The big news out of Washington D.C. (home of sports management and marketing giant Octagon) is that Martina Hingis is officially making a comeback.
OK, Hingis fans—and bashers—you can start trotting out all those “Return of Chucky” lines as of right now.
My reaction: Why am I not surprised?
Hingis left the game at age 22 because of injury (there also have been persistent reports that she sat out the past few years in order to maximize the potential damages she might win in a lawsuit against her shoe-and-clothing sponsor, Sergio Tacchini—more on that later), not burnout or flagging results.
Now, at 25, she's young enough to play tennis the equal—or better—of any she has produced in her career so far. She also has enough money to do whatever she wants with the rest of her life, including sit in an armchair with a cheap disposable lighter, torching $1,000 bills one after another, hour after hour, day after day.
The money quote from Octagon’s un-retirement press release:
Hmmmm . . . "Compete against today’s top players."
My initial reaction to Hingis’ decision was that she wouldn’t stand a chance of staying with today's stars because of the way the game has changed. The women have more power, hit harder, and go for broke more avidly than ever before.
That means, among other things, that Hingis’ cream puff of a serve gets smashed right back down her throat with greater efficiency and consistency than while she last was an active player. It also means that the enormous advantage Hingis always enjoyed as a superb tactician is somewhat neutralized.
In fact, wasn’t Venus and Serena Williams vs. Martina Hingis cast as Armageddon—the final battle between the finesse and strategy on one hand, and naked power and aggression on the other? And didn’t the Williams sisters utterly eclipse her? I was surprised to learn that Hingis retired with a 10-8 edge on Venus and respectable 6-7 record against Serena.
OK, Hingis racked up a disproportionate number of wins early in her rivalry with the sisters. But by the same token, the Williamses were then hungry and on the rise. Does anyone believe Venus and Serena, except on isolated occasions, are the same players now as they were two or three years ago?
Furthermore, Hingis called it quits with a 10-6 career lead on that other ball banger, Mary Pierce, and her record against Lindsay Davenport is a solid and very balanced 11-14. She’s also a perfect (if insignificant) 2-0 against Justine Henin-Hardenne—and a more telling 4-1 in her meetings with Kim Clijsters.
So my feeling is that whatever else may have been at play in Hingis’s abrupt retirement, it’s impossible to say that she was driven out of the game by a breed of bigger, stronger, better player. Oh, sure, Hingis was cranky and petulant near the end there, and it seemed like it was partly because the game was passing her by, right before our very eyes. But a long layoff and some residual attitude adjustment might have done wonders for her.
And look what she’s returning to—a regular hen party. Like the rest of us, she’s watched Lindsay blow one match after another while an out-of-shape Serena, a distracted and ineffective Venus, and dysfunctional competitors like Amelie Mauresmo, Kim Clijsters, and Mary Pierce basically take turns stepping in and out of the limelight.
The warrior princess, as personified by Steffi Graf or Monica Seles (early Venus and Serena, too) doesn’t exist in the women’s game today. And that’s exactly what it took to beat Hingis in her prime.
If the competitive fire still burns in Hingis as it once did—and there’s really no way to know if it does or not, until she comes to the party—she’ll be an instant Grand Slam contender. The only real questions then are whether or not the fire will still burn with its original intensity, and how seriously and professionally her rivals will take their job in the new year.
I'm trying to get more details on this development from Hingis's managers at Octagon, and I'll write another post on it when the details emerge. My gut feeling is that she returns to the tour in Australia, perhaps with a Hopman Cup warm-up and full launch at the Australian Open.
Stay tuned.