- overcame racism at its worst to win Wimbledon and the U.S Open twice each, and win 5 Slam singles titles including the French. A trailblazer for people like he Williams sisters.


And you actually believe Seles had tougher competition. Pffft. Teenaged Connolly > Teenaged Seles period.

[samboy01]

LOL, so you name your players with their accomplishements (and never mention that most of them were past their primes either), but then you do the opposite for Seles' opponents basically insulting them. You need help.

And last time I checked, Navratilova beat both Seles/Graf in 1993 and even reached the 1994 Wimbledon final, so she was far from over in 1992, Seles' win over her on grass was huge.

Btw, if you are downplaying Seles' dominance, then Graf's dominance should be downplayed even further because it's basically the same but yet WITHOUT Seles.

[Berundi]

Bringing Connolly into this discussion is like comparing Renshaw to Federer. Give me a break. Tennis was not even a real sport in those days. After real tennis started no one dominated like Seles did, 8 slams at 19, wow! No one comes close.

[davey25]

Originally Posted by samboy01

LOL, so you name your players with their accomplishements (and never mention that most of them were past their primes either), but then you do the opposite for Seles' opponents basically insulting them. You need help.

And last time I checked, Navratilova beat both Seles/Graf in 1993 and even reached the 1994 Wimbledon final, so she was far from over in 1992, Seles' win over her on grass was huge.

Btw, if you are downplaying Seles' dominance, then Graf's dominance should be downplayed even further because it's basically the same but yet WITHOUT Seles.

The only one I mentioned that was possibly slightly past her prime was Osborne Du Pont. And Gibson was not yet in her prime. Brough, Hart, and Fry all won multiple slams after Connollys accident or during her dominance (only when unbeatable Connolly did not play of course). Again you fail. Also hilarious you believe these women who were all in their 20s (except Du Pont) at a time players generally played much older were somehow past their primes, yet believe Navratilova in her mid 30s was still in hers.

I could post the achievements of those women if you wish and they would still fall far short of the women who Connolly faced apart from Graf, and a granny way past her best Navratilova.

Seles beating a 35 year old MN at Wimbledon was HUGE. Well I guess Seles fans are prety desperate when it comes to Monica on grass but the same feat was managed by a 15 year old Capriati a year earlier, and by Linda Harvey Wild at Eastborne just weeks earlier.

[samboy01]

Originally Posted by davey25

The only one I mentioned that was possibly slightly past her prime was Osborne Du Pont. And Gibson was not yet in her prime. Brough, Hart, and Fry all won multiple slams after Connollys accident or during her dominance (only when unbeatable Connolly did not play of course). Again you fail. Also hilarious you believe these women who were all in their 20s (except Du Pont) at a time players generally played much older were somehow past their primes, yet believe Navratilova in her mid 30s was still in hers.

I could post the achievements of those women if you wish and they would still fall far short of the women who Connolly faced apart from Graf, and a granny way past her best Navratilova.

Seles beating a 35 year old MN at Wimbledon was HUGE. Well I guess Seles fans are prety desperate when it comes to Monica on grass but the same feat was managed by a 15 year old Capriati a year earlier, and by Linda Harvey Wild at Eastborne just weeks earlier.

Like I said, Navratilova is a legend. She even beat your precious Steffi Graf at age 37. The point is, in 1992 she was still no.3 in the world and a force on grass.

[davey25]

Originally Posted by samboy01

Like I said, Navratilova is a legend. She even beat your precious Steffi Graf at age 37. The point is, in 1992 she was still no.3 in the world and a force on grass.

Martina's last ever win over Monica was actually after her last ever win over Graf and it was at age 36. Martina was not ranked #3 in the World in 1992. She never again ranked that high after early 1991, flucuating between #4 to #8 for the remainder of her career, being ranked below Sabatini (imagine a prime MN being ranked below Sabatini, LOL). If a flake like Sabatini was better than MN at that age, safe to say all the women I mentioned Maureen faced who are much better players than Sabatini would have been as well. Yeah she was still a force on grass though as long as she avoided grass court legends like Linda Harvey Wild, 15 year old Capriati, or Conchita Martinez in draws.

Kudos to the great MN for even being competitive in pro tennis at 34-36 years old, but she still was 34-36 years old. To put it into perspective 5-7 years older than when both Seles and Graf retired since they were no longer as competitive (especialy Seles).

[Mustard]

Seles could potentially have had 11 slams by the end of her teens.

[samboy01]

That was AFTER the 1992 Wimbledon, so that's all that matters.