Hingis inducted into Tennis Hall of Fame

Martina Hingis’ tennis life started right from birth and her days playing with a racket began barely after she learned to walk.

It was only fitting that she became one of the youngest players to be enshrined into the International Tennis Hall of Fame at Newport, R.I.

Hingis led a large 2013 class that was inducted Saturday during an on-court ceremony that lasted just over 90 minutes, including a 25-minute rain delay on Newport’s grass courts.

Born in Czechoslovakia before moving to Switzerland at a young age, Hingis was named after a women’s tennis great.

“My biggest influence was my mom because she was a professional player, too,” Hingis said during a news conference before the ceremony. “She started me when I was 2 years old. Another was Martina Navratilova, obviously (my mom) gave me the name so that was the destiny that was programmed already.”

Hingis is the fourth youngest to be inducted behind Tracy Austin (30), Bjorn Borg (31) and Hana Mandlikova (32).

The 32-year-old Hingis burst onto the pro scene when she was 14. Two years later, she won three of the four major tournaments, taking the titles at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open in 1997.

Also enshrined were 94-year-old Australian great Thelma Coyne Long, inducted in the master player category, and industry leaders Ion Tiriac, Cliff Drysdale and Charlie Pasarell.

Wire Reports