If Martina Hingis were a doll, she’d probably be Chatty Cathy, that mid-1960s life-size figure. Pull a string in the middle of her back and Cathy would talk on and on about lots of subjects, all of them sure to make a 5-year-old girl squeal with delight. She’d even throw in a hearty giggle for good measure.
To be sure, Hingis has both the gift of gab and a contagious laugh. Of course, her mouth has also been known to get her into trouble, like the time she referred to Steffi Graf as old and past her prime, or when she called the openly gay Amelie Mauresmo “half a man” at the 1999 Australian Open.
And let’s not forget last year’s French Open.
Playing Graf in the final of the only Grand Slam she has never won, Hingis was leading 6-4, 2-0 and seemed to have the match in hand. Then a Hingis return of serve was called wide. The ruling displeased her, but it was upheld by the chair umpire. What followed will go down as one of the greatest hissy fits in the history of professional tennis. Instead of retreating to her return position, Hingis rounded the net to look at the mark, then launched into a tirade just a few feet away from Graf. An unsportsmanlike-conduct violation not only cost Hingis $1,500, but also turned an already pro-Graf crowd wildly against the Swiss teenager.
Still, Hingis served for the championship at 6-4, 5-4. She led 15-0, but a combination of spectacular play from Graf (days shy of her 30th birthday and, as it turned out, on the brink of retirement) and the then-18-year-old’s lack of resolve did Hingis in. When it was over and Graf had won 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, the No. 1 player in the world left the court in tears and returned for the trophy presentation only because she was forced to by her mother and coach, Melanie Molitor.
Now Hingis says she barely remembers what happened in Paris (yeah, right). And as she snuggles into an oversize couch in the back corner of a cocktail lounge in Indian Wells, Calif., during the Newsweek Champions Cup, she says her biggest problem is having to dress in an Adidas track suit for a European TV interview instead of being free to indulge her whimsical fashion sense. As always, Hingis is congenial and forthcoming, and she laughs a lot. Just like Chatty Cathy.
Tennis:How do you think you’re perceived by tennis fans?
Hingis: In the United States I’m quite OK - I hope, anyway. I think it’s because I brought in the results. It was not only talking, as some other players did. It was always our (Hingis and her mother’s) rule. First show and then talk.
Is it different for you in Switzerland?
Well, maybe at home I don’t have the best image. The press is different in Europe. Here (in the U.S.) you have so many more athletes from different sports. It’s a much bigger business than in Europe. That’s one of the reasons I moved to Florida. Of course, the main reason is the weather and the training. But there’s more jealousy in Switzerland because it’s so little and they don’t have so many athletes. Sometimes I wouldn’t give an interview because I didn’t have the time or something else was more important. So they come up with a story which I don’t think is always true, but they have to sell papers.
At the Australian Open, a lot of people were surprised to hear you say that Davenport has your number. Was that a big admission of you, to say, “You’re better than I am right now?”
It’s true, so it wasn’t that hard for me to accept it. I was nervous going into the final because I know she has beaten me in the past and she’s not afraid of it. I have so much respect for her because of the way she plays. I know I have to be 100 percent, maybe more, to beat her.
Let me read you something Lindsay said the other day. She said, “I’ve always thought that of all the top players, Martina has the best attitude about staying at the top. She’s friendly with all the players and she’s confident, but in her own way, she has fun with it. You can see she loves what she does. I respect her a lot.” What do you make of that?
Oh, that’s great. I always give Lindsay so much credit for her tennis game, for her attitude, for her person, and because of how she deals with all the things. I don’t think people give her enough credit for how well she’s doing.
Are you surprised that your biggest rival would speak so highly of you, both professionally and personally?
Well, in the past you had many players at the top that really didn’t get along with each other. But Lindsay and I just gradually got to the top and then the youngsters came, like Kournikova and the Williams'. Then, when Lindsay and I would get to the semi-finals, we would be like, “OK, who’s going to beat them?” so we could make the final together. (Lindsay and I) are not such a rivalry. Of course, when we play each other, we both want to win. We have shown that in the past, and it’s going to be like that in the future.
What about Venus and Serena? At the moment, they don’t seem as dedicated to the sport.
Serena maybe isn’t showing her best tennis right now. She looked good physically in Australia, but the tennis wasn’t as efficient as when she won the U.S. Open. But I liked that dress. She looked pretty good out on the court. And with the red shoes, too (laughs).
Let’s go back to the beginning. What were you like at the age of 4 or 5? Were you a very stubborn child?
When I was 4 my mother got divorced and we were very close to each other. I always wanted to be with her. She took me everywhere. When she went for dinner with friends or when they had meetings at the tennis club, I was always there. And I had to be quiet if I wanted to stay. A few people would say, “If she’s not going to be a tennis player, she’s going to be a diplomat.” I went to many meetings where there were no other kids. But I always found something to keep me interested. I was always at peace because of the way my mom treated me. She only had me at the time (Molitor would later remarry and re-divorce) and she had the tennis. She had to take care of that. I grew up on the tennis court with lots of other kids. There were like 40 kids all afternoon and I was one of the youngest ones, so I always had to chase everybody to keep up. I was very competitive. I didn’t want to be the worst. I always wanted to be at the top. Whatever I did, I wanted to win. I mean, I think everybody does.
Has your father gone to any of your professional matches?
Yeah, when I played Feb Cup (1997) in Slovakia. (Karol Hingis arrived at the airport, flowers in hand, to greet Martina, and later expressed a desire to coach her; she declined.) I still keep in touch with him on the phone. He is still my father. He is still a person I know I could trust and he would never do anything against me. Once you’re at the top, there are not many people like that. People always want something from you. When someone comes up, you’re already on the defence, like, “What do you want? You want a picture? You want an autograph? Just a question?” You’re already trying to defend yourself.
When you were a kid, did you dream about this life?
I had no idea what life would be like. I just thought of Wimbledon or the French Open, because tennis was so big in the Czech Republic back then. Navratilova, Novotna, Mandlikova, Lendl, they were all heroes. I thought that if they could accomplish something, then I have a chance, too.
Did you have tennis posters hanging on your wall?
Actually, yes, in the bathroom. We had a poster of the Davis Cup in 1986. It was in Prague, the Czech Republic against Sweden, and we went to watch, so I got the poster. You couldn’t get all the posters. You were lucky if you got one.
Where would you be today if you weren’t a tennis player?
I don’t know. I guess I would be a simple girl growing up in Czechoslovakia. I’m not saying I’m something special. I might play a little better tennis than other people, but it is because I was given the chance, and not many people are.
Let’s talk prize money. During the Australian Open, you came out in favour of a boycott if the Grand Slams don’t offer parity to women. Do you still feel that way?
I think the whole boycott thing was a bit too much. It’s because we’re accomplished so much in women’s tennis in the last two, three years. We deserve something better. With little steps we’ve made a lot of improvements. But at one time we had equal prize money at the Australian Open and they took it away. So it’s not fair.
But with so many players and so many different agendas, do you think a boycott could really happen?
The top players talk more now, and we have more meetings. We’re just trying to get things better. But we still need somebody who could make a difference.
Could you?
(Big laugh) I think I could get more involved, but not right now. Maybe later. Right now I’m still too young. I don’t think people would give me the respect. Come on, I’m 19 - how could I be a leader of something? No way.
OK, let’s revisit last year’s French Open, something you may or may not want to think back to.
That’s almost too far away. I don’t remember it.
Oh, I’ll help you remember it.
It’s very emotional for me because the French Open was the first junior tournament I won, and I never thought that it would be the only (French Open championship she’d win).
Is winning the French still your main goal this year?
Any tournament you go to, you want to win it. I don’t know what kind of emotions I’m going to go into the French with. I really don’t know how the public is going to be. I don’t know. I want to leave it as a surprise.
Last year, in the final against Steffi, you were up 6-4, 5-4, 15-0. What happened? Did you get scared?
No, I didn’t get scared. I think I just got a little tired, I guess. The match was already getting a little closer. Up until that time I felt like I had the match under control. That’s why I think I allowed myself to do that thing (crossing the net to contest the call). I felt like, OK, even if something happens, I still have it under control. Maybe I got tired because I was getting closer to fulfilling my dream and that made me a bit nervous. I don’t think I would have crossed that net if I had Known 100 percent what was going on.
Did you feel like you were losing your mind a little bit?
Come on, it was the final of the French Open! I’m sure people were saying, “Hey, what’s going on?” I don’t think it’s losing that mind. It’s just that I felt the disrespect because on clay you have to show the mark. There’s no way you can’t see it. And even from behind the net, I saw Steffi. You can tell from the player’s reaction if it’s in or out. I saw her and I saw that they couldn’t find the mark. Plus, I saw it, so I’m like, “No way!” But, of course, if something like that happened again, I wouldn’t go around the net. I got my lesson. It’s just that, at the moment, to go around and just to show, it was more important to me than losing the point.
You’re very principled, aren’t you?
I am, yeah. That’s how I think. I have my ride. But that was a little bit over the limit (laughs).
Do you have nightmares when you go back and think about that entire French Open Experience?
The next few days, when I realized what happened, I was so disappointed and sad about the whole thing. I was like three points from victory. And, to be honest, I’d rather play Steffi in that final than Monica (Seles, who lost to Graf in the semi-finals)because Steffi’s kind of a legend and I wanted to beat her there. But it didn’t happen; my career goes on.
Have you talked to Steffi about it since then?
(Softly) No, no, There’s not much you can talk about.
She’d probably think it was funny.
If I’d won, I’d laugh, too.
When you returned to the court for the trophy presentation, crying in your mother’s arms, was that the hardest thing you ever had to do on a tennis court?
My mom told me later that she almost started laughing on the court. For her, it wasn’t such a big thing. She saw me as a daughter, and, of course, she felt for me. But she almost started laughing while I was crying. When she told me that, I’m like, “Thanks a lot.”
But how hard was it on you?
To go through that experience, with the crowd booing you, maybe that was the hardest. Not that I lost or anything. Just the crowd.
After the French you went to Wimbledon, but without your mother, and you lost badly in the first round and they media made a big deal about it. But you and your mom didn’t fight, right? In fact, she kissed you good-bye and told you to have a good tournament. Then she went home.
Yeah, that’s true. It wasn’t even a misunderstanding. It was just like, “I want to try and go out on my own.” And why not? Everybody wants to grow up sometime. And you have to experience that maybe it’s not going to work out the way you expected it to. I was so excited. I did the laundry, I did the stringer, I did all the house things. I had my cousin over there; I had a hitting partner, so everything was fine. But then I was out on the court and I felt lost. I never felt lost on the court before because someone wasn’t there, someone who had been there for me all the time. I wanted her there as my mom, no the coach. But it just couldn’t happen that way. She would have to be there to see the things that I’m doing wrong in practice. But probably I had to have this experience.
Do you still do your own laundry?
(Laughs) No. Well, I do put it in the bags and give it to the lady in the locker room. That's it.
Do you want to have kids? If so, what kind of a mother do you think you’ll make?
Of course. Life isn’t only about the career. Everybody has a dream that you want to have a family and a relationship. You want to have someone there for you. At the tournaments, you often feel like you’re lonely or you’re alone in the room. Sometimes it’s not enough having my mom there. Of course, it’s nice and I’m grateful for having that. But once my career is over, I want something more.
You’ve dated several tennis players (Justin Gimelstob, Julian Alonso, Ivo Heuberger, to name three). Do you think you’ll end up marrying a tennis player?
I don’t think so. But when you’re 17 and looking around you think, “Oh, this one is cute.” You can imagine yourself having dinner and maybe that becomes more. And because of the surroundings, those guys are around, so it’s the easiest.
What do you look for in a man?
Definitely respect. Respect for what I am doing and that I have my own career. He has to watch out for me, too. He’s doing his business and I’m doing mine, and if there is time left, then we can be together. He also has to deal with (the fact) that I’m famous, that people are going to come up to me to ask questions or to get an autograph. It might be fun in the beginning, but I’m used to being the centre of attention, so he’ll have to deal with that.
You talked to Chris Evert about this.
Yeah, I did. I asked her how she dealt with being with (former fiancé) Jimmy Connors. She said that it wasn’t easy because they were both very individual and you want to be at the top. If you want to give more credit or more attention to your partner, you’re going to lose yourself. And I don’t want to do that right now. Maybe when my career is over I’ll have more time.
You said at one point that you hated being a teenager, that you learned the word “funk” during this time. Now you’re on the verge of womanhood. Do you like it any better?
I do like it. I always felt that 18 to 25 (years old) would be the best, but any age group is fun. You have to take it that way, that every day is a new day and you want to try and make it better than the last one.
What book is on your night stand right now?
Honestly, I’m more into the computer, the Internet, and checking out scores or the news.
You’re also an excellent doubles player. People don’t give you enough credit for that. Is playing doubles just a fun thing for you?
It’s a lot of fun if I have to great partners like I’ve had in past years with Jana (Novotna) and Helena (Sukova), or now with Mary (Pierce). Even Mirjana (Lucic). Or Natasha (Zvereva). And also Arantxa (Sanchez-Vicario). It seems that anybody who would be on my side would play great tennis.
But you’ve left each one behind, and often with hurt feelings.
Come on! It’s not because they’re left behind. I felt like we didn’t communicate anymore. Or we wouldn’t practice that much. The fire was gone. I was hurt, too, because they didn’t want to do the things to help us get better. Just because we were the best at that time, you still have to keep working.
What’s the best thing about your life right now?
Independence, and security for life. With the money I’ve earned (some $12 million in prize money alone), I’m going to be safe for the rest of my life - if I don’t do something really stupid. And freedom. It’s all got to do with money and the experiences that I’ve made in life. I mean, I’ve seen almost the entire world. And not just the beautiful parts. I went to Nepal with the World Health Organization. And I plan to go to Colombia to see the street children in Bogotá.
Do you ever just sit back and marvel at all you’ve accomplished and where you are today?
Yeah, maybe once a week we (Hingis and her mother) do it. We talk so much, not about what I’ve accomplished, but where I am, what I’m doing. When people ask, “How do you keep yourself motivated?” it’s like, “Look at my life, at the places I play, where I am, how my life is.” How stupid would I be if I wanted to give it up?
So far, what’s your greatest regret?
(Long pause) Well, maybe those two, three weeks last year (at the French Open and Wimbledon). But it was a great experience. I learned a lot. It’s not that I regret it that much or that I think it was the biggest mistake of my life. I don’t think it was such a big thing. It was a big mistake for my image and my career, but not as a learning procedure in life.
Describe an ideal day for you?
A perfect day? Winning the French Open against either Lindsay or one of the Williams sisters. Then doing the picture with the trophy in front of the Sacre Coeur (a cathedral in Paris) in a nice dress. And then going to dinner with my mom, Mario (Widmer, Molitor’s boyfriend), and whoever is there for me at that time. That’s a perfect day.