Martina Hingis

Martina Hingis (born September 30, 1980) is a professional tennis player from Switzerland. Born in Kosice[?], Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia), Hingis lived for a time in Florida but has now returned to Switzerland. She was named after Martina Navratilova, another tennis player of Czechoslovakian origin. At one time ranked #1 in the world for women's singles. She has not played since October 2002 because of chronic foot injuries, and in February 2003 stated that she could not foresee a return to tennis. In her statments, she said that due to her injuries she could not play to a level where she would again be competitive with the best, and was not interested in coping with the pain in her feet to compete at a lesser level.

Like many professional tennis players, Hingis started playing at a very young age. By 5 years of age, she started entering tournaments. In 1996, Hingis made history by becoming the youngest person to ever win one of the Wimbledon championships with Helena Sukova[?] in the Ladies Doubles event.

In singles play, she won both the Wimbeldon championships[?] and the US Open in 1997 and the Australian Open in 1997, 1998, 1999.

In 1998 she won the all four of the Grand Slam in tennis tournaments in doubles.

Hingis, sometimes referred to as the "Swiss Miss", was as widely admired for her attractive playing style as her success. Lacking the outright power of even Monica Seles[?], let alone the current heavy-hitters like Serena Williams, Hingis made up for it with her fluent, precise groundstrokes, skill at the net (enabling her to become an outstanding doubles player), and outstanding shot selection.

Hingis was also popular with the tennis-watching public for her usually bright, bubbly demeanour in public. Combined with a not unattractive appearance she was almost a marketer's dream. Her doubles appearances with Anna Kournikova attracted huge amounts of attention, mainly for this reason.

She speaks 4 languages: Czech, German (in particular Swiss German), English, and some French.

According to a May 2003 article, Hingis is now spending her time studying English, making personal appearances for various sponsors, playing tennis recreationally, and indulging her love of horseriding. She has been widely reported as dating Sergio Garcia[?], a high-profile professional golfer.