Darkest day in tennis

On 30th april 1993, one of the darkest fan-athlete interactions occurred on a Hamburg tennis court. Monica Seles, then the world's No.1 player, was stabbed by a fan during a break in her match with Bulgarian Magdalena Maleeva. Guenter Parche, a 39-year-old unemployed lathe operator, jabbed a 25-cm long knife into Seles' back as she rested mid-match on a courtside seat. The stabbing was prompted by Parche's obsession to have Germany's Steffi Graf regain the No. 1 world ranking. Although Seles recovered from her injuries, Parche was successful at derailing the tennis star's career. She was sidelined for more than two years. Seles won her first comeback tournament – the 1995 Canadian Open – but was never able to achieve the same level of dominance in the sport. What was Parche's penalty? A two-year suspended sentence.