"You think you are the queen? Because I am the queen" - When Anna Kournikova & Martina Hingis reportedly almost came to blows after exhibition match
Anna Kournikova and Martina Hingis were among the best doubles pairs of their time and won 11 titles while competing together.
However, things weren't too friendly between the two when they played in an exhibition match in Santiago in 2000. During the match, Hingis was unhappy with a line call made by the line judge and she wanted Kournikova to intervene regarding the matter.
However, the then-Russian agreed with the call, which did not go down well with Hingis. During the next changeover, Hingis told Kournikova:
"Do you think you are the queen? Because I am the queen."
The two got into a fight when they entered the locker room after the match, with both parties reportedly flinging things, including vases and trophies, at each other. Jaime Fillol, who organized the exhibition event, was even afraid that Hingis and Kournikova would come to blows.
"It was so bad I thought they were going to beat each other up," the Chilean said.
Anna Kournikova and Martina Hingis won two Grand Slams doubles titles together
Anna Kournikova won two Grand Slam doubles titles and both of them came with Martina Hingis as her partner.
The pair's first Major came at the 1999 Australian Open, where they defeated top seeds Lindsay Davenport and Natasha Zvereva 7-5, 6-3 in the final. They won another title at the Asia-Pacific Major in 2002, triumphing 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-1 over 13th seeds Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Daniela Hantuchova in the final.
The duo also reached the final of the French Open in 1999 and two Wimbledon semifinals in 2000 and 2002.
Kournikova and Hingis won successive doubles titles at the WTA Tour Championships (now known as the WTA Finals), in 1999 and 2000. The latter year, they did not drop a single set en route to the title.
In singles, the two faced each other on 12 occasions, with Hingis leading 11-1 in the head-to-head. Their first encounter came in the third round of the 1997 French Open, and the Swiss triumphed 6-1, 6-3. That year, they also locked horns in the Wimbledon semifinals, with Hingis winning 6-3, 6-2.
The third match between the two was also their last meeting at a Grand Slam, when they faced off in the third round of the Australian Open. The Swiss ended up winning that match 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
The one time Anna Kournikova beat her long-time doubles partner was in the quarterfinals of the 1998 WTA German Open, when she won 6-3, 7-6(1).
The only final between Hingis and Kournikova came at the 1999 Family Circle Cup, and the former won 6-4, 6-3. Their last encounter came in the semifinals of the 2000 WTA Tour Championships, with the Swiss triumphing 7-6(2), 6-2.