India’s Very Own Swiss-Miss Martina Hingis Turns 35 Today

Here’s celebrating the Birthday of a tennis ace who partnered Leander Paes & Sania Mirza to win 5 Grand Slams in 2015

Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza celebrate winning the 2015 Wimbledon women’s doubles final on July 11, 2015. (Photo: AP)

After swatting away competition to pocket their sixth title of the year in Guangzhou last week, Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis decided about having some fun.

“So @mhingis and I are thinking of a team name,” tweeted Sania. “Any suggestions? The best one will be picked and send some names and we’ll choose”

A deluge of responses followed. And a day later, the choice was made. A cheeky selfie, glowing smiles underneath fashionable sunshades, was tweeted out. They were now #TeamSanTina.

The older member of #TeamSanTina is 35 today. She has much to celebrate. Hingis sits among a select group of players to own Twenty Grand Slam titles. Five were added over the course of this year with Indian partners – Wimbledon and US Open with Sania and the Australian, Wimbledon and US Open mixed doubles crowns with Leander Paes.

Leander Paes and Martina Hingis stand with their trophy after winning the 2015 US Open mixed doubles final. (Photo: AP)

After winning her twin titles in New York, Hingis was asked about this dazzling synergy with Indian partners- “Do you see something similar in them - culturally, work ethic, something about it that translates to a good partnership with you on the court?”

Yeah, I think the understanding for each other and for the sport and for the culture, the upbringing, Although we come from different parts of the world, it’s the way our parents, you know, Imran, Sania’s dad, taught her how to play tennis, was always there and very supportive. I had the same in my mother.
— Martina Hingis

Hingis’s compelling partnerships with Sania, seven years younger and Paes, seven years older, has been among the most eye-catching stories in the game this year. Having made a faltering comeback in 2013, her third to the professional circuit, the former World number one has rediscovered her zest for tennis in the company of the two Indians.

Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza celebrate with the trophy after winning the 2015 US Open women’s doubles title. (Photo: AP)

With Sania, she compliments the venom in her partner’s game from the back of the court with her skill and tactical nous- constructing points, finding acute angles, outthinking the girls across court. With Paes, Hingis willingly bestows leadership on a man with supreme mastery over the doubles game. It is a role Paes embraces with relish.

I know if I can keep Martina happy, if I can keep her relaxed, the tennis I don’t even have to worry about. This young girl is phenomenal on the tennis court and off of it. We actually have our best times when we are on the practice court.
— Leander Paes after their US Open win

Hingis has epitomised the proverbial sporting roller coaster over the last couple of decades. A teenage champion blessed with sublime craft who fell out of love with the game has been seduced by its allure again in her mid-thirties. In Switzerland, she was already a figure of admiration. Now another country bestows unbridled affection on her as one of its own.