Martina Hingis is a versatile all-around player who excelled in singles and doubles. Hingis’ ability to play behind the baseline and at the net made her tough to beat in any competition. Let’s take a look at the Swiss tennis legend who changed the women’s game and analyze why she would’ve been a wise bet at any top-rated sportsbook.
The Breakthrough
Martina Hingis was one of the top players of the 1990s. For 209 weeks, she was a singles world number one. She was the doubles world number one for 90 weeks and she held both number one rankings simultaneously for a total of 29 weeks.
In today’s climate, players will withdraw from the doubles if they are doing well on the singles side of a tournament. Hingis’ ability to excel in both singles and doubles at the same time is a testament to her versatility and her endurance.
Early Achievements
Hingis won five Grand Slam singles titles and 13 Grand Slam doubles titles. She added 7 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. She was the year-end WTA finals Champion twice in singles and three times in doubles. She also holds an Olympic silver medal in the doubles competition.
Hingis was marked for greatness as a young age when she became the youngest player ever to win a Grand Slam Junior title at 12 years old at the French Open in 1993. After winning the Wimbledon Juniors title, French Open Juniors title, and making the final of the US Open Juniors in 1994, she made her WTA debut in October of 1994.
Dominance in the Late 1990s
Hingis was quick to dominate that scene as well, and in 1996 she became the youngest Grand Slam champion of all time when she was able to win the women’s doubles competition at only 15 years old. She also won her first professional singles title that year and made the semifinals of the US Open and the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in singles competition.
In 1997 she stormed all the way to the top, securing the world number one ranking. This was the year she became the youngest Grand Slam singles Champion by winning the Australian Open at age 16. Not to be content with just that, she won the Australian Open doubles title that year, and by March, she was the youngest player to be world number one in the history of the sport.
Martina Hingis then became the youngest singles champion at Wimbledon since Lottie Dod in 1887. Hingis was a true prodigy and really made her mark on the tennis scene when she defeated Venus Williams in the final to win the 1997 US Open.
Continued Success and Challenges
At age 16, she had won three of the four Grand Slam titles, failing only to win at the French Open. The tennis world had never seen such achievements at such a young age.
Hingis achieved the Grand Slam at the doubles competition in 1998. She was the fourth woman in tennis history to do that and became the third woman in tennis history to hold the number-one ranking in both singles and doubles at the same time. In 1998, she also was able to successfully defend her Australian Open title. She was a finalist in the Australian Open but fell to Lindsay Davenport and ended her 80-week span of being number one in the world.
Hingis won her third consecutive Australian Open singles title in 1999 and won another doubles title in Melbourne. She almost won the French Open and fell in the final to Steffi Graf. After a disappointing Wimbledon in 1999, Hingis made her third consecutive US Open final but this time fell to Serena Williams. As you can see, Hingis was playing many legends of the sport at this time and holding her own.
Injury and Retirement
In the year 2000, Hingis failed to win a singles title at a Grand Slam for the first time since 1996. However, she was still the number one player that year because she won nine singles tournaments, including the year-end championships, where she won both singles and doubles once again.
Hingis was the Australian Open finalist in 2001 although this time she lost to Jennifer Capriati. She lost her number-one ranking that year to Capriati after struggling with injury. In October of 2001, she had surgery on her right ankle.
Hingis attempted to come back from injury in 2002 but it was obvious that she was not 100%. Coming back too quickly had put too much strain on her body and now she needed an operation on her left ankle. By playing so much tennis at a high level at such a young age, she had endured too much wear and tear and was never able to recover the form she had when she was younger.
In 2003, while still struggling with major injuries, Hingis announced her retirement at the young age of 22. At 22 years old she had won 40 singles titles and 36 doubles titles and had been the number one for a total of 209 weeks. However, injuries had robbed her of her athleticism and she was unable to compete at the top level.
Comeback and Legacy
After taking 3 years off, Hingis returned to the game in 2005. Hingis became a doubles specialist at this point. Although she was playing some singles, she failed to reach the form that she had achieved as a teen due to the injuries sapping her quickness. However, in doubles, she was still able to play at a top level and won her first Grand Slam mixed doubles title in 2006.
Hingis retired again in 2007 after testing positive for a substance that was most likely caused by contamination. Regardless, the ITF suspended her for 2 years and she was not able to return until 2010.
At this point, Hingis embraced being a doubles specialist and continued to dominate the doubles world. In 2015 she won five major doubles titles. Playing in doubles allowed her to excel at the sport she loved even though she was physically not the same person when she was younger.
In 2017, she was back to being the world number one in doubles, winning three Grand Slam doubles titles. However, at this point, she decided to call it a career and go out on top in the doubles. Hingis was the poster child for early burnout, but rather than quit tennis, she adjusted her game and became a top-level doubles player, allowing her to enjoy the sport later into her life. Hingis is an excellent example of how determination and hard work can overcome obstacles and setbacks in life and with our bodies. She refused to let injuries derail her career and adjusted her game to become a top player in the world of doubles.
Martina Hingis’ exploits as a youth will never be forgotten, as she burst onto the scene at such a young age and set so many records. Changing her playing style and adapting to doubles allowed her to have a long career and set her apart from other players who suffered from early burnout. Martina Hingis was a great talent and a great example for tennis players young and old.
