Martina Hingis celebrated a historic triumph at Wimbledon in 1997 at the age of just 16. Her life after that was turbulent both on and off the tennis court.
When Steffi Graf lost her aura of invincibility, the tennis prodigy’s moment had arrived.
Martina Hingis, a teenager from Switzerland, knocked Germany’s sportswoman of the century off the top spot in the world rankings in 1997, aged just 16 years and 182 days. No player has ever been younger than Hingis when reaching the top of the WTA rankings.
A few months later, the next milestone followed when Hingis triumphed at Wimbledon for the first time on July 5, 1997 – 28 years ago today. Her final victory over Jana Novotna, who tragically passed away in 2017, made her the youngest winner in 110 years.
The former child prodigy is now 44 years old and can look back on a turbulent life both on and off the tennis court that has not been without scandal.
Martina Hingis dominated at will
Hingis was born on September 30, 1980, in Kosice, Czechoslovakia. Her mother, Melanie Molitor, was a professional tennis player herself and named her daughter after her idol, Martina Navratilova. She guided her career behind the scenes, which led her to the professional tour in 1994 at the age of 13.
Hingis’ meteoric rise began at the end of 1996 with her first tournament victories in Filderstadt and Oakland, where her opponents in the finals were Anke Huber and Monica Seles, once young stars of the scene themselves. Graf was already faltering, but she narrowly defeated Hingis in five sets to win the WTA season finale at Madison Square Garden in New York.
This was followed by a string of victories for Hingis, with titles in Sydney, at the Australian Open (final opponent: Mary Pierce), in Tokyo, Paris, and Key Biscayne.
While Graf ended her season after knee surgery, Hingis won at will. After her success at Wimbledon, she stormed to victory at the US Open without losing a set, with her peer Venus Williams unable to offer any resistance in the final.
Steffi Graf achieved one last revenge
Hingis remained at the top of the world rankings for 209 weeks, placing her fifth in the all-time rankings behind Graf (377), Navratilova (332), Serena Williams (319), and Chris Evert (260).
Graf never returned to number one, but she did manage one last major triumph over Hingis: on June 5, 1999, they met for the last time in the final of Roland Garros. After constant provocation from Hingis in the run-up to the final, the Swiss player looked like the sure winner in the second set, before Graf staged a spectacular comeback. Hingis completely lost her nerve and went down 2-6 in the decisive third set, crying bitter tears.
Graf, who retired shortly afterwards and began her new life alongside Andre Agassi, spoke of “the greatest success of my career.”
What no one knew at the time was that Hingis would never win another Grand Slam singles title, with her two triumphs at the Australian Open in 1998 and 1999 remaining her last major successes. She was increasingly plagued by injuries – and by the rise of her rivals Venus and Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport and Jennifer Capriati, who blossomed again after her fall from grace and ended the Hingis era at the top of the world rankings on October 15, 2001.
Several comebacks and a cocaine scandal
In 2003, a frustrated Hingis retired at the age of just 22 – a first comeback in 2005 ended in scandal. She tested positive for cocaine in a doping test in 2007. Although she protested her innocence and portrayed herself as the victim of a conspiracy, she retired once again.
In March 2013, Hingis celebrated her return in doubles and mixed doubles, and soon followed up with further Grand Slam successes. A late highlight came at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, where she won silver alongside her compatriot Timea Bacsinszky. Hingis triumphed in a total of 25 majors (5 singles, 13 doubles, 7 mixed).
In 2017, Hingis ended her career for the third and final time.
Became a mother for the first time in 2019, second marriage broke down
In later years, Hingis looked back on her life as a tennis prodigy with mixed feelings.
“I had a turbulent youth and was in the spotlight from a very early age, even though I don’t really like that. My stormy phase came between the ages of 25 and 35,” Hingis told Blick a few years ago.
Hingis became a mother for the first time in 2019. Her four-year-old daughter Lia already plays Bambini tennis, and her coach is her grandmother Melanie. However, Hingis’ marriage to Lia’s father Harald Leemann, team doctor for the Swiss Fed Cup team, broke down last year, as did Hingis’ first marriage to French show jumper Thibault Hutin. Hingis – who was once engaged to former colleague Radek Stepanek – is herself an enthusiastic equestrian.
“My daughter is my top priority, everything else is secondary,” Hingis described her current life situation in an interview with 20 Minuten in 2023 – a fulfilling one, as she emphasizes: “I’m doing well.”
