I saw her awesome performance in the WTT Finals 2 night! Does anyone know if she will be back on the WTA tour next year? She looked very relaxed, and in control of her emotions! I think she enjoyed herself! Maybe she is ready to return to the tour, maybe not full time, but long enough to go after the French Open and win the career Grand Slam. How awesome would a final vs Hennine be? Don't forget possible showdowns w/ Serina or Muressmo BRING IT ON!!!


[Thread title modified for case - Outsports moderator]

[ September 23, 2005, 05:25 AM: Message edited by: m1 ]

I wished I saw that. How was she serving? She needs to put some more pop on that serve of hers to take on the gals in the top ten. I'm not sure she's committed to doing that.

She beat Kateryna Bonderenko in singles. She's #151 in the world. I guess Hingis found a pond that's small enough.

Funny how her "foot problems" haven't been bothering her.

Hingis did very well in Team Tennis this season and was definitely the player that carried the Sportstimes to the title.

People have asked her about coming back and she waffles alot. She has addressed the foot problems ... she's only playing a first-to-five-games pro set rather than two out of three and then the doubles, so she doens't have to run as much. She's said that she isn't certain how the feet would hold up to a week-in, week-out schedule and full tournaments. She was on the Sportstimes, but she wasn't in every match they played. To the best of my knowledge, she played one regular season tie and then in the semis and the finals of the WTT championships.

John McEnroe, who was also on the Sportstimes, says that if Hingis were to come back, she'd be in the top ten almost immediately. I think the top ten is pretty crowded, but I think she could get there ... and certainly top 15. She's got the ability. I feel like Hingis's biggest problem is that she's lazy. She doesn't wanna do the off-court work to keep up with the top tier players. Tennis is something that comes so naturally to her. And I think that will keep her from making a full comeback. But I'd love to see her really make a go for it.

Here's an article from TennisWeek.com about it all.

Well, you know, Tennis Guy, Seles has played World Team Tennis, too.

I think she could make it back to the top 10 if she's physically capable of playing 20 tournaments in a year. It wouldn't be immediate, though--Hingis needs her best instincts and anticipation to play with the heavy hitters. I think rust would be a problem and judging by her response to losing in Thailand last year, she doesn't have the patience and determination needed to work her way back into it.

I don't know why she doesn't play some doubles, though.

In that TW article, Hingis says that just doubles isn't of interest to her ... she says if she's going to comeback, she's gonna do it all the way. Which is admirable in a way. I can see her point.

WTT is really not an indicator of someones ability to play on the tour. It is "tennertainment", and should be taken for anything more than that. I tried to watch some last night, but couldn't stand it with that crazy multi-colored courts.

With the team atmosphere, and crazy scoring, and limited schedule, it really does not predict someone's ability to train for tournaments and play week in and week out on the tour.

That said, I sure hope Martina comes back. As much as I couldn't stand her, escpecially towards the end, she would be good for the game.

And Monica...baby, please come back. Baby, baby, please!

Tennertainment!!! HA!

Tenntertainment! Good one, I like that too!

Mary Carillo's called McEnroe on that statement, on the air, even. He seems to say it all the time, in hopes of bringing Hingis back. Back in the top 10 "almost immediately" my ass. The current top 10?:

1 Maria Sharapova
2 Lindsay Davenport
3 Kim Clijsters
4 Amelie Mauresmo
5 Justine Henin-Hardenne
6 Mary Pierce
7 Venus Williams
8 Elena Dementieva
9 Serena Williams
10 Nadia Petrova


Please.

She lost to Weingartner (who's lucky to be in the top 100 lately) and Shaugnessy, who's 52 right now, during this year of playing. Granted, it's limited, but who can REALLY believe she'd make the top 10?

Utter nonsense.

Tennis Guy, you're not biased at all right? I think that a 97'-early 02' would be in the top ten, but it is hard to gauge where she would be today. I didn't see the WTT finals, but I saw some of the earlier matches and it looked like Hingis has lost a bit of depth on her groundstrokes and her serve is no better than it was. She also didn't seem to be moving as well. I miss watching Hingis, but I think unless she is really willing to put in the effort, she won't make much of an impact if she were to return. It would be fun if she were to make a return in the doubles though. Can you imagine if she and Kournikova renewed their partnership an played on the WTA? Considering the doubles field these days, I think they would do quite well.

What do you guys think if McEnroe became her coach? Think about 2 of the greatest mental players teaming up! I'm happy to hear McEnroe has faith in Hingis it may be what she needs! Plus I think adding Virgina Wade as a 2nd coach could certainally help out her all-court game! Ok they aren't gonna help her in the emotinal aspect of her game, but with thier help I don't just think she will regain the TOP 10, I think she'll regain the #1 ranking! GO MARTINA HINGIS!!!

#1? Well there's my laugh for the evening.

A big difference being Monica didn't retire when (because) people started beating her.

"Foot problems," riiiiiiight.


I don't believe she'd be anywhere near the top 10 if she tried to come back. But as fair as I can be when it comes to her, it might bring some good buzz back to the game if she tried. Her fans would like to see her back, and I'd really like watching her lose. And what would make my viewing pleasure complete in a situation like this, would be if some trash-talking teenager made some assenine comments about Hingis, like Hingis used to make. You know, "she's too old and should retire" (Hingis said about Graff in the late 90's) or "she should have never come out of retirement, what was she thinking, that she could really compete with serious players?" Now THAT would be must-see tenntertainment!

LOL....^5 Tennis. That French Open final remains one of my favorites. Steffi is my favorite player of all time so YOU KNOW I was not too thrilled with those comments that little brat made about one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Steffi showed her ass and then Martina went boo hoo-ing off the court like a 3 year old. That was great. I have to dig that tape out from my library and watch it.

After Steffi Graf beat Martina Navratilova to win her first Wimbledon title in 1988, Martina presented Steffi with a gold tennis racquet pendant as a gift. Steffi's responded by saying thank you and then asking Navratilova when she was going to retire.

ALOT of the very best players are extraordinarily young when they start in tennis. Sometimes that's easy to forget. Hingis is not the first (and she won't be the last) to have said things that she should not have said, I'm certain.

Even Sesil Karantcheva now regrets her infamous comments about kicking Sharapova's ass.

This is not to excuse the players for being rude, but I do think there comes a time when you don't have to be held so accountable for things you said or did as a teenager. Every time I go home, my mom brings up things I did when I was 12 or 13 and I get so tired of having to hear about it. I just wanna say, "Ma! Let it go! I was a kid!"

Chris Evert, Tracey Austin, and Monica Seles won slams as young teenagers and never made such idiotic comments. And I'm sure Steffi's comment (although I've never heard that story before) to Martina N was in good fun, not in cocky arrogance or downright inappropriate, like so many of Hingis's statements were. And Hingis was making comments like that even into her twenties. As I've said before, the age excuse just doesn't cut it for me. 12 or 13 isn't the same as 16 or 17, either.

Steffi has matured into a really classy woman, but saying things "in good fun" wasn't part of her personality profile ... particularly in the late 1980s. She was ultra competitive, hated to lose, and when she did lose always had some sort of excuse lined up. Steffi never lost to an opponent. She lost to sinus infections and her menstral cycle. I don't think Steffi asking Martina when she was going to retire was meant to come off as badly as it did, but she wasn't joking either. She was just young and inarticulate.

And it's absolutely true that there are classy players who don't slip up and speak well from the time they arrive on tour to the time they leave.

Anyway, I'm not trying to convince anyone to like Hingis or even to stop hating her. I'm just saying that she's not alone; not among her predecessors, not among her peers, and not among the future generation.