«I just want the real me to finally be shown. Not the arrogant bitch who once again did not give an interview, but the Martina that I am. ” That’s what Martina Hingis says in 30-page portrait in the magazine of the Tagesanzeiger, in which the life story of today’s 41-year-olds is rolled out. Because: “My story is not a victim story, it is a success story.”
And yet, Hingis was never as loved and adored in Switzerland as one would expect from such a successful athlete. According to the authors, she was too rebellious, too self-confident and too successful for that. «I never understood this picture of myself. I’ve never had a problem with Switzerland. And I don’t think the Swiss had anything with me either, ”says Hingis.
The relationship between Hingis and Switzerland reached a low point during the 1999 French Open final against Steffi Graf. Hingis led the generation duel with set and break when she went to Graf’s court side to check a ball print herself. An unsportsmanlike behavior that the already partisan fans also raised against the Swiss woman. “I thought they wanted to kill me”, Hingis looks back on the day when she lost a lot of sympathy in Switzerland.
Your men and the ego problem
Her love stories with other professional athletes contributed a lot to the public image. “As an athlete, you almost only get to know athletes,” says Hingis. At first glance, this is attractive. But it also brings with it an ego problem, as she explains using the example of golf star Sergio Garcia: “Sergio and I, we were always compared. And I was, that sounds stupid, further than him. At first he was fascinated by that, but over time it bothered him that his girlfriend is one size bigger than him. Men’s egos have suffered as a result. Men do not want to be “Hingis’ friend”. They want it to be the other way around. Only when they are older do they learn to stand above the matter. “
The doping episode should not be missing from all the insights that Hingis grants. In 2007 she tested positive for a breakdown product of cocaine at Wimbledon and was banned for two years. “I know that I have not taken doping and that I am innocent,” she said at a memorable press conference. And today? “I don’t know if you’ve coked or stood on a tennis court, or both. I can tell you, the last thing you need there are party drugs. ” (red)