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Christmas Spirit Quote by Monica Seles

"Did you know that Christmas Day is absolutely the best day to fly? It is. No crowded airports and crowded planes. I always flew to Australia. That's what Christmas was for me - a plane journey to the next tournament"

About this Quote

Christmas, in Monica Seles's telling, isn’t a hearth-and-hallmark tableau; it’s an empty terminal and a boarding pass. The line lands because it flips a sacred cultural script with the matter-of-factness of someone who’s lived outside it. “Did you know” reads like friendly travel advice, but it’s also a quiet flex: her calendar isn’t organized around family rituals or national holidays, it’s organized around draws, surfaces, and the next match.

The specificity does the heavy lifting. “No crowded airports and crowded planes” isn’t just a perk; it’s a tiny portrait of how public life grinds you down when your job requires constant motion. Most people dream of Christmas as stillness. Seles frames it as rare logistical ease. That contrast makes the subtext sting: for elite athletes, even the most culturally protected day can become just another strategic slot in a brutal itinerary.

“I always flew to Australia” sharpens the context. The Australian Open is the first Grand Slam of the year; getting there means time zones, acclimation, and training blocks that steal December. When she says, “That’s what Christmas was for me,” the phrase isn’t self-pitying. It’s almost clinical, like a veteran describing how your sense of normal gets rewired by professional demands.

What makes the quote work is its calm tone. No melodrama, no complaint - just a clean admission that success can be measured in what you’re willing to trade away, and how quickly you learn to call the trade “best.”

Quote Details

TopicChristmas
SourceHelp us find the source
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Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Seles, Monica. (2026, January 16). Did you know that Christmas Day is absolutely the best day to fly? It is. No crowded airports and crowded planes. I always flew to Australia. That's what Christmas was for me - a plane journey to the next tournament. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/did-you-know-that-christmas-day-is-absolutely-the-86449/

Chicago Style
Seles, Monica. "Did you know that Christmas Day is absolutely the best day to fly? It is. No crowded airports and crowded planes. I always flew to Australia. That's what Christmas was for me - a plane journey to the next tournament." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/did-you-know-that-christmas-day-is-absolutely-the-86449/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Did you know that Christmas Day is absolutely the best day to fly? It is. No crowded airports and crowded planes. I always flew to Australia. That's what Christmas was for me - a plane journey to the next tournament." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/did-you-know-that-christmas-day-is-absolutely-the-86449/. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.

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Monica Seles on Flying on Christmas Day
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About the Author

Monica Seles (born December 2, 1973) is a Athlete.

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