The Swiss Miss is dismissed... for good

Players Under the Microscope / Scott Ferguson / 08 November 2007 / Leave a Comment

Scott's Spot - Scott looks back at one of the most glittering careers of the past few years

One of the most precocious talents the professional tennis world has ever seen is retiring for the second time, and this time it's 1.01 for no return. Martina Hingis, winner of 15 Grand Slam titles (five singles, nine women's doubles, one mixed) including six straight finals of the Australian Open women's singles, has realised what everyone else already knew - she was never going to be able to mix it with the power brigade who win major tournaments in this era.

Bursting onto the scene when she won the French Open junior title at the age of 12, Hingis was always destined for the top. After all, she was named after the unstoppable Martina Navratilova. Leaving Czechoslovakia when just a toddler, her mother Melanie Molitor was feeding her tennis balls not long after she could walk, developing the exquisite talent which was Martina.

Catching the end of the Graf/Seles era, Hingis entered the game at a time when poise and prowess were of greater value than power, although the Seles legacy was to inspire a new tactic of all-out attack. Coupled with changing technology, the trend of natural talents started to ease and a new breed of workhorses with eternal stamina and defensive shots with as much power as a Graf forehand entered the fray. Hingis had a wonderful game-plan to watch - tactics, poise and craftiness, and against contrasting styles, some great battles took place. Her time was dated as soon almost as she stepped on the court but her talent shone through, assembling a vast trophy cabinet before injury brought her career to a halt.

Years of pounding the hardcourts chasing balls have turned Hingis' ankles into a sea of mangled bones, very little cartilage and worn joints. Initially when she first retired a lawsuit against her shoe manufacturer was threatened, but in reality, it's the lifestyle at fault.

In the outside world, one thing Hingis is never going to be is a commentator. Her press conferences over the years have been riddled with acid-tongue remarks which didn't make her too popular with her peers. So it's hardly surprising she is getting out before they start bagging her!

For the sake of the male tennis community, one hopes that she looks further afield for a boyfriend/husband this time around. Players to have copped the curse of Martina over the years include Julian Alonso, Justin Gimelstob, Ivo Heuberger, Magnus Norman and Radek Stepanek - the last one is the only one who has managed to salvage something of his career afterwards.

Drug test aside, her days as a threat at notable tournaments were gone. Now she can look for a husband and put the Hingis curse on some other 'poor' sod!