About Martina

Quick Facts
Mother, Melanie Monitor, coaches Martina
Moved to Switzerland at 8 years of age
Enjoys skiing, swimming and horseback riding (horses' names are Montana, Sorrenta and Velvet).
Became the first female athlete to be on the cover of the American men's magazine GQ in June 1998.
Favorite cities to visit are Paris and New York for the shopping.
Lists most memorable experiences as winning her first WTA TOUR title in Filderstadt 1996, winning her first singles Grand Slam (Australian Open 1997), playing Steffi Graf in the 1999 French Open final and defeating Venus Williams in the 1999 U.S. Open semifinals (her best win so far, she says).
Superstition is not to walk on the tennis court lines.
Immortalized in wax at the famous Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in London.
Invited to the Academy Awards by famous Swiss director, Arthur Cohn (Central Station).
Enjoys going to musicals (favorites are Miss Saigon and Lion King) and shopping (favorite designers are Gucci, D&G, DKNY).
Named after Martina Navratilova.

Five of her seven 1999 singles titles came at Grand Slam or Tier I events; tied for most titles in 1999; reached the finals at 13 of the 20 tournaments she played in 1999, including three Grand Slam finals.
Finished 1999 with 71 match wins, leading the tour, and became the first woman player to earn more than $3 million in prize money for three straight years.
Ended 1999 tied with Lindsay Davenport for 16th place on the Open Era titles list with 26.
At the 1999 Australian Open, became the only player in history to win the same Grand Slam tournament in singles and doubles three consecutive years with three different doubles partners; won the 1999 doubles title with first-time partner Anna Kournikova and recorded her fifth straight Grand Slam doubles title; the singles title was her fifth Grand Slam title.
Won second straight title of 1999 in Tokyo, reclaiming the world No. 1 ranking by defeating No. 3 Jana Novotna in the semifinals; title included consecutive wins over Sugiyama, Graf, Novotna and Coetzer.
Reached the 1999 French Open final and came within three points of the title, the only Grand Slam singles title she hasn't won, before falling to Steffi Graf; also reached the doubles final, her sixth consecutive Grand Slam doubles final.
Reached her third Grand Slam final of 1999 at the U.S. Open with a third-set rally over No. 3 Venus Williams in the semifinals before falling to Williams' sister, Serena, in the final, where she saved two match points at 5-3 in the second set and rallied to force a tie-break before losing.
In August 1999, defeated No. 10 Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, No. 6 Mary Pierce and stopped four-time defending champion and world No. 5 Monica Seles to claim her first Canadian Open, ending Seles' 24-match winning streak at the event; win over Pierce avenged her 6-0, 6-0 loss to Pierce there in 1995, and win over Seles avenged a loss in the 1998 semifinals.
Became the youngest player ever to cross the $10 million mark in career prize money at 18 years, 11 months at the 1999 Canadian Open, and the sixth player to achieve the feat.
Won her third Filderstadt title in 1999 (and third Porsche), her seventh title of the year.
With her win over Venus Williams in the semifinals of the 1999 Chase Championships, became the youngest player at 19 years, 51 days to win 300 pro matches.
Won at least one title (singles or doubles) in seven straight Grand Slam tournaments from 1997 Wimbledon through 1999 Australian Open.
Reached at least the semifinals at 11 straight Grand Slam tournaments from the 1996 U.S. Open through 1999 Roland Garros. Ended 1998 by defeating No. 1 Lindsay Davenport to win the Chase Championships for the first time, becoming the only player to win two major tournaments in 1998 (won Australian Open); ended a six-month title drought.
First reign at No. 1 ended after 80 weeks from March 31, 1997 to October 11, 1998.
During the 1998 Australian Open, became the youngest player to earn $5 million in career prize money at 17 years, four months; crossed the $8 million mark at the 1998 Chase Championships, youngest to do so at 18 years, 1 month; At 16 years, one month, 10 days, became the youngest tennis player ever, man or woman, to earn $1 million in prize money; in 1997, became first woman to earn over $3 million in prize money in one season.
In 1998, became the fourth woman in tennis history to win the doubles Grand Slam, joining Maria Bueno (1960), Martina Navratilova (1984) and Pam Shriver (1984); won the Australian Open with Mirjana Lucic, and won Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open with Jana Novotna.
In June 1998, became the third woman in Open history to hold the No. 1 ranking in singles and doubles simultaneously (joining Navratilova and Sanchez Vicario)
Youngest player in the Open era to win 18 singles titles at 17 years, seven months, 10 days (12 days younger than Tracy Austin).
Became the youngest player in the Open Era (1968-present) to win the singles title at Wimbledon when she won in 1997 at age 16 years, nine months and five days; was the first Swiss woman ever to win Wimbledon.
By winning the 1997 U.S. Open, became second-youngest U.S. Championships winner at 16 years, 11 months and eight days (Tracy Austin was 16 years, nine months in 1979), defeating unseeded Venus Williams in the final; the final against 17-year-old Williams was the youngest Grand Slam final in the Open era; became one of six players (and one of three teens) to win three or more Grand Slam singles titles in a calendar year in the Open era (Graf, Court, Navratilova, King and Seles).
On March 31, 1997, became the youngest No. 1-ranked player (since the Tour's computer rankings began in 1975) at age 16 years, 6 months and one day; was the seventh player to join that elite group (Evert, Navratilova, Austin, Graf, Seles and Sanchez Vicario).
Won first career Grand Slam singles title at the 1997 Australian Open, becoming the youngest player in the open era (beginning in 1968) and in the 20th century to win a Grand Slam singles title at 16 years, 3 months, 26 days of age (youngest was Charlotte "Lottie" Dod who won the 1887 Wimbledon title at 15 years, 10 months old); also first Swiss woman to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Won 37 straight matches to start the 1997 season, the second-best start in the open era (behind Graf's 45 in 1987).
By winning the 1997 Open Gaz de France, became the first woman to win consecutive tournaments she's played on three continents: Australia (Sydney and Australian Open), Asia (Tokyo-Pan Pacific Open), and Europe (Paris-Open Gaz de France); last player to accomplish the feat was Boris Becker in 1986.
One of only 20 players since 1971 who have won five or more tournaments in a single year.
Became youngest ever to win an adult title at Wimbledon by capturing the 1996 doubles title with Helena Sukova at 15 years, 282 days old, breaking the record set in 1887 by Charlotte "Lottie" Dod who won the singles title when she was 15 years, 285 days old.
In 1995, became youngest female player in Open Era to win a singles match at the Australian Open at 14 years, four months.
At age 12, became youngest-ever Grand Slam junior titlist at 1993 Roland Garros, replacing prior record-holder Jennifer Capriati; named 1994 International Tennis Federation Junior Girls Singles Champion; won 1994 Wimbledon and Roland Garros junior singles titles (becoming youngest Wimbledon junior champion at 13 years, 276 days) and Roland Garros junior doubles; was a finalist at 1994 U.S. Open juniors.
Reached the final of the 1996 season-ending Chase Championships, becoming the second-youngest Championships finalist (Andrea Jaeger was 15 in 1981); lost to No. 1 Steffi Graf in five sets; also qualified for the Championships in 1997-99, winning the singles title in 1998 and the doubles in 1999.
Her coach and mother, Melanie Molitor, was named the 1997 Coach of the Year by the Swiss Sports Federation, becoming the first woman to win the award, and also by Tennis Magazine.
WTA Tour mentor is Chris Evert in the Partners for Success program, the mentor division of the Tour's Player Development Program.
Began skiing and playing tennis at age 2; entered tournaments at 4.