Sunday, May 24, 2009

Martina Hingis Personal Life & Biography


Nickname(s) Swiss Miss
Country Switzerland
Residence Hurden, Switzerland
Date of birth September 30, 1980 (1980-09-30) (age 28)
Place of birth Košice, Slovakia (then Czechoslovakia)
Height 1.70 metres (5 ft 7 in)
Weight 59 kilograms (130 lb)
Turned pro 1994
Retired 2002; Comeback in 2006;
again November 1, 2007
Plays Right; Two-handed backhand
Career prize money US$20,130,657
(6th in all-time rankings)

Martina Hingis was born September 30, 1980 in Košice, Czechoslovakia.She is a retired professional tennis player who spent a total of 209 weeks as World No. 1.She won five Grand Slam singles titles (three Australian Open, one Wimbledon, and one US Open). She also won nine Grand Slam women's doubles titles, winning a calendar year Grand Slam in 1998, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title.

Hingis set a series of "youngest-ever" records before ligament injuries in both ankles forced her to withdraw temporarily from professional tennis in 2002 at the age of 22. After several surgeries and long recuperations, Hingis returned to the WTA tour in 2006. She then climbed to World No. 6 and won three singles titles. On November 1, 2007, after suffering from injuries for much of the year, Hingis announced her retirement from tennis while admitting she had tested positive for cocaine during Wimbledon in 2007. She denied using the drug.On January 4, 2008, she was banned from tennis for two years for the cocaine offense.She has stated that she will not return to professional tennis when this ban expires.