Swiss tennis player Martina Hingis, currently number 1 in the world in the doubles ranking and former number 1 in singles, will retire after her last match at the WTA Masters, which is being played this week in Singapore, she announced herself through her profile From Facebook.
“Looking back, I can’t believe that he made his professional debut 23 years ago. These years have been among the most enriching of my life, both personally and professionally, but I think the time has come for me to retire, something I will do after my last match in Singapore, “explained Hingis, 37, who made his return into the doubles competition on August 1, 2013, after having temporarily retired twice.
Hingis first hung up his racket in 2003, aged 22, due to repeated injuries. He returned to the circuit in 2006, although without being able to regain his past level. In November 2007 he stopped again when he tested positive for cocaine in an anti-doping control during the Wimbledon tournament. She was later acquitted in that case.
In the individual category, Hingis won five Grand Slam titles (Australian Open 1997, 1998, 1999, Wimbledon 1997, United States Open 1997) and became the youngest world number 1 in history, when she went on to top the list world on March 31, 1997, at 16 years and 3 months. He spent a total of 209 weeks at the top of the world ranking.
In total, his record of ‘greats’ is 25, adding those of all categories (individual, female doubles, mixed doubles). The last of them was achieved on September 11 of this year, at the US Open, in the company of the Taiwanese Chan Yung-Jan, with whom she shares the first place in the WTA doubles ranking.
In this category, Hingis has won thirteen Grand Slam tournaments, four of them since his last return to the slopes in 2013.
Together with Chan Yung-Jan he has lifted eight trophies this season, in addition to the US Open. Among them, three of the four «Premier Mandatory», the equivalent of the Masters 1000 of the ATP circuit.
The Swiss-Taiwanese duo will face the Czech pair Andrea Hlavackova and Hungarian Timea Babos on Saturday for a place in the Masters final.