Martina Hingis has announced that she will be retiring from tennis after the WTA Finals in October.
(CNN)Much has been said about the resurgence of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal this season.
Aged 36 and 31 respectively, they have both defied odds to collect two Grand Slam titles.
But another legend of the game, 10 months older than Federer, recently sealed two Grand Slam titles in the space of 24 hours.
Martina Hingis, 36, won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the recent US Open to take her total Grand Slam total to 25. She teamed with Taiwan’s Chan Yung-Jan to claim the women’s doubles title. to win doubles, and Britain’s Jamie Murray to win the mixed doubles title.
With that, she returned to the scene of her first US Open singles triumph, recorded exactly two decades ago, against an up-and-coming Venus Williams.
It’s been a “wonderful journey,” to quote Hingis himself, who made her debut on the WTA Tour just a week after turning 14.
“I’ve always loved playing tennis,” Hingis told CNN Sport’s Don Riddell. “It’s what I do best; it’s what I know; it’s been my education since I was two years old.”
ankle injuries
The Swiss remains the youngest Grand Slam champion in history – she won the Wimbledon women’s doubles aged 15 years and 282 days alongside Helena Suková, a partner twice her age.
And she remains the youngest singles Grand Slam winner in the Open era – having reached all four major finals in 1997, missing only Roland Garros.
“I was the youngest at most of the things I did,” says Hingis. “Now I look back and see [today’s] Juniors and young aspiring players… You say ‘Oh Jelena Ostapenko, when she won the French Open she was only 20 years old!’
“And I’m just through … Back when you were 20, if you hadn’t won a Grand Slam by then, you were almost too old!”
READ: Cheerful Jelena Ostapenko becomes a “symbol of Latvia”
Hingis became the undisputed world no 22 to retire.
Had she done too much too young?
“In my case, I definitely wouldn’t want to change what I went through with someone,” says Hingis. “It’s much cooler than having to go to school.”
“I trained until I was 14 when I turned pro, and then some, but I think it’s the best education you can get.
“My mother always made sure that when we traveled to different cities and countries, we also took something with us to learn something about it.”
A fleeting return
Hingis came out of retirement and returned to the ATP Tour in 2006, where he won the Australian Open mixed doubles trophy with India’s Mahesh Bhupathi.
However, due to injury, she was never the same electric talent again, and on November 1, 2007, the “Swiss Miss” announced her retirement for the second time after testing positive for cocaine metabolites.
The once darling of women’s tennis has been banned for two years by the International Tennis Federation and although she has denied the allegations, this time it really looked like it was over.
“I believe her when she says she’s finally retiring,” commented Larry Scott, then-WTA chairman and chief executive officer.
READ: Why Roger Federer had moments when he wanted to get away from tennis
Happy for the third time
And yet, once again, Hingis was undeniable.
Since returning to the WTA Tour in 2013, she has won 10 more doubles Grand Slam titles and insists her only major regret is relinquishing control of the 1997 French Open singles final to Croatia’s Iva Majoli.
23 years after her WTA debut, the game has changed, but Hingis’ inimitable drive to win remains the same.
And her longevity means there are few players better placed to appreciate the huge swing of women’s tennis history.
“Sometimes I’ve complained that I’d like to see a little more variety and a little bit of strategy in the game,” she said.
“You see that more in men’s tennis, but at some point the women will come back to it.
“Once you are able to control this power, [you] have variety out there again. Sometimes I think that’s forgotten.
“Hey, tennis is a game. It’s not just sheer power!”
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Many players, both male and female, have looked up to Hingis throughout their long and eventful career – not least Federer himself.
“I always say I taught him how to win his first tournament,” she laughs, reflecting on her 2001 Hopman Cup mixed doubles victory. “We also won Sydney the week after.
“There were some great moments that we shared. We all know what happened after that.”
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