Everyone who follows tennis religiously is familiar with the infamous assailant who took away tennis legend Monica Seles’ crucial playing years. The former world number one’s assailant, who allegedly tried to kill the tennis star decades ago, passed away at age 68.

Gunter Parche, a Steffi Graf fan, stabbed Seles during a tennis match when she was 19 years old. The former world number one may have avoided death, but she missed out on significant game time while she was at the peak of her youth.

Nearly 30 years after the tragic attack on Monica Seles, the assailant dies 

According to  German media reports, Bild.de, Günter Parche, who stabbed the 49-year-old former tennis player, died in a nursing home in Nordhausen, Thuringia. The 68-year-old attacker resided in a single room for the previous 14 years. And in the final four weeks before his death, he simply lay in bed until he calmly passed away.

However, the cause of his death is yet to be revealed. Previously, before spending a month in bed, the 68-year-old was given palliative care.

Parche became a household name after he attacked the 19-year-old Seles while she was playing a quarterfinal match in Hamburg against Magdalena Maleeva.

He couldn’t bear the fact that the 49-year-old tennis player ousted his favorite tennis star, 22-time Grand Slam champion Steffi Graf, from the top position of the world WTA ranking at that time.

However, both tennis player shares one of the greatest rivalries in the history of WTA. Their rivalry started off quite early, back when they were just teenagers who were fighting to create a spot for themselves.

For the context, Before the American tennis player rose to prominence, Agassi’s wife dominated the tennis world from 1989 to 1991 with a string of victories at each of the four Grand Slam events. In between that, Seles managed to win one of her biggest triumphs at the French Open in 1990. Surprisingly, her ascent following the French Open stunned the tennis family, and in a flash, by 1993—before the terrible incident—she had won eight major championships. And challenged the German tennis player’s position of supremacy.

READ MORE – After My Stabbing’ – Tennis Legend Monica Seles Once Explained How Her Autobiography Helped Her With Her Mental Health Struggles

Nevertheless, the horrible incident on April 13, 1993, shocked the entire tennis world, including the nine-time Grand Slam champion Seles. And last year itself, the former tennis player shared an emotional reaction about the horrifying, near-death experience.

When Seles recalled the horrifying stabbing incident 

Last year, the former world number one, in a conversation with Chris Evert, detailed the horrifying incident. She stated  how she is still not able to forget that incident. Furthermore, she said that she couldn’t imagine an incident like that happening in her wildest dreams.

WATCH THIS STORY –Most Horrendous Incident in Tennis when Monica Seles was Stabbed in the Middle of a Match by a Steffi Graf Fan

Additionally, the 49-year-old talked about how it was very difficult for her and her family. Despite this, she bounced back from the incident stronger and went on to win nine Grand Slam titles and made a name for herself on the WTA circuit.