I just found out that Martina Hingis is still playing pro tennis. She's in the mixed doubles at Wimbledon.
Who knew?
Re: Martina Hingis
Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 7:28 am
by cashead
Quietly came back from her second retirement caused by getting caught doing the drugs a couple of years ago, I think.
Re: Martina Hingis
Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 11:37 am
by Big D
She was/is ranked no.1 in doubles.
Re: Martina Hingis
Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 9:19 pm
by Lizard
When did the pro men stop taking doubles seriously?
Re: Martina Hingis
Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 11:27 pm
by Galfon
since hewitt/macmillan, though newcombe/roche were up there.
Re: Martina Hingis
Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 8:41 am
by Big D
Lizard wrote:When did the pro men stop taking doubles seriously?
Probably a gradual drop off as the game has evolved. The mens games can last 3+ hours and playing doubles, especially at slams are a big ask. Another factor is at Wimbledon the doubles play to win by 2 clear games at the end of set 5. Worst case scenario would be long singles followed by long doubles. Given the massive amounts of media and strict warm up/down and recovery regimens it would be very tough on a Djoko or Murray to play both.
There is a realisation that some top doubles players really are specialists and can take partnerships a while to develop too. Obviously the top men and woman would be instantly near the top of the doubles rankings but the likes of Bryan/Bryan/JMurray etc are real specialists.
Oh an prize money. 2million if you win the mens or womans singles, half of 350k if you win mens/womans doubles or half of 100k for mixed.
To put it into perspective, quarterfinalists get £250k in the singles, getting to the second round secures £50k.
Re: Martina Hingis
Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2016 5:02 pm
by rowan
Speaking of which, some things are just more important than sports: