Monica Seles dominated women's tennis for two-and-a-half years before
she was stabbed in the back by a deranged spectator during a 1993
match in Hamburg, Germany.

It shocked the sports world.

Though she returned to the tour two years later, she never regained
her top form.

During that time, her father -- her coach -- to whom she was very
close, died.

The emotional scars Seles was dealing with led to a significant weight
gain.

"I had a lot of inside emotional traumas going on," she told co-anchor
Harry Smith Wednesday. "You could see that reflected in the body that
I had."

Now, though, Seles has shed those excess pounds.

And The Early Show's newest contributor is back in championship form
off the court, spending much of her time in a mode she says is very
important to her -- being a role model -- trying to empower young
women to be all they can be -- and offering advice on getting and
staying slim.

She wants girls to know her life wasn't always easy.

Several years ago, Seles decided to do a major life-check and deal
with a lot of the issues that had, she says, been making her an
emotional eater.

Her tips to get over tough times:

FIGURE OUT WHAT IS EATING YOU INSIDE: You need to figure out the
problem that is causing you to eat.

TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR OWN LIFE: Make your own decisions. There was a
time in my life where everyone is making the decisions for me. I had
to take charge.

BUILD EMOTIONAL STRENGTH: Believe in yourself and know you can do it.
Be strong.

WORK OUT WITH A BUDDY: Seles doesn't like to work out and doesn't like
trainers. She works out with a buddy

DON'T OVERDUE EXERCISE: Three times a week -- cardio and strength --
is enough.

Her main advice?

"It's pretty much just to play any sport for young kids, especially
girls," Seles told Smith. "I mean, in my case it was tennis, but if
it's soccer or basketball -- just go out there and get fresh air in
your lungs, because kids are really sedentary right now, and if you
start like that at age 6 or 10, what's gonna happen as you get older?
... I had my periods where I was overweight, and I can really relate
to both ends of it."