The Swiss Martina Hingis (37) ends her tennis career after the WTA season finale in Singapore – and this time her decision is to be final.
“It’s the right time for me,”said Hingis, who is in Singapore in the doubles:”It’s better to stop at the climax and I can say yes, I had a very good time”.
The exceptional player, who won five Grand Slam titles in the singles, had already retired from tennis on two occasions. In 2002, due to injury, she ended her single career and withdrew in 2007 after a positive cocaine test. In March 2013, Hingis celebrated her double and mixed comeback and soon further Grand Slam successes.
The native Czechoslovakian has won a total of 25 major titles: 5 in singles, 13 in doubles and 7 in mixed. At the Olympic Games in Rio 2016, she also won silver at the side of her compatriot Timea Bacsinszky. In 1997, at the age of 16 years and three months, Hingis had become the youngest number one in the WTA world ranking list.
In the doubles, she is currently leading the standings with Chan Yung-Jan (Taiwan), with whom she will meet Anna-Lena Grönefeld/Kveta Peschke (North Horn/Czech Republic) in the first round in Singapore.”The successes I’ve had in the last three years have been great, and it’s going to be difficult to beat them anyway. And of course my priorities are also changing,”Hingis said.