Showing posts with label Martina Hingis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Martina Hingis. Show all posts
Sunday, March 15, 2026
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Martina Hingis becomes Ambassador for Swiss Tennis Academy
Swiss tennis legend Martina Hingis will continue her involvement with the sport in her homeland by becoming an ambassador for the Swiss Tennis Academy.
The Academy, founded in 2009, wishes to focus specifically on high-performance athletes from at home and abroad, and it is hoped that Hingis, who also holds a coaching license and is the coach of the Swiss national team in Fed Cup, will be able to help attract talent from the Asian market.
“I’m absolutely delighted to once again be able to play a more active role in Swiss tennis,” she said in a statement. “In my mother’s academy I learnt what a difference good coaching can make and I’m very happy that I will be able to accompany many young players on their way forward together with the ambitious team at the Swiss Tennis Academy.”
Meanwhile, Swiss Tennis believe that the five-time Grand Slam singles winner’s commitment to the project is evidence that they are getting things right.
“The fact that Martina wants to work with us to develop the Swiss Tennis Academy further and in doing so position the location of Biel / Switzerland as a worldwide center of competence for tennis, is not only a great honor and pleasure for us, but also shows that we are on the right path,” René Stammbach, the president of Swiss Tennis, said.
With a coaching team that is five-strong, the focus is on quality rather than quantity.
“Our Academy is not the largest, but ‘small and sweet’ - this ranges from the coaching team with highest level of qualifications to individual support for every player. With us nobody is treated as a number, but each person is supported as an athlete and individual,” Peter Frey, the head of the academy said.
The Academy, founded in 2009, wishes to focus specifically on high-performance athletes from at home and abroad, and it is hoped that Hingis, who also holds a coaching license and is the coach of the Swiss national team in Fed Cup, will be able to help attract talent from the Asian market.
“I’m absolutely delighted to once again be able to play a more active role in Swiss tennis,” she said in a statement. “In my mother’s academy I learnt what a difference good coaching can make and I’m very happy that I will be able to accompany many young players on their way forward together with the ambitious team at the Swiss Tennis Academy.”
Meanwhile, Swiss Tennis believe that the five-time Grand Slam singles winner’s commitment to the project is evidence that they are getting things right.
“The fact that Martina wants to work with us to develop the Swiss Tennis Academy further and in doing so position the location of Biel / Switzerland as a worldwide center of competence for tennis, is not only a great honor and pleasure for us, but also shows that we are on the right path,” René Stammbach, the president of Swiss Tennis, said.
With a coaching team that is five-strong, the focus is on quality rather than quantity.
“Our Academy is not the largest, but ‘small and sweet’ - this ranges from the coaching team with highest level of qualifications to individual support for every player. With us nobody is treated as a number, but each person is supported as an athlete and individual,” Peter Frey, the head of the academy said.
Friday, November 01, 2019
Martina Hingis excited for Clijsters comeback, but doesn't think she'll beat players like Andreescu
Martina Hingis and Kim Clijsters are members of an exclusive club.
The Hall of Famers are among a handful of players to hold the world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles.
The 39-year-old Hingis is rooting for the 36-year-old Clijsters in her planned 2020 return to the WTA Tour, but questions if the mother of three can make a successful comeback amid the physicality of today's tennis.
"To me, I think the game has evolved," Hingis told the media at the WTA Finals Shenzhen. "The last time she won was 2011 or 2013. It wasn't yesterday. After all of this, I mean, I played some exhibitions with her or against her, we also played in doubles, I think it's quite different.
"I mean, she was a much more physical player than I was. For me, the doubles was good enough. I felt like, This is what I can do, still participate. I finished at No. 1, so it was nice to come back and play. I felt like I would not be probably good enough for singles. Also I didn't want to put myself out there. That's why I said that it's quite ambitious to want to make that move."
Five-time Grand Slam singles champion Hingis mastered the art of the comeback. Hingis initially stepped away from the sport at age 22 before mounting a successful comeback in 2006.
The former No. 1 eventually worked her way back to No. 6 before retiring again on November 1st, 2007 following a hip injury and positive test for cocaine. Hingis launched another comeback in 2013. Playing exclusively doubles in her second comeback, Hingis won multiple Grand Slam doubles title and regained the world No. 1 doubles ranking.
The new mother suggests Clijsters will face a major challenge against younger players, including US Open champion Bianca Andreescu.
"Even for me it's going to be, like, interesting to watch," Hingis told the media at the WTA Finals Shenzhen. "If she can come back to the game she finished off with, then I'm sure she can have some good matches. Will that be enough to play in today's game? I don't know that.
"I mean, personally I can't see that she's going to go out there and beat Andreescu, Sabalenka, the people who qualified here. If she gets a chance, a good draw, she can get into it. Depends maybe on the first matches who she is going to face. As a wild card, if she's going to face Andreescu first round, you don't really know."
Though she suggests her fellow former No. 1 may struggle, Hingis said she's excited to watch Clijsters compete again.
"I think everybody was surprised to hear about that. She's 36 years old, three-time mother," Hingis said of Clijsters. "I think that's a very ambitious challenge to come back. But I'm sure she won't come back until she's ready. When she feels she's ready, she'll play some good tennis.
"I'm actually excited to see how she's going to do. I mean, speaking as a mother, it's not that easy after having a child and everything. Like I said, it's a very ambitious project. But I wish her all the best."
The Hall of Famers are among a handful of players to hold the world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles.
The 39-year-old Hingis is rooting for the 36-year-old Clijsters in her planned 2020 return to the WTA Tour, but questions if the mother of three can make a successful comeback amid the physicality of today's tennis.
"To me, I think the game has evolved," Hingis told the media at the WTA Finals Shenzhen. "The last time she won was 2011 or 2013. It wasn't yesterday. After all of this, I mean, I played some exhibitions with her or against her, we also played in doubles, I think it's quite different.
"I mean, she was a much more physical player than I was. For me, the doubles was good enough. I felt like, This is what I can do, still participate. I finished at No. 1, so it was nice to come back and play. I felt like I would not be probably good enough for singles. Also I didn't want to put myself out there. That's why I said that it's quite ambitious to want to make that move."
Five-time Grand Slam singles champion Hingis mastered the art of the comeback. Hingis initially stepped away from the sport at age 22 before mounting a successful comeback in 2006.
The former No. 1 eventually worked her way back to No. 6 before retiring again on November 1st, 2007 following a hip injury and positive test for cocaine. Hingis launched another comeback in 2013. Playing exclusively doubles in her second comeback, Hingis won multiple Grand Slam doubles title and regained the world No. 1 doubles ranking.
The new mother suggests Clijsters will face a major challenge against younger players, including US Open champion Bianca Andreescu.
"Even for me it's going to be, like, interesting to watch," Hingis told the media at the WTA Finals Shenzhen. "If she can come back to the game she finished off with, then I'm sure she can have some good matches. Will that be enough to play in today's game? I don't know that.
"I mean, personally I can't see that she's going to go out there and beat Andreescu, Sabalenka, the people who qualified here. If she gets a chance, a good draw, she can get into it. Depends maybe on the first matches who she is going to face. As a wild card, if she's going to face Andreescu first round, you don't really know."
Though she suggests her fellow former No. 1 may struggle, Hingis said she's excited to watch Clijsters compete again.
"I think everybody was surprised to hear about that. She's 36 years old, three-time mother," Hingis said of Clijsters. "I think that's a very ambitious challenge to come back. But I'm sure she won't come back until she's ready. When she feels she's ready, she'll play some good tennis.
"I'm actually excited to see how she's going to do. I mean, speaking as a mother, it's not that easy after having a child and everything. Like I said, it's a very ambitious project. But I wish her all the best."
Friday, March 08, 2019
Martina Hingis welcomes daughter
And then we were three! Harry and I are excited to welcome our baby girl Lia to the world. We are already so in love
via Martina Hingis Facebook
Five-time Grand Slam singles title winner Martina Hingis has announced the birth of her daughter Lia.
The Swiss had announced that she was expecting on social media on September 30, 2018, the day of her 38th birthday.
On Friday, she confirmed the new arrival with a picture of her family, including husband Harald Leemann, a former sports doctor, via social media.
“And then we were three! Harry and I are excited to welcome our baby girl Lia to the world. We are already so in love,” she told her followers.
Back in 1996, Hingis became the youngest Grand Slam champion ever when she won the Wimbledon doubles title along with Helena Sukova aged 15 and 9 months. A year later, she became the youngest Grand Slam singles champions in the 20th century at the Australian Open, then claimed the titles at Wimbledon and the US Open as she stormed to WTA World No.1.
While she defended her Australian Open crown a year later, perhaps her most notable achievement of 1998 was completing a Grand Slam of doubles titles.
She won in Melbourne of a third successive year in 1999, and though this was the last of her major singles titles, she remained a force in doubles competition, winning a total of 20 Grand Slams in both women’s and mixed, until retiring for a third time in 2017 after two previous spells away from the game.
wtatennis.com
Baby Swiss Miss ♥♥♥
Sunday, September 30, 2018
Martina Hingis announces she's pregnant on her 38th Birthday
Paris - Former world No 1 Martina Hingis marked her 38th birthday on Sunday by announcing she is expecting a baby.
"Thanks for all the birthday wishes! Happy to share that this will be the last time we'll celebrate as a couple...excited to announce that we will become a family of three," she tweeted without revealing the date of birth.
Hingis was the youngest ever Grand Slam champion and world No 1, spending 209 weeks at the top of women's tennis and winning five Grand Slam singles titles.
She retired in 2017 and married former Swiss team doctor Harald Leemann in July this year.
sport24.co.za
Happy Birthday! and congrats on the future Swiss Miss Tennis star!.
Glad to see she's finally finding balance and happiness in her personal life.
Saturday, July 21, 2018
Martina Hingis gets married!
The Swiss Miss is now the Swiss Mrs.
Former World No.1 and 25-time Grand Slam champion Martina Hingis (37) was married to Harald Leeman (38), sports physician and team doctor for the Swiss Fed Cup team, this weekend.
The pair originally met in 2016.
“Sending greetings from our wedding from Grand Resort Bad Ragaz,” Hingis posted on Twitter. “Grateful to have our family and friends join us on this wonderful day!"
In March, Hingis was named the brand ambassador for the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, a place where she trained during her youth.
So happy things are finally going well for her in her personal life. Congrats :).
Thursday, June 07, 2018
Martina Hingis supports former doubles partner at Roland Garros
Nothing better than having your former doubles partner there to share in the joy :)
I miss these 2. Great to see they've remained good friends :).
Congarts Latisha Chan on your mixed doubles title at another Grand Slam.
Courtesy of Martina Hingis' Facebook
Monday, February 19, 2018
Tennis Magazine names Martina Hingis one of the 50 greatest players of the open era
Tennis has been transformed over the last five decades by TV, money, technology, equipment, fashion and politics. But through all of that, the players have remained at the heart of the game. As part of our golden anniversary celebration of the Open era, Tennis.com presents its list of 50 best players—the Top 25 men and the Top 25 women—of the last 50 years. You'll be able to view the entire list in the March/April issue of TENNIS Magazine.
(Note: Only singles results were considered; any player who won a major title during the Open era had his or her entire career evaluated; all statistics are through the 2018 Australian Open.).
(Note: Only singles results were considered; any player who won a major title during the Open era had his or her entire career evaluated; all statistics are through the 2018 Australian Open.).
11. MARTINA HINGIS
Years played: 1994–2017
Titles: 43
Major titles: 5
How many people can say they’ve started and finished three successful careers by the time they’re 37? Martina Hingis, who retired for the third time in 2017, has been in and out of the pro game since she was 14. Now that she has (presumably) hung up her racquets for good, it’s clear that she did as much with them as anyone in the sport’s history. Between singles, doubles, and mixed, Hingis won 25 major titles, two career Grand Slams, and a calendar-year Slam.
For the purposes of our list, we’re only looking at her singles results, but those were as formidable as they are now under-appreciated. History says that Hingis was a transitional figure, a finesse player who took advantage of the gap between Steffi Graf and Venus and Serena Williams. And that’s true to a degree; Hingis won all five of her Grand Slam titles in a 24-month period from 1996 to 1998.
But she made the most of her relatively brief time at the top. Hingis came within one match of the calendar-year Grand Slam in 1997; her loss to Iva Majoli in the French Open final remains one of the sport’s biggest shocks. But contrary to popular belief, Hingis wasn’t a one-year wonder. She spent 209 weeks at No. 1 and finished three seasons there.
Hingis was born for the court. Her mother, Melanie Molitor, was a player and coach in her native Czechoslovakia who named her daughter after that country’s most famous champion, Navratilova. Baby Martina entered her first tournament at 4, and at 12 became the youngest player to win a junior Grand Slam title, at the French Open. Four years later, as a 16-year-old, she became the youngest Grand Slam champion of the 20th century when she won the Australian Open.
An unimposing 5’7”, Hingis couldn’t win with power, so she won with everything else: Consistency, variety, touch, anticipation, and court sense, as well as a fiery and occasionally self-destructive temper. Hingis had tennis in her DNA, and a sixth sense for where to put the ball. Everything about the game, on every surface, came naturally.
By the time she was 22, Hingis had won 40 titles, but ankle injuries—as well as the ever-more problematic presence of Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati, and the Williams sisters—forced her off the tour for the first time. In 2013, Hingis was inducted into the tennis Hall of Fame at age 32. Considering that she would go on to win 10 more doubles majors, she may be the first to be inducted twice.
Defining Moment: In the 1997 Wimbledon final, a 16-year-old Hingis lost the first set to her doubles partner, Jana Novotna, before turning the tables to win in three. It made Hingis the youngest Wimbledon winner since 1887; little did we know her singles career had peaked that afternoon.
Years played: 1994–2017
Titles: 43
Major titles: 5
How many people can say they’ve started and finished three successful careers by the time they’re 37? Martina Hingis, who retired for the third time in 2017, has been in and out of the pro game since she was 14. Now that she has (presumably) hung up her racquets for good, it’s clear that she did as much with them as anyone in the sport’s history. Between singles, doubles, and mixed, Hingis won 25 major titles, two career Grand Slams, and a calendar-year Slam.
For the purposes of our list, we’re only looking at her singles results, but those were as formidable as they are now under-appreciated. History says that Hingis was a transitional figure, a finesse player who took advantage of the gap between Steffi Graf and Venus and Serena Williams. And that’s true to a degree; Hingis won all five of her Grand Slam titles in a 24-month period from 1996 to 1998.
But she made the most of her relatively brief time at the top. Hingis came within one match of the calendar-year Grand Slam in 1997; her loss to Iva Majoli in the French Open final remains one of the sport’s biggest shocks. But contrary to popular belief, Hingis wasn’t a one-year wonder. She spent 209 weeks at No. 1 and finished three seasons there.
Hingis was born for the court. Her mother, Melanie Molitor, was a player and coach in her native Czechoslovakia who named her daughter after that country’s most famous champion, Navratilova. Baby Martina entered her first tournament at 4, and at 12 became the youngest player to win a junior Grand Slam title, at the French Open. Four years later, as a 16-year-old, she became the youngest Grand Slam champion of the 20th century when she won the Australian Open.
An unimposing 5’7”, Hingis couldn’t win with power, so she won with everything else: Consistency, variety, touch, anticipation, and court sense, as well as a fiery and occasionally self-destructive temper. Hingis had tennis in her DNA, and a sixth sense for where to put the ball. Everything about the game, on every surface, came naturally.
By the time she was 22, Hingis had won 40 titles, but ankle injuries—as well as the ever-more problematic presence of Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati, and the Williams sisters—forced her off the tour for the first time. In 2013, Hingis was inducted into the tennis Hall of Fame at age 32. Considering that she would go on to win 10 more doubles majors, she may be the first to be inducted twice.
Defining Moment: In the 1997 Wimbledon final, a 16-year-old Hingis lost the first set to her doubles partner, Jana Novotna, before turning the tables to win in three. It made Hingis the youngest Wimbledon winner since 1887; little did we know her singles career had peaked that afternoon.
I would have put her higher on the list, but I'm biased :D.
Regardless I think all of her accomplishments should have put her in the top 10 instead of top 20.
Saturday, February 03, 2018
Martina Hingis appointed Switzerland Fed Cup team coach
Former World No.1 Martina Hingis, who retired from tennis in November, will join the Swiss Fed Cup team as their coach for the World Group first round tie against Czech Republic in Prague this February.
Hingis, who made 19 appearances for the Swiss national team between 1995 and 2017, will join team captain Heinz Günthardt, who has chosen Timea Bacsinszky, Belinda Bencic, Viktorija Golubic and Jil Teichmann as the four players to represent the Swiss Tennis Federation team. The Swiss Tennis Federation has also claimed for a compensation to Rebeka Masarova, who won 2016 Roland Garros junior title.
In 2015, Hingis returned to the Swiss Fed Cup team after a 17-year absence and together with team-mates Timea Bacsinszky, Belinda Bencic and Viktorija Golubic, helped to push Switzerland into the top four nations in the past two years. “We’ve built something special with the team over the past three years,” 37-year-old Hingis, who retired for the third and last time in November, was quoted by swisstennis.ch as saying. “Our relationship in the team is characterized by mutual trust and respect. We have shown how well we can function as a single entity, the success of recent years speaks for us. That’s why I’m all the more pleased that the players also expressed their confidence in my role as coach.”
Hingis already has coaching experience. Before her comeback on the double tour she had already worked as a trainer. Regarding the upcoming first round encounter with Czech Republic, the new coach said: “It will not be an easy task. The Czech women, who won the Fed Cup five times in the past seven years, are at the top with their four players who are of course the clear favorites. But our players have always done well in the role of outsiders in the past.”
Hingis, who made 19 appearances for the Swiss national team between 1995 and 2017, will join team captain Heinz Günthardt, who has chosen Timea Bacsinszky, Belinda Bencic, Viktorija Golubic and Jil Teichmann as the four players to represent the Swiss Tennis Federation team. The Swiss Tennis Federation has also claimed for a compensation to Rebeka Masarova, who won 2016 Roland Garros junior title.
In 2015, Hingis returned to the Swiss Fed Cup team after a 17-year absence and together with team-mates Timea Bacsinszky, Belinda Bencic and Viktorija Golubic, helped to push Switzerland into the top four nations in the past two years. “We’ve built something special with the team over the past three years,” 37-year-old Hingis, who retired for the third and last time in November, was quoted by swisstennis.ch as saying. “Our relationship in the team is characterized by mutual trust and respect. We have shown how well we can function as a single entity, the success of recent years speaks for us. That’s why I’m all the more pleased that the players also expressed their confidence in my role as coach.”
Hingis already has coaching experience. Before her comeback on the double tour she had already worked as a trainer. Regarding the upcoming first round encounter with Czech Republic, the new coach said: “It will not be an easy task. The Czech women, who won the Fed Cup five times in the past seven years, are at the top with their four players who are of course the clear favorites. But our players have always done well in the role of outsiders in the past.”
Wednesday, December 06, 2017
Martina Hingis & Latisha Chan Taiwan Tatler Interview
I'm really gonna miss these 2 on tour in 2018.
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Martina Hingis tips rise of more Swiss greats
Martina Hingis expects great things from the next generation of Swiss superstars.
Martina Hingis might be heading into retirement, marking it with a big farewell party - but she predicts great things from the next generation of Swiss tennis stars.
In an interview with Swiss newspaper Blick, the Co-World No.1 in doubles praised compatriots Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka for their performances at the top of the men's game, and added: "We are very spoilt. But there are still some to come: Timea [Bacsinszky] and Belinda [Bencic] are great."
Federer had paid generous tribute to Hingis when she announced her intention to retire, calling her an inspiration, and she responded: "I was very happy, it was a nice compliment. But it was also the truth. In certain ways I was a pioneer, winning a Grand Slam as a young Swiss. That makes it easier for the next ones."
The 37-year-old expressed her grief about the death of her former doubles partner Jana Novotna, who passed away in November at the age of 49.
"We saw each other in February, I also invited her to my farewell. I'm very sad."
Hingis is now looking forward to the future and fresh opportunities in her life after tennis.
"I'm really looking forward to the next stage of my life," she said. "A lot of people tell me the best is coming now. I'm certainly not bored."
In an interview with Swiss newspaper Blick, the Co-World No.1 in doubles praised compatriots Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka for their performances at the top of the men's game, and added: "We are very spoilt. But there are still some to come: Timea [Bacsinszky] and Belinda [Bencic] are great."
Federer had paid generous tribute to Hingis when she announced her intention to retire, calling her an inspiration, and she responded: "I was very happy, it was a nice compliment. But it was also the truth. In certain ways I was a pioneer, winning a Grand Slam as a young Swiss. That makes it easier for the next ones."
The 37-year-old expressed her grief about the death of her former doubles partner Jana Novotna, who passed away in November at the age of 49.
"We saw each other in February, I also invited her to my farewell. I'm very sad."
Hingis is now looking forward to the future and fresh opportunities in her life after tennis.
"I'm really looking forward to the next stage of my life," she said. "A lot of people tell me the best is coming now. I'm certainly not bored."
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
Is Roger Federer really the GOAT? Martina Hingis proves the latest greatness isn't always the best
Tennis obsessives love to debate who the sport's "greatest of all time" is. Rod Laver still has his partisans, but at this point such fans are widely considered sentimentalists. Conventional wisdom now has it that whoever is the dominant player of the moment is the "GOAT." Players from each new generation, goes the thinking, are always bigger, faster and ever-more dedicated to excellence than the last. Tennis aficionado RICHARD WIENER, however, argues that such thinking is all wrong. The greats, he says, would be great in any generation. His example in a guest column here: Martina Hingis. Back at the turn of the century, the injury-prone "Swiss Miss" was believed to be too small to continue in the upper echelons of the game. Hingis ultimately proved such thinking wrong, with successful comebacks in both singles and doubles. Read Wiener's column below. - Douglas Perry
One of the most enduring articles of faith among sports fans is that pro athletes just keep getting better and better. Pete Sampras, the great tennis champion of the 1990s, recently articulated this view for his sport, saying: "Each generation of athletes gets stronger and faster, and the players are adding to their knowledge of the game, and as a result you see the level of tennis going up and up. Everyone keeps on improving - today's players are tremendous athletes and hit the ball incredibly hard." This is a belief that's only reinforced by YouTube videos of tennis matches over the past 50 years - the speed of today's game looks faster than ever, because ... it is!
But despite the ever increasing pace of play, the curious case of Martina Hingis demonstrates it's just a myth that each generation is better than the previous.
Hingis, the current number one ranked women's doubles player, announced her retirement a few weeks ago, saying, "You want to stop on top and not when you're already going backward."
At age 15 Hingis became the youngest woman to win a doubles title at Wimbledon, and at age 37 one of the oldest to win doubles at the U.S. Open. In between these remarkable bookends, she won more than 100 titles in singles and doubles. In the course of a spectacular career, Hingis managed five major singles titles, 13 major doubles titles, and seven Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. She won a calendar year Grand Slam in doubles, and in 1998 simultaneously held the number one ranking in both singles and doubles. Hingis even matched up well against the mighty Serena Williams, with a head-to-head singles record of six wins and seven losses.
Even though Hingis turned pro 23 years ago, she only played on tour for 14 years, making the number of titles she won all the more impressive. As a teenager she rose to the top of women's tennis, and then retired at the age of 22 due to injuries. Four years later Hingis briefly came out of retirement, climbed back to number six in singles, and then retired abruptly a second time after testing positive for cocaine.
One of the most enduring articles of faith among sports fans is that pro athletes just keep getting better and better. Pete Sampras, the great tennis champion of the 1990s, recently articulated this view for his sport, saying: "Each generation of athletes gets stronger and faster, and the players are adding to their knowledge of the game, and as a result you see the level of tennis going up and up. Everyone keeps on improving - today's players are tremendous athletes and hit the ball incredibly hard." This is a belief that's only reinforced by YouTube videos of tennis matches over the past 50 years - the speed of today's game looks faster than ever, because ... it is!
But despite the ever increasing pace of play, the curious case of Martina Hingis demonstrates it's just a myth that each generation is better than the previous.
Hingis, the current number one ranked women's doubles player, announced her retirement a few weeks ago, saying, "You want to stop on top and not when you're already going backward."
At age 15 Hingis became the youngest woman to win a doubles title at Wimbledon, and at age 37 one of the oldest to win doubles at the U.S. Open. In between these remarkable bookends, she won more than 100 titles in singles and doubles. In the course of a spectacular career, Hingis managed five major singles titles, 13 major doubles titles, and seven Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. She won a calendar year Grand Slam in doubles, and in 1998 simultaneously held the number one ranking in both singles and doubles. Hingis even matched up well against the mighty Serena Williams, with a head-to-head singles record of six wins and seven losses.
Even though Hingis turned pro 23 years ago, she only played on tour for 14 years, making the number of titles she won all the more impressive. As a teenager she rose to the top of women's tennis, and then retired at the age of 22 due to injuries. Four years later Hingis briefly came out of retirement, climbed back to number six in singles, and then retired abruptly a second time after testing positive for cocaine.
After five additional years off tour, long enough to be elected to the Hall of Fame, Hingis unretired again, but this time as a doubles-only player. Remarkably, in her mid-thirties and after an extended leave from pro tennis, she nonetheless quickly rose to number one and dominated women's doubles. Hingis and her partner Sania Mirza went on a 41-match winning streak, which included titles at Wimbledon and the U.S. and Australian Opens. After splitting with Mirza, Hingis dropped from number one but remained in the top 10. Then she teamed with Latisha Chan and went on another tear, winning nine tournaments in 2017, including the U.S. Open, once again regaining the number-one ranking in doubles, only to retire for a third time.
If athletes are stronger and faster and just keep improving, as Sampras says, how did Hingis manage to "time travel" from the 1990s into the present decade and still remain well above a whole new crop of younger, more powerful, and supposedly better players than the ones she faced two decades ago?
Martina's latest accomplishments are even more striking considering that, unlike on the men's side of the game, the top women's singles players routinely play doubles too. Hingis and Mirza defeated Garbine Muguruza (a two-time singles champion at Grand Slam events) and Carla Suarez Navarro (ranked in the top 10 in singles at her highest) to win the title at the 2015 year-end WTA Finals. Plus, tactics in women's doubles have changed since the 1990s.
If athletes are stronger and faster and just keep improving, as Sampras says, how did Hingis manage to "time travel" from the 1990s into the present decade and still remain well above a whole new crop of younger, more powerful, and supposedly better players than the ones she faced two decades ago?
Martina's latest accomplishments are even more striking considering that, unlike on the men's side of the game, the top women's singles players routinely play doubles too. Hingis and Mirza defeated Garbine Muguruza (a two-time singles champion at Grand Slam events) and Carla Suarez Navarro (ranked in the top 10 in singles at her highest) to win the title at the 2015 year-end WTA Finals. Plus, tactics in women's doubles have changed since the 1990s.
Back then, doubles players served and volleyed. In the current era of power tennis, the return of serve is too strong to follow serve to net. So the one-up, one-back formation, common in recreational tennis, is now the primary formation in the women's pro game. But regardless of style of play, Hingis has proven herself the best doubles player in the world. She can more than hold her own from the baseline against huge hitters like Muguruza and still play a magical finesse game at the net with superb use of angle, spin and placement.
Here's an alternative hypothesis. The game isn't faster because players are better. It's faster because equipment is improving, which allows players to hit harder and look like they've taken the game to a whole new level. Put the latest in racquet and string technology in the hands of a great player from the past, something that usually can't happen, and he or she is still a great player. Hingis is that rare case of a champion from 20 years ago coming out of extended retirement to show what she can still do.
Here's an alternative hypothesis. The game isn't faster because players are better. It's faster because equipment is improving, which allows players to hit harder and look like they've taken the game to a whole new level. Put the latest in racquet and string technology in the hands of a great player from the past, something that usually can't happen, and he or she is still a great player. Hingis is that rare case of a champion from 20 years ago coming out of extended retirement to show what she can still do.
Lo and behold the radar gun now clocks some of Martina's serves over 100 mph, a speed she almost never attained in the 1990s. Her service motion is unchanged, which suggests it's the racquet not the player responsible for extra pop on the ball. And how does Hingis deal with rockets off the racquets of big hitters? Back at them, no problem. A few dozen more trophies on the shelf and it's time to end the experiment on intergenerational play with Martina still on top!
Friday, November 10, 2017
Thursday, November 09, 2017
Martina Hingis leaves with a complicated legacy
BY MICHAEL STEINBERGER
Given that it was going to be the third time she retired from tennis, Martina Hingis was probably smart just to spring the news on us rather than announce it in advance. There was no need for a long farewell tour; the sport had already bid her goodbye twice. Still, when Hingis posted a message on her Facebook page last week saying that the WTA finals in Singapore would be her final hurrah, and for real this time, it came as a jolt. She’d had a sensational summer, winning three majors—the mixed doubles crowns at Wimbledon and the US Open with Jamie Murray, and the women’s doubles title at the Open with Chan Yung-Jan. Since coming out of retirement for the second time, in 2013, Hingis had won 10 grand slam doubles titles in total. Given all the recent success she’d enjoyed, the last thing anyone expected was for her to just up and walk away.
Her decision caught me by surprise. I interviewed Hingis twice this year—first at Indian Wells, in March, and then in Florida in August—and she gave no indication that she was contemplating retirement. Over lunch in Florida, I asked how much longer she intended to play. She laughed and said, “I don’t know that, and even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.” (She is as sassy in her late thirties as she was in her teens.) When we spoke in Indian Wells—in the players’ lounge, over the din of some of retro music (INXS, that sort of stuff) that served to underscore her longevity, she told me she had returned to tennis in 2013 because she loved the game too much to stay away. “I missed being around here,” she said. “I feel kind of safe in this environment.” She was very satisfied with her life now and was still eager to travel and play. “After one month at home,” Hingis said, “I’m ready to go.”
So what changed between then and now? I have no idea. Maybe the Swiss veteran woke up one morning last week and just suddenly realized that she’d had enough. During her previous retirements, she seemed to struggle to find contentment away from the court; perhaps she is hoping that the third time will be the charm and has decided that, at the age of 37, she needs to truly move on. Of course, it is also possible that she will reverse course once again and come out of retirement in the not-too-distant future. In her Facebook post, she left open that possibility, writing, “As history shows, I haven’t been able to stay away from tennis for so long in the past.” Her namesake Martina Navratilova competed until she was nearly 50; given how well Hingis still plays and moves, she could certainly keep going into her forties if she wanted.
But assuming this retirement is permanent, Hingis leaves with a complicated legacy. Writing in The New York Times the other day, Christopher Clarey likened her to Lleyton Hewitt. There is something to the comparison, beyond the fact that both were on the short side and used Yonex rackets. Like Hewitt, Hingis hit her peak at a young age and then just stayed around (in her case, for most of the next two decades). And in the same way that Hewitt was a transitional figure bridging the gap between the Sampras/Agassi epoch and the Federer/Nadal era, Hingis ended up being a transitional figure between the Graf/Seles era and the Williams sisters.
However, there is a critical difference. Even when Hewitt was ranked number one and winning his two majors, it was widely recognized that he was never going to be a dominant player a la Sampras—he just didn’t have quite enough game, and most people figured he would be eclipsed in short order, which he was. The expectations for Hingis were much loftier. She captured three grand slam singles titles and was ranked number one when she was just 16, and given her otherworldly racket skills and court smarts, there was every reason to believe that she was going to rule women’s tennis for years to come and smash all sorts of records. No one knew that the women’s game was about to be transformed by the advent of what Mary Carillo called “Big Babe Tennis” and that Hingis, who was not nearly as big or powerful as players like the Williams sisters and Lindsay Davenport, would be its first victim. That Hewitt ended his career with just two majors was not surprising; that Hingis only won five is still, all these years later, kind of hard to believe.
Of course, those five singles titles are just one facet of her record; Hingis distinguished herself even more as a doubles player, winning 13 grand slam women’s doubles titles and seven grand slam mixed doubles crowns. In an interview last week, Hingis said that she was better at doubles than singles, and her trophy case would suggest as much. Still, for all that she accomplished as a doubles player, her short-circuited singles career—that period in the late 1990s when the game changed on her and she went from emerging superstar to also-ran in a flash—will always be front and center of any discussion about Hingis.
In recent years, that conversation took an interesting turn. It seemed as if being a fan of Hingis’s game became a mark of tennis connoisseurship—sort of like the vinyl fetish among music enthusiasts. She was seen as a practitioner of a lost art—a player who relied on finesse and guile rather than brawn, who won not by outslugging opponents but by outsmarting them. And I think it’s probably the case that some of the belated affection for Hingis, whose last WTA singles match was in 2007, was rooted in dissatisfaction with how the women’s game has evolved—the loss of stylistic variety, the emphasis on power, the fact that a player as gifted and clever as Hingis had been reduced to roadkill because of her compact size.
As great as Hingis was, the question that will always hang in the air is how much more she might have achieved had she played in a different era. With her sudden retirement last week, we are now also left to wonder how much more she might have accomplished had she continued playing into her forties. Of course, she could still answer that question for us if she wanted. Just sayin….
Her decision caught me by surprise. I interviewed Hingis twice this year—first at Indian Wells, in March, and then in Florida in August—and she gave no indication that she was contemplating retirement. Over lunch in Florida, I asked how much longer she intended to play. She laughed and said, “I don’t know that, and even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.” (She is as sassy in her late thirties as she was in her teens.) When we spoke in Indian Wells—in the players’ lounge, over the din of some of retro music (INXS, that sort of stuff) that served to underscore her longevity, she told me she had returned to tennis in 2013 because she loved the game too much to stay away. “I missed being around here,” she said. “I feel kind of safe in this environment.” She was very satisfied with her life now and was still eager to travel and play. “After one month at home,” Hingis said, “I’m ready to go.”
So what changed between then and now? I have no idea. Maybe the Swiss veteran woke up one morning last week and just suddenly realized that she’d had enough. During her previous retirements, she seemed to struggle to find contentment away from the court; perhaps she is hoping that the third time will be the charm and has decided that, at the age of 37, she needs to truly move on. Of course, it is also possible that she will reverse course once again and come out of retirement in the not-too-distant future. In her Facebook post, she left open that possibility, writing, “As history shows, I haven’t been able to stay away from tennis for so long in the past.” Her namesake Martina Navratilova competed until she was nearly 50; given how well Hingis still plays and moves, she could certainly keep going into her forties if she wanted.
But assuming this retirement is permanent, Hingis leaves with a complicated legacy. Writing in The New York Times the other day, Christopher Clarey likened her to Lleyton Hewitt. There is something to the comparison, beyond the fact that both were on the short side and used Yonex rackets. Like Hewitt, Hingis hit her peak at a young age and then just stayed around (in her case, for most of the next two decades). And in the same way that Hewitt was a transitional figure bridging the gap between the Sampras/Agassi epoch and the Federer/Nadal era, Hingis ended up being a transitional figure between the Graf/Seles era and the Williams sisters.
However, there is a critical difference. Even when Hewitt was ranked number one and winning his two majors, it was widely recognized that he was never going to be a dominant player a la Sampras—he just didn’t have quite enough game, and most people figured he would be eclipsed in short order, which he was. The expectations for Hingis were much loftier. She captured three grand slam singles titles and was ranked number one when she was just 16, and given her otherworldly racket skills and court smarts, there was every reason to believe that she was going to rule women’s tennis for years to come and smash all sorts of records. No one knew that the women’s game was about to be transformed by the advent of what Mary Carillo called “Big Babe Tennis” and that Hingis, who was not nearly as big or powerful as players like the Williams sisters and Lindsay Davenport, would be its first victim. That Hewitt ended his career with just two majors was not surprising; that Hingis only won five is still, all these years later, kind of hard to believe.
Of course, those five singles titles are just one facet of her record; Hingis distinguished herself even more as a doubles player, winning 13 grand slam women’s doubles titles and seven grand slam mixed doubles crowns. In an interview last week, Hingis said that she was better at doubles than singles, and her trophy case would suggest as much. Still, for all that she accomplished as a doubles player, her short-circuited singles career—that period in the late 1990s when the game changed on her and she went from emerging superstar to also-ran in a flash—will always be front and center of any discussion about Hingis.
In recent years, that conversation took an interesting turn. It seemed as if being a fan of Hingis’s game became a mark of tennis connoisseurship—sort of like the vinyl fetish among music enthusiasts. She was seen as a practitioner of a lost art—a player who relied on finesse and guile rather than brawn, who won not by outslugging opponents but by outsmarting them. And I think it’s probably the case that some of the belated affection for Hingis, whose last WTA singles match was in 2007, was rooted in dissatisfaction with how the women’s game has evolved—the loss of stylistic variety, the emphasis on power, the fact that a player as gifted and clever as Hingis had been reduced to roadkill because of her compact size.
As great as Hingis was, the question that will always hang in the air is how much more she might have achieved had she played in a different era. With her sudden retirement last week, we are now also left to wonder how much more she might have accomplished had she continued playing into her forties. Of course, she could still answer that question for us if she wanted. Just sayin….
Wednesday, November 08, 2017
Tuesday, November 07, 2017
Monday, November 06, 2017
Saturday, November 04, 2017
Martina Hingis showed me how to be a champion, says Federer
Federer and Hingis in 2001, with the Hopman Cup trophy, alongside Lucy Hopman (Getty)
19-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer says his success is partly down to compatriot Martina Hingis, who announced her intention to retire this week.
"Martina was partially the one who showed me how it was all done," he said on hearing the news. "It was great for Switzerland to have someone of her calibre. We were very lucky. I loved playing with her at the Hopman Cup, she was always super friendly, I love that about her."
The pair won the 2001 Hopman Cup together - Federer's first professional title.
But he says he is not sad to see her step away from the game.
"I’m not sad to see her retire, she’s been in the game for long enough, she seems at peace with her decision – that’s wonderful. I’ve always been a fan of her and I always will be."
wtatennis.com
Friday, November 03, 2017
Behind the numbers: Martina Hingis' spectacular career
After Martina Hingis announced her impending retirement on Thursday in Singapore, WTA Insider breaks down the numbers behind the Swiss legend's Hall of Fame career.
SINGAPORE - Martina Hingis has hung up her racquets and retired after reaching the semifinals of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
Hingis officially made her announcement on social media on Friday, after advancing to the last four with partner Chan Yung-Jan at the WTA Finals.
"Now that the cat is out of the bag, here we are for the third, and final time," Hingis wrote on Facebook, referring to previous two retirements. "Looking back now, it's hard to believe that almost exactly 23 years ago I made my professional debut. The years that followed have been some of the most rewarding years of my life, both personally and professionally, but I believe the time has come for me to retire, which I will be doing after my last match here in Singapore.
"This isn't goodbye. As history shows, I haven't been able to stay away from tennis for long in the past, and I am looking forward to seeing what new opportunities lie ahead of me. I believe the best is yet to come and will continue to share my experiences with you!"
Here's a look at the numbers behind the 23-year career of one of the game's most prodigious talents.
2: Age Hingis first learned how to play tennis under the tutelage of her mother, Melanie Molitor.
12: Age Hingis won the junior French Open title in 1993. She won three junior Slam titles in total.
1994: Year Hingis made her WTA debut at the age of 14 at the Zurich Open.
15: Age Hingis won her first Slam title in 1996, winning the doubles at Wimbledon with Helena Sukova to become the youngest major titlist in history.
16: Age Hingis won her first WTA singles title in Filderstadt in 1996.
38: Match win-streak in singles to start the 1997 season.
16: The age at which Hingis won the 1997 Australian Open singles title, becoming the youngest Australian Open titlist in history.
1997: The year Hingis first ascended to No.1, becoming the youngest WTA No.1 in history at age 16.
7: Grand Slam singles finals Hingis made in her career (Roland Garros: 1997, 1999; Australian Open: 2000, 2001, 2002; US Open: 1998, 1999)
6: Players to hold both the singles and doubles No.1 rankings simultaneously.
29: Weeks Hingis held the singles and doubles No.1 rankings simultaneously. Only Martina Navratilova held both for longer (103 weeks).
2003: Year Hingis retired at the age of 22 due to injuries.
2005: Year Hingis returned to the tour after her first retirement.
2007: Year Hingis retired for a second time at the age of 27.
2013: Year Hingis was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility.
2013: Year Hingis returned to the tour to focus on doubles. She played her first tournament in five years with Daniela Hantuchova in Carlsbad.
209: Total weeks spent at No.1 in singles.
3: Times Hingis finished the year as the year-end No.1 in singles (1997, 1999, 2000).
548: Career singles match wins.
43: Singles titles won, tied for 12th in WTA history.
64: Career doubles titles, 12th best in WTA history.
13: Slam doubles titles.
19: Years between her first Australian Open doubles title in 1997 and her fifth and final Australian Open title in 2016.
5: Grand Slam singles titles, including three at the Australian Open.
17: Years between her first Miami Open doubles title in 1998 and her last in 2015.
1: Calendar Slam in doubles in 1998.
40: Different doubles partners with which Hingis won her 64 career doubles titles.
31: Tournaments played with Sania Mirza, the most with any single partner.
14: Doubles titles won with Mirza, the most successful partnership of her career. Their last win came at 2016 Rome.
18: Tournaments played with Anna Kournikova, the second most with any single partner.
11: Doubles titles won with Kournikova, the second most successful partnerhsip of her career, with the last coming at 2002 Australian Open
16: Doubles tournaments played with her current partner, Chan Yung-Jan, including this week as the top seeds at the WTA Finals. They have won nine doubles titles as a team.
9: Different mixed doubles partners.
7: Mixed doubles titles at the Slams. She won her first mixed doubles title in 2006 and her last this year at the US Open, a span of 21 years.
2016: Year Hingis made the French Open mixed doubles final, thus completing her set of having made all 12 major finals in each of the three disciplines (singles, doubles, mixed).
wtatennis.com
SINGAPORE - Martina Hingis has hung up her racquets and retired after reaching the semifinals of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
Hingis officially made her announcement on social media on Friday, after advancing to the last four with partner Chan Yung-Jan at the WTA Finals.
"Now that the cat is out of the bag, here we are for the third, and final time," Hingis wrote on Facebook, referring to previous two retirements. "Looking back now, it's hard to believe that almost exactly 23 years ago I made my professional debut. The years that followed have been some of the most rewarding years of my life, both personally and professionally, but I believe the time has come for me to retire, which I will be doing after my last match here in Singapore.
"This isn't goodbye. As history shows, I haven't been able to stay away from tennis for long in the past, and I am looking forward to seeing what new opportunities lie ahead of me. I believe the best is yet to come and will continue to share my experiences with you!"
Here's a look at the numbers behind the 23-year career of one of the game's most prodigious talents.
2: Age Hingis first learned how to play tennis under the tutelage of her mother, Melanie Molitor.
12: Age Hingis won the junior French Open title in 1993. She won three junior Slam titles in total.
1994: Year Hingis made her WTA debut at the age of 14 at the Zurich Open.
15: Age Hingis won her first Slam title in 1996, winning the doubles at Wimbledon with Helena Sukova to become the youngest major titlist in history.
16: Age Hingis won her first WTA singles title in Filderstadt in 1996.
38: Match win-streak in singles to start the 1997 season.
16: The age at which Hingis won the 1997 Australian Open singles title, becoming the youngest Australian Open titlist in history.
1997: The year Hingis first ascended to No.1, becoming the youngest WTA No.1 in history at age 16.
7: Grand Slam singles finals Hingis made in her career (Roland Garros: 1997, 1999; Australian Open: 2000, 2001, 2002; US Open: 1998, 1999)
6: Players to hold both the singles and doubles No.1 rankings simultaneously.
29: Weeks Hingis held the singles and doubles No.1 rankings simultaneously. Only Martina Navratilova held both for longer (103 weeks).
2003: Year Hingis retired at the age of 22 due to injuries.
2005: Year Hingis returned to the tour after her first retirement.
2007: Year Hingis retired for a second time at the age of 27.
2013: Year Hingis was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility.
2013: Year Hingis returned to the tour to focus on doubles. She played her first tournament in five years with Daniela Hantuchova in Carlsbad.
209: Total weeks spent at No.1 in singles.
3: Times Hingis finished the year as the year-end No.1 in singles (1997, 1999, 2000).
548: Career singles match wins.
43: Singles titles won, tied for 12th in WTA history.
64: Career doubles titles, 12th best in WTA history.
13: Slam doubles titles.
19: Years between her first Australian Open doubles title in 1997 and her fifth and final Australian Open title in 2016.
5: Grand Slam singles titles, including three at the Australian Open.
17: Years between her first Miami Open doubles title in 1998 and her last in 2015.
1: Calendar Slam in doubles in 1998.
40: Different doubles partners with which Hingis won her 64 career doubles titles.
31: Tournaments played with Sania Mirza, the most with any single partner.
14: Doubles titles won with Mirza, the most successful partnership of her career. Their last win came at 2016 Rome.
18: Tournaments played with Anna Kournikova, the second most with any single partner.
11: Doubles titles won with Kournikova, the second most successful partnerhsip of her career, with the last coming at 2002 Australian Open
16: Doubles tournaments played with her current partner, Chan Yung-Jan, including this week as the top seeds at the WTA Finals. They have won nine doubles titles as a team.
9: Different mixed doubles partners.
7: Mixed doubles titles at the Slams. She won her first mixed doubles title in 2006 and her last this year at the US Open, a span of 21 years.
2016: Year Hingis made the French Open mixed doubles final, thus completing her set of having made all 12 major finals in each of the three disciplines (singles, doubles, mixed).
wtatennis.com
Thursday, November 02, 2017
Martina Hingis' heartfelt thank you, but not goodbye to the sport and her fans on Facebook
Hi Everyone!
Now that the cat is out of the bag, here we are for the third, and final time. Looking back now, it's hard to believe that almost exactly 23 years ago I made my professional debut. The years that followed have been some of the most rewarding years of my life, both personally and professionally, but I believe the time has come for me to retire, which I will be doing after my last match here in Singapore.
I feel very lucky to have been given the opportunity to play this wonderful sport for so many years. Tennis has always been my passion and I am extremely thankful for all the challenges, opportunities, partnerships and friendships it's given me. I am especially grateful for all the support from my mom who has taught me this beautiful game.
Thanks to all the sponsors, partners, fellow players, and everyone else that helps make our hectic life on tour easier. Thank you to my team, friends and family for continuously motivating and inspiring me. And of course thank you to all my fans - you were there to support and lift me up in hard times and celebrated alongside me in days of triumph. You, and the love for the game, is what kept me coming back all those years!
This isn't a goodbye. As history shows, I haven't been able to stay away from tennis for long in the past, and I am looking forward to seeing what new opportunities and challenges lie ahead of me. I believe the best is yet to come and will continue to share my experiences with you!
With love and appreciation, your Martina
❤
Martina Hingis Official Facebook
It's so hard for me to describe my emotions about this announcement. I knew this day was coming, but just like with Federer you always think they'll be around forever even though the rational part of your brain knows it's impossible.
This isn't a goodbye. As history shows, I haven't been able to stay away from tennis for long in the past, and I am looking forward to seeing what new opportunities and challenges lie ahead of me. I believe the best is yet to come and will continue to share my experiences with you!
With love and appreciation, your Martina
❤Martina Hingis Official Facebook
I still remember watching her play for the first time as a 16 year old in 1997 ( I was 15 myself).
Running around hitting amazing shots at the net, seemingly not intimidated by any of her opponents.
Thank you for introducing me and making me fall in love with this wonderful sport Martina. I will be forever grateful to you for that.
Congrats on an amazing 2017 and on an outstanding career. Your are a legend. Tennis won't be the same without you.
You've been my idol since I was a teenager myself, and you will be greatly missed!. Good luck on whatever life endeavors you choose to take on next.
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