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Martina Hingis (b. September 30, 1980, in Košice, Czechoslovakia)
is a former World No. 1 woman tennis player from Switzerland. During her
career, she won five Grand Slam singles titles (three Australian Open, one
Wimbledon, and one US Open). She also won nine Grand Slam women's doubles
titles, and captured all four of the Grand Slam women's doubles crowns in
1998. She set a series of "youngest-ever" records; however, in
the end injuries ended her playing career at the relatively young age of
22.
Childhood & early career
Both of Hingis' parents — Slovak Karol Hingis and Moravian
Melánie Molitorová — were tennis players (her mother was
once ranked the No. 10 woman player in Czechoslovakia). They named their
daughter 'Martina' (originally Martina Hingisová Molitorová)
after Martina Navrátilová. Hingis' parents divorced when she
was a young child, after which she moved with her mother to Moravia for a
short period. From there they went to Switzerland, which became Hingis' home.
Hingis began hitting tennis balls at home when she was just
two years old, and entered her first tournament at the age of four. In 1993,
Hingis became the youngest-ever player to win a Grand Slam junior title when
she won the girls' singles at the French Open at the age of 12. In 1994,
she retained her French Open junior title, won the girls' singles title at
Wimbledon, and was ranked the World No. 1 junior player.
She made her debut on the professional tour in October 1994,
two weeks after her 14th birthday. In 1995, she became the youngest player
to win a match at a Grand Slam tournament when she advanced to the second
round at the Australian Open.
Hingis, who gained the nickname of the "Swiss Miss"
on the tour, quickly won over crowds with her attractive playing style. She
lacked the outright power of many of her strongest opponents, but compensated
for this with fluent, precise groundstrokes, skill at the net, and outstanding
shot selection. Her bright, bubbly demeanour in public helped make her a
favourite with tennis fans. Hingis was twice rated among FHM magazine's 100
sexiest women, and her doubles partnership with tennis' all-time glamour
girl Anna Kournikova in the late-1990s and early-2000s attracted a great
deal of attention.
Grand Slam success
In 1996, Hingis became the youngest-ever Wimbledon champion
when she partnered Helena Suková to win the women's doubles title
aged 15 years and 9 months. She also won her first professional singles that
year at Filderstadt, Germany. She reached the singles semi-finals at the
1996 US Open, and she lost to Steffi Graf in a five-set final at the year-end
WTA Tour Championships.
In January 1997, Hingis became the youngest Grand Slam singles
winner in the 20th century by winning the Australian Open aged 16 years and
3 months. In March, she became the youngest-ever player to attain the World
No. 1 ranking. And in July, she became the youngest singles champion at Wimbledon
since Lottie Dod in 1887. She went on to win the US Open title by defeating
another up-and-coming star, Venus Williams, in the final. The only Grand
Slam singles title she failed to win that year was the French Open, where
she lost in the final to Iva Majoli.
In 1998, Hingis won all four of the Grand Slam women's doubles
titles (Australian Open with Mirjana Lucic, and the other three events partnering
Jana Novotná), and became only the third woman to simultaneously hold
the No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles. She also retained her Australian
Open singles title by beating Conchita Martínez in straight sets in
the final, and lost in the final of the US Open to Lindsay Davenport. Davenport
ended an 80-week stretch Hingis' had enjoyed as the No. 1 single player in
October 1998, but Hingis ended the year by beating Davenport in the final
of the Tour Championships.
1999 saw Hingis win her third successive Australian Open
singles crown. She then reached the French Open final and was three points
away from victory in the second set against Steffi Graf, but ended up losing
4-6, 7-5, 6-2. Hingis bounced back from the experience to reach her third
consecutive US Open final, where she lost to Serena Williams. Hingis won
a total of seven singles titles that year and reclaimed the No. 1 singles
ranking.
Hingis' three-year stranglehold on the Australian Open singles
title came to an end in 2000 when she lost in the final to Lindsay Davenport
6-1, 7-5. Though she won no Grand Slams that year, she held on to the No.
1 ranking following nine tournament wins including the Tour Championships.
Hingis reached her fifth consecutive Australian Open final
in 2001, where she lost to Jennifer Capriati 6-4, 6-3. She briefly ended
her coaching relationships with her mother Melanie early in the year, but
had a change of heart two months later just before the French Open. Hingis
underwent surgery on her right ankle in October 2001.
End of career
Coming back from injury, Hingis reached a sixth straight
Australian Open final at the start of 2002, and again faced Capriati. But
having led by a set and 4-0 (and even having a few match points), Hingis
went on to lose 4-6, 7-6, 6-2. In May 2002, she needed another ankle operation,
this time on her left ankle. After that she continued to struggle with injuries
and was never able to recapture her best form. Her doctors insisted that
she was able to play and many believe that her losses were more a result
of the new power game (as played by Davenport, Venus Williams, Serena Williams,
Jennifer Capriati, etc.) passing her by than any debilitating physical ailments.
In 2003, at the age of 22, Hingis announced her retirement
from tennis after losing her battle with severe ankle problems, dwindling
confidence and results. During her career, she had won 40 singles titles
and 36 doubles events. She held the World No. 1 singles ranking for a total
of 209 weeks.
In 2001, she teamed up with Roger Federer to win the Hopman
Cup. She also partnered with Marc Rosset for a runner-up finish in the tournament's
1996 edition.
She led Switzerland to a runner-up finish in the 1998 Fed
Cup.
In February 2005 Hingis made an unsuccessful return to competition
at an event in Pattaya, Thailand, where she lost to Germany's Marlene Weingartner
in the first round. Since then, she has said that she has no further plans
to attempt a comeback.
However, Hingis resurfaced in July 2005, playing singles,
doubles, and mixed doubles in World Team Tennis. She produced a 18-1 record
while playing for the New York Sportimes, leading them to a championship
victory, as well as being named MVP of the tournament. During the season
she had singles wins over two top 100 players, and also shut out Martina
Navratilova in singles competition on July 7. These promising results again
fueled speculation that Hingis was indeed considering a return to the WTA
Tour.
In 2005, TENNIS Magazine put her in 22nd place in its list
of 40 Greatest Players of the TENNIS era.
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