Today The Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island inducts the five time Major winning Martina Hingis. The woman who sat atop the rankings for 209 weeks, the fourth most of all time, won 43 WTA titles, won 53 matches at the Australian Open, (4th best of all time), made 12 Major finals and proved to be the most consistent, arguably the most talented and charismatic player in a Golden age of the WTA deserves her legendary status to be made official. Thetennisreview looks back at some of the highlights and the lowlights of her career, though to be fair even her lows were in their drama and ridiculousness still peaks few other could reach.
Best match: Versus Serena Williams, Quarter-finals, Australian Open 2001
Not just the best match Hingis competed in, but one of the Greatest of all time. At the time, Hingis was the world number One without a Slam, playing at her best one, and in the form of her life. Meanwhile Serena was having a sophomore slump after her ’99 US Open breakthrough win, a final in which she beat Hingis. With the history of trash talking and the threat Serena posed to Hingis, this match was much anticipated and did not disappoint, delivering a battle of styles and wills. A gripping third set saw Hingis fight back from 1-4 down like her life depended on it, and certainly her career did, to win the highest quality of encounters 8-6 in the third.
Best performance: Versus Mary Pierce, Final, Australian Open, 1997
It’s your first Major final, your biggest rival is removed early in the draw, the number one ranking rests on your performance, you are facing the 1995 Champion and a woman back in good form, the formidable Mary Pierce. Most fold, a few rise; Hingis is one of the latter. The 16 year old did not blink on her way to beating Pierce 6-2 6-2 to become the youngest winner of a Major. And the tennis reviewer was there in the flesh to witness it. Hingis did not put a foot wrong. She mixed it up, played inside the court and frustrated the hell out of Pierce, denying her the rhythm and balls she liked to whack away for winners. It was a win that showcased the hard and flamboyantly clinical stuff of which Miss Hingis was made and that set the tone for the legend-making career that was to be hers.
Most infamous moment: Versus Steffi Graf, Final, French Open, 1999
Unforgettable. Infamously, so. The greatest drama the game has ever seen. We could go on. And we could watch it over and over. The sight of Hingis crossing the line to point out what she believed to be a bad call to the jeers of the crowd and the dismayed impatience of Steffi Graf, a woman whom Hingis had accused of being past it, is a sight no one who appreciates drama in their tennis can tire of. It did not stop there either. The Graf comeback, the underhand serve, the tear-filled fleeing of the cauldron she had set alight to herself, it was by far and away the best Major final ever and its star villain Martina Hingis gave an Oscar-worthy performance.
Why we love her: What is there not to love about Martina Hingis?
Why some hate her: The very reasons we love her.
Why some are indifferent: No one is indifferent to Martina Hingis. But love her or hate her, you cannot deny she is a legend of the game.
With such a history and status, the induction is sure to be memorable. A full report will be forthcoming; tears, no doubt, too.
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