I <3 Hingis

(Link via Pro Tennis Fan.)

Bud Collins, he of the loud pants and colorful commentary, has written a marvelous article on the World Team Tennis match between the two Martinas, Hingis and Navratilova.

Reading it, I am reminded of how Martina Hingis in her prime had been the definition of women's tennis, at least to me. When I was a child (only three years younger than Hingis, actually) I used to wait for her matches to come on TV. I used to think that if I had begun tennis as young as she had, maybe I had a chance at being as good a player as she.

In fact, the first time I stepped onto a tennis court to hit a ball (when I was 13 years old), it was Hingis who was my role model--the variety of her game, the cleverness with which each point was played. I was saddened when she stopped playing on the Tour, overshadowed/overpowered by the Williams sisters and plagued by injury.

I'm glad she's still involved in the sport, even if it is just a one-set WTT match. There's too much talent there to let go to waste.

posted by Noelle De Guzman @ 5:49 PM