Liverpool-bound Hingis blames boredom for retiring

Jun 9 2008 by Nick Smith, Liverpool Daily Post

MARTINA HINGIS reckons the boredom of the professional tennis circuit is forcing female players to take early retirement.

The Swiss champion, who takes part in the legends exhibition at the Tradition-ICAP Liverpool International Tennis Tournament which starts tomorrow, became the youngest Wimbledon champion since Merseyside’s Lottie Dod took the title in 1887.

Her centre court triumph at the age of 16 was the second of five Grand Slam titles she won before she was 19 and Hingis looked set to dominate women’s tennis for years to come.

However, she quit the game at just 22 and after a brief comeback, gave up competitive tennis completely last year at the age of 27.

Other recent high profile retirements include Kim Clijsters, who turned 25 yesterday but has been out of the game for more than a year, and last month fellow Belgian Justine Henin announced her decision to quit, also at the age of 25 and after seven Grand Slam wins.

And Hingis has pinpointed why so many successful players have had enough by their mid-20s.

“Tennis takes a lot out of you,” she said. “People think it is a very glamorous lifestyle, which in some ways it is.

“But it can also be tiring travelling from city to city around the world for most of the year.

“But girls tend to start their careers very young so by the time you have reached your mid-20s, you could have been on the tour for 10 years already.

“Of course, if you are successful you can earn a good living. You also get to do something you love every day and bring enjoyment to other people.

“The negative side is that it can become quite tiring with all the travel and you have to be prepared to make a lot of sacrifices to get to the top.

“You don’t really have a normal teenage life, you spend those years on tour so you have to grow up very quickly.”

Hingis was helped on her way to retirement by a ban form professional competitive tennis for two years following a positive test for cocaine at last year’s Wimbledon.

She denied taking the drug but saw the incident as an opportune moment to call time on her career – although she is free to take part in exhibition events like the one at Calderstones Park.

“Travelling to new cities is always something I enjoy,” added Hingis.

“I have not yet been to the north of England and I am looking forward to finding out if people really are football crazy.

“I’ve heard it’s the culture capital for the year too so it will be good to see some of the events around that too.

The players speak highly of the event so I’m looking forward to coming for the first time.

“I still get a lot of enjoyment from playing tennis and I think I have a lot to give back to the game. I will definitely want to stay in good shape so I can see myself playing some more exhibition events.”

Liverpool International Tennis Tournament

qualifying rounds

First round: J Guest beat O Paramo 6-4, 1-6, 10-6.

Second round: N Ajibade beat O Brennan 6-1, 6-0; A McCarthy beat J Hopley 7-5, 6-3; J McCulloch beat J Thompson 6-4, 6-4; B Mitchell beat Guest 6-1, 6-1; H Meehan beat L May 3-6, 6-3, 10-6.

Quarter-finals: M James beat Ajibade 6-3, 7-6; McCulloch beat McCarthy 6-4, 4-6, 10-4; S Jackson beat Mitchell 6-2, 6-3; N Skupski beat Meehan 6-1, 6-1.

Ticket information on website www.liverpooltennis.co.uk Box office open at Calderstones Park.