Steffi Graf German fan of Graf, Günter Parche. He claimed that he committed the attack to help Graf reclaim the world No. 1 ranking. More than two years elapsed before Seles competed again. Shortly after the stabbing, during a players meeting at the Italian Open in Rome, 17 of the world's top 25 WTA members voted against preserving Seles' world No. 1 ranking while she was sidelined. Since Graf skipped the Italian Open, she did not take part in the vote. During Seles's absence, Graf won 65 of 67 matches, three of four Grand Slam events and the year-end Virginia Slims championships.
Martina Navratilova Navratilova was named by Equality Forum as one of their 31 Icons of the LGBT History Month. Tennis writer Steve Flink, in his book "The Greatest Tennis Matches of the Twentieth Century" (1999), named her as the second best female player of the 20th century, directly behind Steffi Graf. In June 2011, she was named one of the "30 Legends of Women's Tennis: Past, Present and Future" by "Time". In March 2012, The Tennis Channel named Navratilova as the second greatest female tennis player of all times, behind Steffi Graf, in their list of 100 greatest tennis players of all