Whatever Happened to Martina Hingis?

There used to be a time when you couldn’t turn on a sports channel without seeing or hearing about Martina Hingis. The Swiss native and former professional tennis player made it to the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2013.

But it’s been a while since she’s made a television appearance on the tennis courts. Many people seem to be wondering:

Whatever happened to Martina Hingis?

Marina Hingis retired three times from professional tennis, in 2003, 2007, and 2017. The latter was the last time she retired. Hingis has not returned to professional tennis. The former professional tennis star now works as a coach for the Swiss Fed Cup team. In addition, she also devotes more time to her second passion and hobby: equestrian sports.

Hingis retires from professional tennis

According to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Hingis enjoyed several victories in her tennis career. In 1993, at 12, Hingis became the youngest player to win a major junior title at the French Open. She then turned professional in 1995 at the age of 14. During her career as a professional tennis player, Hingis won a total of 25 grand slam titles. These consisted of five grand slam titles in singles, seven grand slam titles in mixed doubles, and 13 grand slam titles in women’s doubles.

She quickly dominated the courts by attacking the ball and going head-to-head with her opponents. Her hand-eye coordination was exceptional and the key to her success. In addition, legions of fans grew by the second.

In 2001, at the end of the year, Hingis had surgery on her right ankle. She continued to play for an additional two years, winning the Australian Open doubles at the beginning of 2002. However, during that same year, she would need to undergo another ankle surgery, only this time it was on her left ankle. Sadly, Hinges did not fully recover from this injury, sparking a series of injuries that followed and never fully returning to her optimal form.

Hinges announced her retirement from professional tennis in February 2003. During this time, she expressed her interest in returning to her studies, working as a coach in Switzerland, and focusing on her hobby: horse riding.

Hingis briefly returned to tennis in February 2005 before re-announcing her retirement in November 2007 at a press conference. Hingis stated that she was under investigation as she had tested positive for benzoylecgonine and was subsequently suspended in 2008 for two years, effective October 2007. Hingis appealed the outcome, citing that the reason her drug test turned positive may have been due to unintentional or unexplained ingestion. As a result, the suspension rules changed that year, and she returned to professional tennis in 2013.

In October 2017, at the Singapore WTA finals, Hingis announced her retirement from professional tennis for the third and final time after a long and illustrious career.

Personal life

There have been quite a few developments in Martina Hingis’ life after her official retirement from professional tennis.

Martina Hingis married Harald Leemann, her former sports physician, on 20 July 2018. The pair had been dating for almost a year before getting married. Hingis tied the knot with Leemann in a secret ceremony at Grand Resort Bad Ragaz in Switzerland. She officially announced her wedding to her legions of fans on social media via a post on Instagram.

Hingis posted a wedding picture of the couple standing in front of the Grand Hotel Quellenhof, looking graceful and blissfully happy. In the post, she thanked her friends and family for their well-wishes. Both were 37 at the time.

This is the second major announcement the tennis star has made via social media. She also announced her retirement from professional tennis on her Facebook account the previous year.

Starting a family

Martina Hingis made another big announcement on her social media later that year, on 30 September 2018, which also happened to be her birthday. She announced her first pregnancy.

The following year, Hingis gave birth to her first child, daughter Lia, on 26 July 2019. Fans were both stunned and excited about the pregnancy news, and well-wishes poured in through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram from friends, family, and fellow members of the tennis community.

Starting a new career

Many people who have not kept up with the former tennis legend may not know where she is or what she has been doing since her retirement, apart from her recent marriage and the birth of her first child with her husband and former sports physician, Harald Leemann.

On 22 January 2018, Express Web Desk reported that Marina Hinges was appointed as the Switzerland Fed Cup Team coach. Hingis was selected as the coach for the World Group first-round tie, which takes place in Prague against the Czech Republic.

Hingis has previous coaching experience, which makes her ideal for this position. She improved her coaching skills and learned a lot from her mother, who used to mentor and coach her. Hingis coached a Russian player, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, back in 2014, when the player held the world number 25 position, and also coached Lisicki, the 2013 Wimbledon finalist.

Her role as a tennis coach helped improve her coaching skills and strengthened her already strong bond with her mother.

More time for hobbies

Martina Hingis is an accomplished equestrian. She has always had a passion for horse riding. At the tender age of 14, Hingis bought her first horse with prize money that she won from tennis tournaments.

With more time on her hands after she retired from professional tennis, Martina Hingis spends more time enjoying her second passion: horseriding. Hingis realized a life-long dream when she became the proud owner of horse stables. She often enters her horses in regional jumping competitions and loves to take long horseback rides in the countryside.

If she is not on the courts coaching young tennis players, she can be found outdoors, enjoying the fresh air and her second passion.

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