She may not have had a violent parent who had to be banned from the tour (Mary Pierce) or a parent that was jailed for tax fraud (Steffi Graf) or experienced the heartache of losing a parent (Monica Seles), but Martina Hingis has been through a lot in her six-year professional career.
For her, 1999 was an annus horribilus. It began in January when she put her sneaker squarely in her mouth at the Australian Open, tactlessly calling lesbian French player Am�lie Mauresmo, "Half a man."
It continued at the French Open in May when she self-destructed during the final against Steffi Graf. A sad and surreal combination of circumstances that resulted in her sobbing uncontrollably on her mother's shoulder after the match.
Things deteriorated further a few weeks later at Wimbledon when she decided she was capable of going it alone without mom/coach Melanie Molitor. In a first-round shocker, she was humiliated 6-2, 6-0 by upstart Australian Jelena Dokic, just 16 at the time.
Hingis then showed admirable judgment by pulling out of the doubles and repairing to the Greek Islands for some rest and recreation with then boyfriend Switzerland's Ivo Heuberger, a player on the men's tour.
Since coming back from that timely break and reconnecting with her coach/mother, Hingis, who turns 20 on Sept. 30, has been a changed individual.
She received a little counselling in media management, but mostly she has just grown up.
At Monday's opening ceremonies of the du Maurier Open at Jarry Park, she was the last player introduced and the only one to address the crowd. She was a big hit, joking that she had stolen a du Maurier lighter as a keepsake of the Montreal-based cigarette firm's last year as event sponsor.
Then, as the other players threw tennis balls into the crowd, she gamely booted an oversized (soccer-sized) tennis ball about 15 rows up into the stands.
A few hours earlier, she made an appearance in the entertainment village area, signing autographs and answering questions from fans.
She handled the signing and the questioning with typical aplomb, her good nature showing through. Asked about the stressful life of competing at such a high level, she joked, "What is stress, signing autographs or what?"
She then added a little more seriously, "I've been living this life for six years. If you're happy with yourself, it doesn't have to be too stressful."
Just two days after a tough semi-final loss in Los Angeles to Serena Williams, a player whose measurements dwarf her 5-foot-7, 130-pound vital statistics, Hingis was asked about trying to counter the big games, and big frames, of her main rivals -- Serena and Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport.
"When I read about the power players taking over," she said, "it's a challenge to me to see what I can do. I have good anticipation, and good reaction to the the ball because I've played so many matches in my life."
Though she hasn't won a Grand Slam event in her last six tries, she remains No. 1 in the WTA Tour's 52-week ranking. That's mostly due to her consistency and the fact that the Williams sisters and Davenport have been out with injuries.
Hingis has been working hard on off-court fitness to counter the size and strength advantage of her toughest competition.
She also has a happier social life since May when she started to go out with Sweden's Magnus Norman, No. 4 on the men's tour.
Today she begins her defence of the du Maurier Open title, taking on Russian Nadejda Petrova in the first round.
On Monday, she was asked how many languages she spoke during her public appearance. "I speak three," she replied.
"I still speak Czech with my parents because I was born there. I've lived for 10 years in Switzerland, so I speak German."
She then added with a twinkle, and speaking fluently in the language of Shakespeare and (Tim) Henman, "And while I've been travelling around, I've picked up a little English."