Libero

OH, MARTINA...

Martina was born on September 30th, 1980 in Kosice in now Slovakia to mother Melanie Molitor and father Karol Hingis. She was (talk about destiny!) named after Martina Navratilova and had no siblings.
Both Martina's mother and father played tennis quite well. They married and Martina was born four years later. As a toddler she used to sit on a blanket watching her parents and she started "playing" at the age of 2.

Melanie divorced and moved with Martina to Roznov, in the now Czech Republic. Martina entered her first tournament at the age of 4, when she couldn't even see above the net! Her first match ended 6-0 6-0... For her much older opponent. But soon Martina started winning her matches. When Martina was 8, Melanie remarried with the Swiss computer scientist Andreas Zogg. Together they moved to TrĂ¼bbach, a small town in the north of German speaking Switzerland, where Martina lived her youth.

Melanie later divorced again and is currently engaged with Mario Widmer, a Swiss sports journalist. She is Martina's coach and mother, a double role that led to some teen troubles in the past. But Martina always calls her mother "best friend". The two of them own a house in Roznov, and recently acquired a villa in Saddlebrook, Florida, near the Harry Hopmans Tennis Academy, where Martina currently lives.

Martina is currently 22 years old, 1.70 m x 59 kg, has natural chestnut hair and blue eyes. She plays right-handed forehand and two-handed backhand; she is the archetipal all-court player, at ease playing from the baseline or with a natural serve and volley. Her astonishing talent and wide array of shots are coupled with a strong mind and a tactical sense that many chess masters dream to have, making her extremely dangerous on court.

Martina's career as a junior was very successful: in 1993 she won the French Open singles and the Futures in Langenthal; in 1994 she won the French Open singles and doubles, and the Wimbledon singles as well. The same year Martina debuted in the WTA rankings. Her first tournament victory was at the 1996 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Filderstadt and she was ranked number 1 for the first time on March 31st, 1997. Since her stellar year of 1997, Martina has won 5 Grand Slam titles in singles and 9 in doubles, with an astonishing 3+3 in the Australian Open. She also triumphed 4 times in the WTA Masters.

Away from the game, her main interest is in horses. She owns three (Montana, Velvet and Sorrenta) and she loves to ride (somewhat dangerously) them through the wild Swiss mountains. She also has a dog, a black German shepard named Zorro.
Martina is an attentive spectator, but likes to partecipate in all the sports you can imagine: rollerblading, mountain biking, boxing and of course some occasional tennis. She hates to practice and prefers to play (with some success!) doubles instead: in 1998 she completed the Doubles Grand Slam.
Martina likes dancing, going to the movies and musicals and apparently her favourites are Forrest Gump and Miss Saigon. She has stated that the cities she likes most on the tour are New York and Paris. Her favourite foods are sushi and chicken fajitas (what? no spaghetti?) and she also loves chocolate.

Martina became the first female athlete to be on the cover of the American men's magazine GQ in June 1998 and later in the year she was immortalized in wax at the famous Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in London.
She attended several talkshows, such as the David Letterman Show and the Jay Leno Show. Several songs were composed by the fans in her honour, the most famous being Martina by Nicholas Simpson, and Martina Hingis by Lovemachine.
Martina self-described herself as: grounded, intelligent, quiet, calm and uncompromising. She speaks Czech, English and German.

Martina retired from tennis at the beginning of 2003 due to health problems with her feet.

Victories Singles Doubles
     
Australian Open 1997 1998 1999 1997 1998 1999 2002
French Open   1998 2000
Wimbledon 1997 1996 1998
U.S. Open 1997 1998
     
Masters 1998 2000 1999 2000
     
Ranked #1 1997 1999 2000 1998

A very young Martina with mother Melanie

A great smile of a young Martina
Martina wins Wimbledon in 1997
Martina at the U.S. Open in 1997
Martina on the cover of GQ in June 1998
Martina wins the Masters in 1998
Martina juggles with three tennis balls in Tokyo in 1999
Another great smile
Ain't she lovely?