kinglear
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Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis playing at 1993 junior Wimbledon
If you don't know who Martina Hingis is, she won Wimbledon, the Australian Open and the US Open at 16 years old in 1997. She won two more Australian Opens, one in 1998 and one in 1999. She retired in 2002, and made her comeback at the beginning of 2006. She went from being ranked No. 349 to No. 7 in one year. That's freakin amazing. And here's another fun fact: she's the 2nd woman to win Wimbledon. The only younger woman to win Wimbledon was 15 in 1887. DAMN!
I wrote this recently because it just came to me. I figured I'd post it.
Is Martina Hingis the Transformer of tennis?
There are structures that are made of hard, cold and shiny steel and bruise with excruciating force that rule the world, but these structures are often one-dimensional beasts who underestimate small structures that are less shiny and seemingly less powerful. This small structure can often deceive the larger structures by transforming their strengths into her strengths, which is always nothing short of magic.
Like the shape shifting characters from the classic 1980s sci-fi series, “Transformers,” Martina Hingis is inarguably the transformer of the tennis world. Like a wizard, Hingis transforms pummeling shots thrown at her into slicing drop shots that cut off points as smoothly and quickly as a knife through butter. She transforms her opponents’ serves into unreachable returns that are near back-breaking.
What is so impressive and unearthly about Martina Hingis is how she can adjust her playing style to her opponent’s style of play. She is not about just hitting balls to simply get them over the net; she instead may hit two shots to her opponent’s forehand on the deuce side of the court and then on the third shot she drop shots the ball to the corner of the add sideline. Voila! The point is over. Or Hingis could perform her trademark combination of a drop shot (which somehow doesn’t end the point) followed by a top spinning lob that 9 times out of 10 lands in or on the line.
Hingis’ petite 5’7” frame makes her very deceptive, so that’s why she must use her brain to quietly attack her opponents’ power shots. That’s why she is the transformer of the game because she molds her game into different shapes and components that all fit together to form a magnificent puzzle. The majestic drop shots, the lobs, the backhands down the lines, and classic volleying are like the kings, queens, bishops and pawns that maneuver around a chessboard. In her 2006 comeback, Martina Hingis is transforming her game once again by adding more power to her shots, which allows her to go blow for blow with the most imposing ball busters on the WTA tour. If Hingis never played professional tennis again, her elegant play will be forever remembered as making tennis a more intelligent and complex sport.
Martina Hingis playing at 1993 junior Wimbledon
If you don't know who Martina Hingis is, she won Wimbledon, the Australian Open and the US Open at 16 years old in 1997. She won two more Australian Opens, one in 1998 and one in 1999. She retired in 2002, and made her comeback at the beginning of 2006. She went from being ranked No. 349 to No. 7 in one year. That's freakin amazing. And here's another fun fact: she's the 2nd woman to win Wimbledon. The only younger woman to win Wimbledon was 15 in 1887. DAMN!
I wrote this recently because it just came to me. I figured I'd post it.
Is Martina Hingis the Transformer of tennis?
There are structures that are made of hard, cold and shiny steel and bruise with excruciating force that rule the world, but these structures are often one-dimensional beasts who underestimate small structures that are less shiny and seemingly less powerful. This small structure can often deceive the larger structures by transforming their strengths into her strengths, which is always nothing short of magic.
Like the shape shifting characters from the classic 1980s sci-fi series, “Transformers,” Martina Hingis is inarguably the transformer of the tennis world. Like a wizard, Hingis transforms pummeling shots thrown at her into slicing drop shots that cut off points as smoothly and quickly as a knife through butter. She transforms her opponents’ serves into unreachable returns that are near back-breaking.
What is so impressive and unearthly about Martina Hingis is how she can adjust her playing style to her opponent’s style of play. She is not about just hitting balls to simply get them over the net; she instead may hit two shots to her opponent’s forehand on the deuce side of the court and then on the third shot she drop shots the ball to the corner of the add sideline. Voila! The point is over. Or Hingis could perform her trademark combination of a drop shot (which somehow doesn’t end the point) followed by a top spinning lob that 9 times out of 10 lands in or on the line.
Hingis’ petite 5’7” frame makes her very deceptive, so that’s why she must use her brain to quietly attack her opponents’ power shots. That’s why she is the transformer of the game because she molds her game into different shapes and components that all fit together to form a magnificent puzzle. The majestic drop shots, the lobs, the backhands down the lines, and classic volleying are like the kings, queens, bishops and pawns that maneuver around a chessboard. In her 2006 comeback, Martina Hingis is transforming her game once again by adding more power to her shots, which allows her to go blow for blow with the most imposing ball busters on the WTA tour. If Hingis never played professional tennis again, her elegant play will be forever remembered as making tennis a more intelligent and complex sport.
