Martina Hingis: Difference between revisions
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| '''Racket:''' || Yonex NanoSpeed RQ 7 |
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| '''Turned pro:''' || [[1994]] |
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Revision as of 17:12, 4 February 2006
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| Country: | Switzerland | |
| Residence: | Trubbach, SUI, Wesley Chapel, Florida, USA | |
| Height: | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) | |
| Weight: | 130 lb (59 kg) | |
| Plays: | Right | |
| Racket: | Yonex NanoSpeed RQ 7 | |
| Shoes: | adidas ClimaCool Feather II | |
| Turned pro: | 1994 | |
| Retired: | (2002) Comeback in 2005 | |
| Highest singles ranking: | 1 (March 31 1997) | |
| Singles titles: | 40 | |
| Doubles titles: | 37 | |
| Prize money: | US$18,345,825 | |
| Grand Slam Record Singles Titles: 5 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | W (1997, '98, '99) | |
| French Open | F (1997, '99) | |
| Wimbledon | W (1997) | |
| US Open | W (1997) | |
Martina Hingis (born September 30, 1980 in Košice, Czechoslovakia, now Slovakia) is a former World No. 1 ranked woman tennis player from Switzerland. She has won five Grand Slam singles titles (three Australian Open, one Wimbledon, and one US Open). She has also won nine Grand Slam women's doubles titles, and in 1998 captured all four Grand Slam women's doubles crowns. She set a series of "youngest-ever" records before injuries forced her to withdraw from pro tennis at the relatively young age of 22. On November 29, 2005, at the age of 25, Hingis announced that she would return to the WTA tour, and made her professional comeback on January 2, 2006 at a low-key tournament in Gold Coast, Australia.
Childhood & early career
Hingis was born to a Czech mother, Melanie Molitorová, and a Slovak father, Karol Hingis, both of whom were accomplished tennis players: her mother once ranked number 10 among women in Czechoslovakia while her father is a tennis trainer in Košice. They named their daughter 'Martina' (originally Martina Hingisová - Molitorová) after Martina Navrátilová. Hingis' parents divorced when she was a young girl, after which she moved with her mother to Moravia for a short period. From there, they eventually settled in Switzerland.
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's 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 as well as the doubles title (partnered by Anna Kournikova). 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. She also reached the finals of the Chase Championships (The former WTA Championships), but lost 4-6, 2-6 to Lindsay Davenport.
Injuries and Hiatus from tennis
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.
Coming back from injury, Hingis won the Australian Open doubles final at the start of 2002 (again partnered by Kournikova) and reached a sixth straight Australian Open final in singles, again facing 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 2005, TENNIS Magazine put her in 22nd place in its list of 40 Greatest Players of the TENNIS era.
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. After the loss, she claimed that she had no further plans to attempt a comeback.
Return to the game
Hingis resurfaced in July 2005 having completed two years of a Law degree at Oxford. In 2004 she represented Oxford in the annual Blues match against Cambridge, winning her singles and doubles matches for the loss of just three games. In July 2005 she played 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.
On November 29, 2005, Hingis announced that she would be making a full-time comeback to the WTA Tour in 2006.
Hingis began her comeback in the Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourt tournament. She reached the semifinals, defeating Maria Vento-Kabchi, Klara Koukalova, and Nuria Llagostera Vives, but lost to no. 23-ranked Flavia Pennetta in three sets, 1-6, 7-6(2), 6-2. Hingis played next at the Sydney International tournament, where she lost her opening match in straight sets to former world number one Justine Henin-Hardenne. Upon her return, Hingis was no. 349 in the official WTA Tennis rankings for singles play.
Hingis made her comeback bid at the 2006 Australian Open, advancing to the quarterfinals with a slew of straight set victories over Vera Zvonareva, Emma Laine, Iveta Benesova and Samantha Stosur. In a closely fought three set contest, Hingis was finally beaten by then no. 2 ranked Kim Clijsters.
Hingis' career as a doubles player was also in the spotlight at the Australian Open. She won the mixed doubles finals with teammate Mahesh Bhupathi of India. This was her first career Grand Slam mixed doubles title, and fifteenth overall (5 singles, 9 doubles).
In her first round match at the Toray Pan Pacific Open, Hingis delivered her fourth career double bagel to Yoon-Jeong Cho beating the 61st ranked player in the world in just 33 minutes. In her 2nd round, she beat the 21th ranked Nathalie Dechy of France in 3 sets 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. In her quarterfinal match, she eliminated another seeded player, Maria Kirilenko, ranked 23 in the world, in straight sets 6-2, 6-1 . In a heavily hyped semifinal, she breezed past Maria Sharapova in straight sets 6-3 and 6-1, marking her first victory over a top 10 player and her first finals appearance since her comeback.
List of players Hingis has beaten since comeback
- Maria Vento-Kabchi (Venezuela), ranked 62, score 6-2 6-1
- Klara Koukalova (Czech Republic), ranked 35, score 6-3 6-2
- Nuria Llagostera Vives (Spain), ranked 50, score 6-2 4-6 6-0
- Vera Zvonareva (Russia), ranked 29, score 6-1 6-2
- Emma Laine (Finland), ranked 85, score 6-1 6-1
- Iveta Benesova (Czech Republic), ranked 42, score 6-4 6-1
- Samantha Stosur (Australia), ranked 98, score 6-1 7-6(8)
- Yoon Jeong Cho (Korea), ranked 61, score 6-0 6-0
- Nathalie Dechy (France), ranked 21, score 4-6 7-5 6-2
- Maria Kirilenko (Russia), ranked 23, score 6-2 6-1
- Maria Sharapova (Russia), ranked 4, score 6-3 6-1
List of players Hingis has lost to since comeback
- Flavia Pennetta (Italy), ranked 23, score 6-1 (2)6-7 2-6
- Justine Henin-Hardenne (Belgium), ranked 8, score 3-6 3-6
- Kim Clijsters (Belgium), ranked 2, score 3-6 6-2 4-6
WTA Ranking
Current Ranking: 117, as of January 30th, 2006.
Grand Slam singles finals
Wins (5)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in final | Score in final |
| 1997 | Australian Open | Mary Pierce | 6-2, 6-2 |
| 1997 | Wimbledon | Jana Novotná | 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 |
| 1997 | US Open | Venus Williams | 6-0, 6-4 |
| 1998 | Australian Open | Conchita Martínez | 6-3, 6-3 |
| 1999 | Australian Open | Amélie Mauresmo | 6-2, 6-3 |
Runners-up (7)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in final | Score in final |
| 1997 | French Open | Iva Majoli | 6-4, 6-2 |
| 1998 | US Open | Lindsay Davenport | 6-3, 7-5 |
| 1999 | French Open | Steffi Graf | 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 |
| 1999 | US Open | Serena Williams | 6-3, 7-6 (4) |
| 2000 | Australian Open | Lindsay Davenport | 6-1, 7-5 |
| 2001 | Australian Open | Jennifer Capriati | 6-4, 6-3 |
| 2002 | Australian Open | Jennifer Capriati | 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2 |
Performance timeline
| Tournament | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | QF | - | - | - | F | F | F | W | W | W | QF | 2r |
| French Open | - | - | - | - | SF | SF | F | SF | F | 3r | 3r | |
| Wimbledon | - | - | - | - | 1r | QF | 1r | SF | W | 4r | 1r | |
| US Open | - | - | - | 4r | SF | SF | F | F | W | SF | 4r | |
| Tournaments Won | - | - | - | 2 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 2 | 0 | |
| Win-Loss | 11-3 | 0-1 | - | - | 34-10 | 60-15 | 77-10 | 71-13 | 67-13 | 75-5 | 51-16 | 22-13 |
| Year End Ranking | - | - | - | 10 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 16 |
WTA Tour Singles Titles (40)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | 1996-10-13 | Filderstadt, Germany | Carpet | Anke Huber (Germany) | 6-2 3-6 6-3 |
| 2. | 1996-11-10 | Oakland, USA | Carpet | Monica Seles (USA) | 6-2 6-0 |
| 3. | 1997-01-12 | Sydney, Australia | Hardcourt | Jennifer Capriati (USA) | 6-1 5-7 6-1 |
| 4. | 1997-01-26 | Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia | Hard | Mary Pierce (France) | 6-2 6-2 |
| 5. | 1997-02-02 | Tokyo (Pan Pacific), Japan | Carpet | Steffi Graf (Germany) | Walkover (injury) |
| 6. | 1997-02-16 | Open Gaz de France, Paris, France | Hard | Anke Huber (Germany) | 6-3 3-6 6-3 |
| 7. | 1997-03-30 | Key Biscayne, USA | Hard | Monica Seles (USA) | 6-2 6-1 |
| 8. | 1997-04-06 | Hilton Head Island, USA | Clay | Monica Seles (USA) | 3-6 6-3 7-6 |
| 9. | 1997-07-06 | Wimbledon, England | Grass | Jana Novotna (Czech Republic) | 2-6 6-3 6-3 |
| 10. | 1997-07-27 | Stanford, USA | Hard | Conchita Martinez (Spain) | 6-0 6-2 |
| 11. | 1997-08-03 | San Diego, USA | Hard | Monica Seles (USA) | 7-6 6-4 |
| 12. | 1997-09-07 | US Open, New York, USA | Hard | Venus Williams (USA) | 6-0 6-4 |
| 13. | 1997-10-12 | Filderstadt, Germany | Carpet | Lisa Raymond (USA) | 6-2 6-4 |
| 14. | 1997-11-16 | Philadelphia, USA | Carpet | Lindsay Davenport (USA) | 7-5 6-7 7-6 |
| 15. | 1998-02-01 | Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia | Hard | Conchita Martinez (Spain) | 6-3 6-3 |
| 16. | 1998-03-15 | Indian Wells, USA | Hard | Lindsay Davenport (USA) | 6-3 6-4 |
| 17. | 1998-05-04 | Hamburg, Germany | Clay | Jana Novotna (Czech Republic) | 6-3 7-5 |
| 18. | 1998-05-17 | Rome, Italy | Clay | Venus Williams (USA) | 6-3 2-6 6-3 |
| 19. | 1998-11-22 | WTA Tour Championships, New York, USA | Hard | Lindsay Davenport (USA) | 7-5 4-6 6-4 6-2 |
| 20. | 1999-01-31 | Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia | Hard | Amelie Mauresmo (France) | 6-2 6-3 |
| 21. | 1999-02-07 | Tokyo (Pan Pacific), Japan | Carpet | Amanda Coetzer (South Africa) | 6-2 6-1 |
| 22. | 1999-04-04 | Hilton Head Island, USA | Clay | Anna Kournikova (Russia) | 6-4 6-3 |
| 23. | 1999-05-16 | Berlin, Germany | Clay | Julie Halard-Decugis (France) | 6-0 6-1 |
| 24. | 1999-08-08 | San Diego, USA | Hard | Venus Williams (USA) | 6-4 6-0 |
| 25. | 1999-08-22 | Toronto, Canada | Hard | Monica Seles (USA) | 6-4 6-4 |
| 26. | 1999-10-10 | Filderstadt, Germany | Carpet | Mary Pierce (FRA) | 6-4 6-1 |
| 27. | 2000-02-06 | Tokyo (Pan Pacific), Japan | Carpet | Sandrine Testud (France) | 6-3 7-5 |
| 28. | 2000-04-02 | Key Biscayne, USA | Hard | Lindsay Davenport (USA) | 6-3 6-2 |
| 29. | 2000-05-07 | Hamburg, Germany | Clay | Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario (Spain) | 6-3 6-3 |
| 30. | 2000-06-25 | 's Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands | Grass | Ruxandra Dragomir (Romania) | 6-2 3-0 ret. |
| 31. | 2000-08-20 | Montreal, Canada | Hard | Serena Williams (USA) | 0-6 6-3 3-0 ret. |
| 32. | 2000-10-08 | Filderstadt, Germany | Carpet | Kim Clijsters (Belgium) | 6-0 6-3 |
| 33. | 2000-10-15 | Zurich, Switzerland | Hard | Lindsay Davenport (USA) | 6-4 4-6 7-5 |
| 34. | 2000-10-29 | Moscow, Russia | Carpet | Anna Kournikova (Russia) | 6-3 6-1 |
| 35. | 2000-11-19 | WTA Tour Championships, New York, USA | Carpet | Monica Seles (USA) | 6-7 6-4 6-4 |
| 36. | 2001-01-08 | Sydney, Australia | Hard | Lindsay Davenport (USA) | 6-3 4-6 7-5 |
| 37. | 2001-02-18 | Doha, Qatar | Hard | Sandrine Testud (France) | 6-3 6-2 |
| 38. | 2001-02-25 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Hard | Nathalie Tauziat (France) | 6-4 6-4 |
| 39. | 2002-01-13 | Sydney, Australia | Hard | Meghann Shaughnessy (USA) | 6-2 6-3 |
| 40. | 2002-02-03 | Tokyo (Pan Pacific), Japan | Carpet | Monica Seles (USA) | 7-6 4-6 6-3 |
External links
- Martina Hingis at the Women's Tennis Association
- The Martina Hingis fan community
- Hingisnews website
- Martina Hingis - Étoile du tennis (French language)
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