Martina Hingis' 5 biggest rivals: From Monica Seles to Venus Williams
Martina Hingis rose to prominence in the late 1990s and established herself as an all-time great within a couple of years of her arrival. She set a slew of youngest-ever records, which still stand to this date. She remains the youngest woman to win a Major in the Open Era, and to attain the No. 1 ranking as well.
Hingis won five Major titles in singles, 13 in women's doubles, and also completed the Calendar Year Grand Slam in 1998. She won seven Major titles in mixed doubles, and with her win at the French Open 2016, completed a career Grand Slam in the discipline.
Hingis' path to greatness wasn't easy, and she faced some of the toughest competition in the history of the WTA. On that note, here's a look at five of her biggest rivals from her playing days:
#5 - Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
Hingis and Sanchez Vicario paths crossed quite frequently since their very first meeting in 1996. The Swiss won the first set 6-0 in that encounter but ended up losing the match. She wouldn't taste defeat in this match-up for a long time after that.
Hingis won her next 15 matches against Sanchez Vicario. The latter was still a competitive player, and even won the French Open in 1998 after losing to her younger rival in the quarterfinals a year before.
Sanchez Vicario won her second match in this rivalry in 2001 at Amelia Island, and Hingis won their next three matches to end the head-to-head 18-2 in her favor. Despite contesting 20 matches against each other, they met in a final only once, with the Swiss coming out on top in the championship round at the Hamburg Open 2000.
#4 - Monica Seles
Seles and Hingis locked horns 20 times during their playing days, and the latter took charge of their rivalry right off the bat. She won their first five meetings, four of which were championship rounds.
Seles's breakthrough came at the French Open in 1998, where she beat Hingis in the semifinals for the first time. She snagged another win over her at the Canadian Open a few months later. The momentum swung in the Swiss' direction after that, and she won their next seven matches, and all but one were straight-set wins.
Seles snapped her losing skid with back-to-back wins in San Diego and Los Angeles in 1999. Hingis won their next three matches and lost their last encounter at the US Open 2002. Nevertheless, the head-to-head concluded 15-5 in the Swiss' favor.
#3 - Lindsay Davenport
Hingis and Davenport were among two of the most dominant players in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and their rivalry was one of the defining ones of that era. Out of their 25 career meetings, they met 16 times in the final. All 16 of these matches took place between November 1997 to January 2001, and they didn't meet prior to the final during this period.
Davenport leads Hingis 10-6 in championship matches. The American's most notable wins came at the US Open in 1998, the WTA Finals in 1999, and the Australian Open and the Indian Wells Open in 2000.
Hingis, meanwhile, beat Davenport in the finals of the Indian Wells Open and the WTA Finals in 1998, and the Miami Open in 2000. Their last career meeting took place in the fourth round of the Indian Wells Open 2006, shortly after the Swiss had come out of her first retirement. Even though she won that match, she trailed their head-to-head 14-11.
#2 - Serena Williams
Williams quickly established herself as a threat to Hingis and pushed her to three sets in their first meeting at the Miami Open in 1998, though the latter prevailed in the end. The Swiss won their next match in Manhattan a few months later as well.
Williams avenged her prior loss in Miami when they met again the following year at the same venue and won in straight sets. Hingis struck back with a win at the Italian Open a couple of months later.
Williams then won their next three matches, including the final of the US Open 1999, to take the lead in their rivalry for the first time. It was a short-lived high as Hingis won three matches on the trot as well to lead their rivalry 6-4.
However, Hingis couldn't maintain her supremacy in this match-up for too long as Williams' powerful shotmaking improved rather quickly. The Swiss lost their last three duels, and ultimately trailed their head-to-head 7-6 at the end of their careers.
#1 - Venus Williams
The arrival of the Williams sisters changed the sport, and Hingis felt the heat every time she faced either of them. She had to contend with Venus Williams a lot more than Serena Williams and faced the elder sibling 21 times throughout her career.
Hingis won their first three matches, including the final of the US Open 1997, to begin their rivalry on a strong note. Williams' first win came at the Sydney International 1998, after which she lost three of their next four matches.
They crossed paths six times in 1999, with each player winning thrice. They met twice in 2000, and Williams beat Hingis en route to the Wimbledon and US Open titles. They split their two meetings in 2001, and the American won their encounter at the Hamburg Open in 2002 to bring the head-to-head at 10-9 in the Swiss' favor.
Hingis retired for the first time in 2003 and returned to the sport full-time in 2006. Williams won their match in Warsaw that year to even the head-to-head, only for the Swiss to come out on top a couple of weeks later at the Italian Open to lead the head-to-head 11-10, and it would remain that way after that.