Monica Seles has heard the rumors of her retirement so many times
that she hardly notices them anymore.

It was the rumor of her impending marriage that caught Seles by
surprise.

Seles, home to visit her mother recently, walked into a Sarasota
business and a man she knows asked her about the rumor she was
getting married.

"I have no idea where that one is coming from," Seles said. "It
completely blew me away.

"It's not true … and the other one isn't true, either."

The other rumor has much more credence. Seles has hardly played the
past two years. A foot injury threatens to end her career. While she
hasn't called it quits, Seles concedes that the end of her tennis
career could come sooner rather than later.

"By January, I will make a decision," Seles said. "If I can't play
then I probably will (retire). But not until January. I am trying to
get ready to play this year. I don't want to talk about it because I
am still trying so hard. I am not going into it with that frame of
mind."

Seles, 30, was the dominant player in women's tennis in the early
1990s and ranked No. 1 at the time she was stabbed by a crazed fan
during a tournament in Germany in 1993. Though she has had her
moments since returning after a two-year absence, she never
completely recaptured the magic that led her to winning eight of the
final nine Grand Slam events she played before the attack.

She did win another Australian Open and got to a pair of U.S. Open
finals and a French Open final after coming back. She even reached at
least the quarterfinals of all four Grand Slam events in 2002 but the
past two years have been plagued by a series of setbacks because of a
stress fracture in her left foot.

Seles practiced and rehabbed most of this past year and planned
several times to play but her foot wouldn't hold up. She has not
played a match on tour since losing in the first round of the 2003
French Open.

Once again, Seles has been practicing, mostly in San Diego. This
week, she returned to New York to have her foot checked.

"I am trying to stay in a positive frame of mind," Seles said. "I
have been feeling good. I have been hitting in the morning and then
in the afternoon about three times a week. It is feeling better."

The plan is to play a lower level tournament in early January,
starting in New Zealand or a tournament in Canberra, Australia. The
Australian Open is later in January.

Even if she does return, Seles acknowledges that she probably would
not play for more than another year, "but at least one more year
would be great."

Several times during the past year the foot seemed to be progressing
but wouldn't hold up to the rigors of tournament tennis. Each time,
rumors of retirement grew.

Seles is determined not to give in to those rumors without one more
good try.

"I have not said that to anyone," Seles insisted about plans to
retire.