Martina Hingis Bids Tennis A Bittersweet Farewell, Following WTA Defeat

Martina Hingis has enjoyed an impressive career as a professional tennis player, but those days are now at an end. The tennis pro previously announced her plans for retirement, which might have been a more joyous event under other circumstances. The loss of Hingis’s final match adds a bitter flavor to her retirement, as she says goodbye to her fans and to the sport that has given her so much through the years.
Martina Hingis Retires With One Last Shocking Loss
On Saturday, Martina Hingis played the last tennis games she will ever play professionally, when she competed in the WTA Finals in Singapore. Unfortunately, her doubles match with Taiwan’s Chan Yung-Jan resulted in an unsettling loss for the retiring player.
The pair went up against Timea Babos and Andrea Hlavackova, who were third-ranked at the time of the match. The final scores were: 6-4 and 7-6 for a 7/5 total. That loss didn’t just mark Martina’s retirement; it also brought a 19-match winning streak to a close for Hingis and Chan. The loss ended one of the greatest runs in tennis history.
Commenting on the loss, Martina admitted that she felt disappointed by the loss. While it was an unsettling way to bring her career to a close, she added that she had no regrets about her successful tennis career. Hingis said both Ms. Chan and herself had hoped to bring home the trophy, but admitted their opponents were “just too good” to be defeated in the match.
Martina Opens Up About Retiring
It had to happen eventually. Everyone retires sooner or later, either through necessity or because it’s just that time, and Martina Hingis has recognized this as her time. On speaking about her WTA Finals loss, she also took the time to remark on her remarkable career and on stepping down to retire.
“I don’t think I have any regrets. I think it’s been an amazing journey and amazing career that I can be proud of,” said Ms. Hingis. “I’ll definitely miss it at some point in my life.”
That career is marked by a string of successes. In the 90s, Martina Hingis first established herself as a teen superstar, claiming five Grand Slam singles titles, before moving on to prove her worth as one half of a doubles team. Playing doubles matches, Ms. Hingis went on to claim 20 more major wins.
This isn’t the first time Hingis has announced her retirement. The 37-year-old tennis pro retired twice previously, though one time was after testing positive for metabolite of cocaine. When questioned about her previous attempts to resign from tennis, Hingis declared that her retirement is “definite” this time around.