End, end, end – not today, but on Saturday or Sunday: Martina Hingis ends (again) her career and is still hoping for the big finish in Singapore.
By Florian Goosmann from Singapore
The rumor has been circulating for a few months now, at the latest since Martina Hingis didn’t really want to comment on her future after her US open-mixed victory. The fact that today of all days it became known that the WTA Finals would be her last tournament was the result of a statement by her double partner Chan Yung-jan, who shortly afterwards confirmed to Hingis:”It’s the right time for me,”she told Tagesanzeiger. ch/Newsnet.
“My partners already knew, so did the rumor. I was almost a little surprised that it remained a secret for so long,”Hingis said after her victory with Chan against Anna-Lena Grönefeld/Kveta Peschke,”I told Latisha from the beginning that maybe this could be my last year”.
The 37-year-old could hardly have wished for a better development. Nine titles were won by Chan/Hingis alone in 2017, including the US Open; alongside Jamie Murray, she also won Wimbledon and New York,”It’s perfect timing. You want to stop at the top of course and not when it comes down. I couldn’t have hoped for a better end,”Hingis said. Her farewell shall be final this time,”I had some things in mind before. Which was also the case, first in the singles and then with the doubles. But this time, I think it’s definitely true.”
Hingis had already said “Good-bye” to tennis on two occasions. In 2002, the single was over due to injury, but in 2006, she came back, but was unable to repeat her previous successes, even though she reached the quarter-finals in Melbourne and Paris and made it back into the top ten. When a positive cocaine test was announced at the Wimbledon tournament in November 2007, Hingis withdrew the resignation of a lock earlier.
2013 was followed by another return, this time limited to doubles and mixed. With great success: Hingis took four Grand Slam double titles (three at the side of Sania Mirza, one with Chan Yung-jan) and raised her overall score to 13. In 2016 she also won Olympic silver medal in Rio with Timea Bacsinszky.
Hingis collected her five singles Grand Slam titles between 1997 and 1999; in 1997, at the age of 16 years and three months, she became the youngest number one of all time. 209 weeks she was overall at the top of the women’s world rankings.
“I’ll always be connected to tennis. I’m going to take a break, but I’ve coached before, maybe I’ll help my mother in the tennis school, I’ll continue as a tournament ambassador,”Hingis said, looking into the future.”What I won’t miss is the daily torment. Although – maybe I will even miss them at some point, but in a different way. I won’t miss the traveling.”
But Hingis still has one last goal in his mind: the World Cup crown. After winning 19 games at a time, she is the top favourite with partner Chan and makes no secret of it “We have a pretty good chance. We’re the ones to beat.”