It was just another changeover at just another tournament.

Monica Seles and Magdalena Maleeva walked to their chairs with Seles
leading 4-3 in the second set of their Citizen Cup quarterfinal in
Hamburg 15 years ago Wednesday, something they'd done hundreds of
times previously.

Then Gunter Parche, an unemployed lathe operator, altered the course
of tennis history and irreparably damaged Seles' career by plunging a
knife into her back, just below the left shoulder blade. Seles
staggered to the net, officials rushing toward her, before collapsing
to the clay.

"I had no idea what was going on,'' Maleeva recalled this week. She
was 18 at the time, a year younger than Seles. "I just saw her falling
to the ground, and I was scared. I didn't see any blood. If I would
have seen blood, I would have been very, very scared. It was a
terrible feeling for Monica because something unjust happened to her.''

The tournament continued with Seles in hospital, and Maleeva lost to
Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario the following day.

"When I look back, I was very surprised that we all went on the court
the next day and played our matches as if nothing happened,'' said
Maleeva, the youngest of three tennis-playing sisters and a former
world No. 4. "I would have thought we should have all stopped playing.
I think this would have been the better thing to do.''

Seles' wound eventually healed, although the youthful exuberance was
gone. Having won seven of eight Grand Slams she entered from 1991-93,
she took two years off and claimed only one more major. Parche, a
Steffi Graf fan who wanted her to reclaim the top ranking, received a
two-year suspended sentence.

Seles, hampered by foot injuries, retired in February.

"Like 9/11 changed the world, the Monica Seles incident changed
tennis,'' said Micky Lawler, a member of the WTA Tour's board of
directors and managing director of tennis at Octagon. "Once everyone
had the opportunity to step back and take a breath, things had to
happen. Tournaments had to expect much stricter and a higher standard
of security. There was an overhaul on the way security was done.''

In the immediate aftermath, among other actions taken, security
officers hovered behind the chair umpire, and pros, male and female,
faced the ump at changeovers.

Fast forward to 2008, and the improvements continue.

At the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, the unofficial fifth Grand Slam
that drew a tournament-record 297,011 fans in March and April and
houses singles fields of 96, a six-foot barrier separates the stands
and court. Security watches the players during breaks, and all four
corners of the court feature staffers or monitors.

Between 300 and 400 people are used for security, with the number not
changing much in recent years, said tournament director Adam Barrett.
The composition is different. All have picture identification.

"People you're hiring to do the jobs have to be better trained than
ever before,'' Barrett said. "They have to know about security, so
while we still have similar numbers of bodyguards or escorts, these
people need to be better trained and need a higher level to work these
important security positions.''

Coordinating simple autograph sessions or getting a player from one
location to another requires ample planning. Then there's trying to
balance player safety with fan accessibility.

Getting on a player guest list is hard work.

"The player guest list has always been there,'' Barrett said. "Now at
the Sony Ericsson Open, only the player can put someone on their list
in person. If they have to do it by phone for whatever reason, it has
to be that player and we have to be pretty well-assured that that
player is the one on the phone.''

In February, the WTA Tour announced that background checks would
become standard practice for people wanting access to secure player
locations at events. In the last year, several men's players admitted
they were asked to throw matches, an issue that gained prominence
after the Nikolay Davydenko saga. Online betting company Betfair
reported unusual wagering patterns in an encounter involving Davydenko
and underdog Martin Vassallo Arguello at the Orange Prokom Open in
Poland last summer. Most of the money was on Vassallo Arguello, and
Davydenko retired in the third set. The ATP is still investigating the
circumstances around the match.

"Five years ago we didn't have a person within the tour responsible
for player security in all forms and that the players could go to
confidentially,'' said Larry Scott, the WTA Tour's chairman and CEO.
"We didn't have a task force.''

The fans have to be protected, too.

Major sporting events and venues suddenly became possible targets
post-9/11, so an unattended bag or briefcase raises suspicions. (Bag
checks are routine, for instance, at Wimbledon.)

While tournaments are essentially responsible for their own security,
the WTA Tour uses the services of Control Risks, an independent firm
that allows companies to manage strategic and operational risks. They
monitor places where tourneys take place and give the tour in-depth
analysis when needed, Scott said.

No matter what's implemented, it still can't guarantee that scenarios
such as the Seles stabbing won't happen again.

"When someone is so crazy, I don't know if anything can stop them,''
Maleeva said.