DOUBLE ACT

They have had a wildly successful year as doubles partners, including winning the US Open, but Martina Hingis is retiring and Latisha Chan is looking for a new partner. The dynamic duo talk to Tracy Huang about friendship, building relationships and the future

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OLIVER GILES

t should have been a long, drawn-out battle. Legendary Swiss tennis player Martina Hingis and her doubles partner, Taiwanese star Latisha Chan, were up against Czech duo Katerina Siniakova and Lucie Hradecka in the final of the US Open in September last year. Both pairs had performed consistently well all season and were desperate to win the prestigious title. But Hingis and Chan made it look easy. They won the first set 6-3, then triumphed 6-2 in the second. It was all over in an hour and five minutes. That was only one of the duo’s victories in 2017. They have won nine tournaments since the season began, including the China Open and the Mutua Madrid Open. It has been an astonishing run for the pair, who only began playing together in February. “We quickly found we had very good chemistry,” Chan explains. “We’ve spent a lot of time together both on and off court.” But just as suddenly as their partnership began, it is coming to an end. Hingis, who Photography

PINHE WEI

won her first Grand Slam title at the age of 15, is now 37 and about to retire. With 25 major titles under her belt and cabinets bursting with trophies, she has decided to call it a day. “I think it’s perfect timing [to retire],” she announced during the WTA Finals Singapore last October. “You know, you want to stop on top.” And Hingis knows what it feels like to be on top. She has won more than 500 matches as a singles player, taken home a silver medal from the Rio Olympics, and been inducted into the World Tennis Association Hall of Fame. Over the course of her career, she has defeated Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Martina Navratilova (after whom she was named) and plenty of other leading professional players. Before Hingis puts her racquet away for good, we meet her and Chan in Taiwan to discuss her plans and find out how Chan intends to continue the winning streak she enjoyed with her retiring doubles partner.