Jun 9 2008 by Nick Smith, Liverpool Daily Post
MARTINA HINGIS reckons the boredom of the professional tennis circuit is forcing female players to take early retirement.
The Swiss champion, who takes part in the legends exhibition at the Tradition-ICAP Liverpool International Tennis Tournament which starts tomorrow, became the youngest Wimbledon champion since Merseyside’s Lottie Dod took the title in 1887.
Her centre court triumph at the age of 16 was the second of five Grand Slam titles she won before she was 19 and Hingis looked set to dominate women’s tennis for years to come.
However, she quit the game at just 22 and after a brief comeback, gave up competitive tennis completely last year at the age of 27.
Other recent high profile retirements include Kim Clijsters, who turned 25 yesterday but has been out of the game for more than a year, and last month fellow Belgian Justine Henin announced her decision to quit, also at the age of 25 and after seven Grand Slam wins.
And Hingis has pinpointed why so many successful players have had enough by their mid-20s.
“Tennis takes a lot out of you,” she said. “People think it is a very glamorous lifestyle, which in some ways it is.
“But it can also be tiring travelling from city to city around the world for most of the year.
“But girls tend to start their careers very young so by the time you have reached your mid-20s, you could have been on the tour for 10 years already.
“Of course, if you are successful you can earn a good living. You also get to do something you love every day and bring enjoyment to other people.
“The negative side is that it can become quite tiring with all the travel and you have to be prepared to make a lot of sacrifices to get to the top.
“You don’t really have a normal teenage life, you spend those years on tour so you have to grow up very quickly.”
I think she's definitely right when saying boredom and especially exhaustion are the main causes of so many young players retiring so early on in their careers (in fact I've been saying the same thing myself for years).
Glad to see Hingis still enjoys the sport despite all the negative stuff it has brought her recently.
And, I'm sure it'll be a joy for many fans to see her play as well, even if it is just in exhibitions (who knows once her drug ban is over perhaps she'll decide to give it another go). I just hope that at least some of those exhibition matches will be televised.
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