In 1997, a Czechoslovakia-born 16 year girl took the world of tennis by storm. She won all Grand Slams that year, bar the French Open. Most tennis fans would already realize that we are talking about Martina Hingis, the WTA legend who could have reached even higher heights had no injuries and controversies marred her career. This article will speak of Martina Hingis’s net worth, career, and family.
Martina Hingis’s Net Worth
Martina Hingis’s net worth in 2023 is approximately $35 million.
Martina Hingis’s fairytale-like success in 1997 made her an immediate star. According to Forbes, no other female tennis players made as much money as Hingis did between 1997 and 2001. Besides prize money, she earned a lot through endorsements. For on-court success, she made almost $25 million in winnings.
In 2001, Hingis filed a $40 million lawsuit against Sergio Tacchini, claiming the shoes produced by the Italian sportswear brand were responsible for her frequent injuries between 1997 and 1999. Hingis penned a five-year deal with Tacchini in 1996 worth $5.5 million, but they parted ways two years before the completion of the contract.
After Sergio Tacchini terminated Hingis’s contract in 1999, Adidas signed her up on a five-year deal that saw Hingis banking $10 million.
Hingis had decided to retire from tennis in 2003 as injuries continued to plague her. Even after her retirement, sponsors lined up to endorse her. V-Zug, a Swiss laundromat, explained Hingis was still a symbol of winning and innovation. That’s why the company decided to sign the tennis star after her retirement.
Hingis would return in 2006, and upon her comeback, Yonex, Adidas, and Omega re-signed her.
In 2000, reports surfaced that Martina Hingis had signed an endorsement deal with Merrill Lynch & Co. Hingis sported the logo of the financial services firm on her sleeves which fueled the rumor. But both parties later disclosed that Hingis did not wear the logo as part of a commercial deal. She promoted the company out of goodwill as she was satisfied with the firm’s services as a client.
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Martina Hingis Career
Hingis began her professional career in October 1994, just a few months after turning 14. When she reached the second round of the 1995 Australian Open, three months later, she became the youngest tennis player in history to win a Grand Slam match. Hingis made $185,567 that year and ranked 32 on the money list.
In 1996, Hingis and Helena Sukova won the doubles title at Wimbledon. Making Hingis the youngest player to ever win at Wimbledon. Hingis started 1997 as the fourth-best player in the world, and she won six tournaments in a row, including the Australian Open. Only Lottie Dod managed to win a singles Grand Slam title at a younger age than Hingis. She was only 15 years old when she won the Wimbledon Ladies Singles Championship in 1887. After making $ 1,330,996 in 1996, Hingis jumped to the top of the money list in 1997 with an annual income of $3,400,196.
Hingis would hold on to the number one spot on the money list from 1997 and 2001. She earned almost $11 million in prize money in those four years. Her most financially successful year came in 2000 when she made $3,457,049.
Despite having ankle surgery in 2001, she made it to the Australian Open finals in 2002 but lost to Jennifer Capriati. Hingis retired in 2003 after suffering a few more injury setbacks. However, she could not stay away from the court for long and returned to the court in 2006. Hingis would retire again in 2007 before making a third comeback in 2013. In 2017, she announced her final retirement from tennis. After her first retirement, Hingis drew the highest amount of revenue in 2015, when she earned $1,756,400.
Martina Hingis Controversy
Tennis enthusiasts will always remember Martina Hingis’s career as one of the all-time bests. But, it’s also undeniable that allegations of drug abuse have somewhat stained her legacy.
Hingis will not look back fondly on June 29, 2007. She lost to Laura Granville in the Wimbledon third round. But that was not the only bad news that awaited her that day. Afterward, news came out that Martina Hingis had tested positive for cocaine.
In a press conference in Zurich, a tearful Hingis pleaded her innocence to reporters. She claimed that she never willingly took any banned substance. In the aftermath of the scandal, she announced her retirement for the second time. She had come out of her first retirement only the year prior. Before that, the ITF had announced that it would ban Hingis for two years.
Hingis’s test results revealed traces of Benzoylecgonine, which is a metabolite of cocaine. She claimed she had ingested it without her knowing.
Martina Hingis would later come back from retirement in 2013, four years after her suspension was over.
Family Life
In Kosice, Slovakia, on September 30, 1980, Martina Hingis was born (then part of Czechoslovakia). Karol Hingis, her father, was a mechanic who enjoyed playing tennis. Martina was their only child, and her mother, Monica Molitor, was a rated tennis player from Roznov at the age of eighteen when she wed Hingis. Molitor was confident that Hingis would play tennis before her daughter was even born.
Karol and Monica named their newborn daughter after the Czech tennis star Martina Navratilova as both were avid tennis fans. At the age of two, Hingis picked up a racket for the first time, using a full-sized wooden racket with the handle removed to accommodate her tiny hand. When Hingis was three years old, her family relocated to Roznov, where she started playing on tennis courts. A few months after moving to Roznov, Monica and Karol filed for divorce. Hingis’s father returned to Kosice, and her mother took on the role of her coach.
Hingis has been romantically involved with several high-profile personalities, including ex-Arsenal star Sol Campbell, golf player Sergio Garcia, and Czech tennis star Radek Stepánek.
She took some time off during her two-year suspension and began dating French equestrian Thibault Hutin. He proposed to Martina in 2010, and they married in 2012.
But, Hutin later asserted that Martina was a serial adulterer and that he had discovered her having an affair with another man just a year after their wedding. Martina’s sense of morals, according to Hutin, is quite exaggerated, and he thinks she is constantly disloyal to her men. They would subsequently split up.
Martina Hingis has found new love in former sports physician Harald Leemann. Together, they have a daughter. The couple has been happily married since 2018.
Martina Hingis Cars
Hingis has owned several Porsche and Opel cars over the years. She has expressed her fascination for fast cars in interviews. Also, she has been seen in multiple Porsche and Opel events for promotional reasons.
Final Words
Martina Hingis did not have an unblemished career, but the controversies could not stop her from becoming a Hall of Fame tennis star. Martina Hingis’s net worth is quite incredible to this day, and it could have been even more impressive if injuries did not ravage her career.
