THE tennisreporters.net NEWSLETTER: WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6

Hingis: "Tennis went on without me"
If she can't compete at former level, retirement possible

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Susan Mullane Camerawork USA, Inc.

FROM THE WTA HOME DEPOT CHAMPIONSHIPS – The brainy and fun-loving Swiss Martina Hingis is still mentally smarting from her failure to recover 100 percent from double ankle surgery and says that if she does come back and cannot regain the form that brought her five Grand Slam titles, she may retire.

The 22-year-old Hingis said that merely reaching the quarters and semis of major tournaments wouldn't satisfy her.

"I don't think that would be good enough for me because I know I'm better than that," said Hingis, who won three Australian Open titles, one Wimbledon and one US Open, but hasn't won a Grand Slam in three years. "The players are getting better and this year I was okay at a certain level, but not good enough for the top. When you are used to being at the top, that's tough."

The former No. 1 came back to the tour in August after spending three months off the tour rehabilitating her right ankle, but failed to win a title and in October, was crushed by Nadia Petrova in Moscow and Elena Dementieva in Filderstadt. She then decided that her comeback was premature because she couldn't stand losing to players she once could control like a puppeteer.

Now, the Swiss is unsure when and whether she wants to come back.

"I haven't set a timetable," said Hingis. "I'm not going to put myself under pressure right now. I'm taking it one step at a time. I've been trying to clear my head and doing things I like to do – running, biking and horseback riding. But I've been taking things slow and easy. I've been playing tennis with Mom and friends two or three times a week – but no hard practices. There's less stress and pressure. Since I first picked up a racket it was oneway direction. Now I actually enjoy not having a schedule."

Hingis has been in the public eye since she turned pro at the tender age of 14. After she dominated the tour in 1997 – winning three of the four Grand Slams – the daughter of a former Slovak national player (her mother and coach, Melanie) appeared to have the tour in the palm of her hands.

But with the rise of the physically stronger Venus and Serena Williams beginning in 1999, the smaller Hingis has been forced to scratch and claw to maintain her position in the top echelon of the sport. She underwent ankle surgery in 2001 and was only a major factor at the Australian Open. The same fate befell her this year, when she gave up four match points to Jennifer Capriati in the 2002 Australian Open final and lost the contest. It's been downhill since then.

Courtesy of Sanex WTA Tour

"You get worked up a little sometimes," she said. "It's been so hectic, four years at the top and a pro since 1994. My body didn't hold up. This year I experienced a real down as a professional. I can't do what I need to do when I'm out there. That's why I feel it's better for me and everybody for me not to play because it's not possible for me to play the way I used to. Physically, I can't do it."

Hingis added the mental stress of knowing that she couldn't dig out balls and nail winners down the line was a little overwhelming mentally.
"It's combined," she said. "If you can't do it physically, you're not up for it mentally. I'm hesitating. In practice, I'm fine, but once on court you know you have to chase certain balls down and if you can't, its frustrating. The level gets better almost each month. For three months, tennis went on without me."

Considered by many to be the game's greatest tactician over the past eight years, Hingis said she couldn't imagine a life completely free of tennis, but that's no guarantee that she will kill her body to get back to the top again.

"The love for the game is always going to be there," she said. "Even now a few days go by and I have to go back oncourt. I don't understand how players can go for a half a year or year without playing. But everything I do now is for fun. If I want to pick up a racket, I do. If I want to ride horses, swim, play squash, it's because I want to. It's not a must."

SERENA NOT BETTER OVERALL THAN VENUS
Hingis still remains a keen observer of the sport and said that she wouldn't be stunned if No. 1 Serena Williams won the Grand Slam next year. Serena has won the last three majors, all over her older sister, Venus.

"If she stays healthy, it's possible," Hingis said. "Mentally you have to be strong and you have stay healthy."

Hingis added that although Serena has dominated Venus this year, she doesn't believe that Serena is the overall better player.

"She has more will than Venus," Hingis said. "She's the harder worker and has the physical ability. This year she's been hungrier. I don't think she's a better player than Venus, but this year it all came together for her."

Hingis said that if she never played another match on tour, she would have few regrets. She's beginning to see that there's more to life than grinding out three set wins.

"I'm 22 and lived a great life," she said. "Tennis has given so much and I've seen so many things, I wouldn't change what I've done for anything. From age 17 until now I was at the highest level and no one can take that away from me. I'm so grateful for what I have and been able to do. I have my whole life ahead of me."

But Hingis is planning on seeing her doctor when she goes back to Switzerland this week and if her ankles do get back to 100 percent, a return to the practice courts for five-hour practice sessions is not completely out of the question in the future.

"If my body would allow it, I would do it. It's just not the case at this point," she said. "My body won't allow it."