NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Martina Hingis became one of the youngest players to be enshrined into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She led a large 2013 class that was inducted Saturday during an on-court ceremony that lasted just over 90 minutes.
She was born in Czechoslovakia before moving to Switzerland at a young age, Hingis was named after a women's tennis great.
"My biggest influence was my mom because she was a professional player, too," Hingis said during an interview. "She started me when I was 2 years old. Another was Martina Navratilova, obviously — (my mom) gave me the name so that was the destiny that was programed already. When I started playing at 2 years old, that was the path."
Hingis is the fourth youngest to be inducted, behind Tracy Austin (30), Bjorn Borg (31) and Hana Mandlikova (32).
Hingis 32, burst onto the professional Tennis when she was still 14. After two years, she won three of the four major tournaments, taking the titles at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open in 1997.
The memories were great. The pictures of a thin teenager, well, she'll pass on those.
Martina won five Grand Slam singles championships — including three straight at the Australian Open from 1997-99 — and 43 singles titles overall. She also was a part of 37 doubles titles.
Hingis, often troubled by foot injuries, retired for a second time in 2007, when she drew a two-year suspension for testing positive for cocaine at Wimbledon. Hingis denied taking the drug but did not appeal the ruling.
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