Hingis, Martina (1980-…), was a Swiss tennis champion who became a dominant player as a teenager. In 1997, at the age of 16, she won the Australian Open singles title to become the youngest grand slam champion of the 1900’s. The grand slam consists of the Australian Open, French Open, United States Open, and Wimbledon in England. In 1997, Hingis became the youngest tennis player to be ranked number one in the world, a position she held for 209 weeks. Hingis won the Australian Open again in 1998 and 1999. She also won the U.S. Open and Wimbledon in 1997. Hingis was also an outstanding doubles player. In 1998, she became only the fourth woman to win the doubles grand slam.
Hingis was born on Sept. 30, 1980, in Kosice, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia). Her mother, a highly ranked tennis player, named her for Martina Navratilova , a Czechoslovak-born tennis star. Hingis began playing when she was 2 years old and competed in her first tournament at the age of 5. She moved to Switzerland with her mother and stepfather when she was 7 years old. Hingis first attracted international attention in 1993 when, as a 12-year-old, she became the youngest player ever to win a grand slam junior title, winning the girls’ singles at the French Open.
In 2003, Hingis retired as an active player because of severe ankle injuries. She resumed playing in 2006 and won the Australian Open mixed doubles championship that year with partner Mahesh Bhupathi of India. Hingis retired again in 2007 but returned to competition in 2013. She won the 2015 mixed doubles titles at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open with partner Leander Paes of India and the 2015 women’s doubles championships at Wimbledon and at the US Open with partner Sania Mirza, also of India. In 2016, Hingis won the women’s doubles championship at the Australian Open with Mirza and the mixed doubles championship at the French Open with Paes. With her win at the French Open, Hingis completed a career grand slam in mixed doubles. In 2017, Hingis won the mixed doubles championship at Wimbledon with partner Jamie Murray of the United Kingdom. At the 2017 US Open, Hingis won the mixed doubles with Murray and the women’s doubles with partner Chan Yung-Jan of Taiwan. Hingis retired as a player, for the third time, following the 2017 season, ending her career.
