Leander Paes, 41, and Martina Hingis, 34, recently won the Australian Open in the mixed doubles category. While this was Leander's 15th Grand Slam title, this was Martina's first, after her return to tennis post retirement. Leander is the only tennis player from India to have participated in the Olympics six times. Martina was the youngest player in the world to have won a Grand Slam title at 16. She became the World's No. 1 player at 17. Due to her ankle injury, she first stopped playing at the age of 22, bounced back and was then again banned from tennis for a period of two years on account of alleged charges of doping a few years later. Martina has always bounced back and this Grand Slam title victory at the Australian Open is her first after her comeback.
Conversation with Martina Hingis:
Tell us about Leander as a partner in tennis?
He is amazing. Leander is a very giving person and is always worried about me being fine. It's most important to have chemistry on court. We complement each other on court very well and I feel with him on court, nothing can go wrong. He is a great human being. As a woman, it's important to feel safe on the court. He will protect my serve if I am not feeling well. Be it in a relationship or in life in general or on court, you need to feel protected. Last few years, we have come to know each other and I know that he can read my mind. With Leander, I know that I have won a great friend for life and that's important. We are both very straight and he believes more in me than I do in myself sometimes. Also, we have respect for each other that is sometimes missing in the new generation of tennis players and that way, we are old school.
You have been through a lot in life. What makes you bounce back every time?
Life is not a sprint, it's a marathon. You have to try and turn things around for you and live in the moment. The most important is to have the support system that gets you back on your feet. I always had my mother. She is the first person whose number is on my mobile. She feels stressed whether I play matches or in life or the fact that I don't have children yet. She always says that once you have a child, you never sleep the same as you are always worried. I love her the most in the world. She has sacrificed so much for me. I was born in a communist country, Czech Republic. My parents split and my mum remarried a Swiss man, which is when we moved to Switzerland when I was eight. It was not easy for me. That's the time I became closest to her. I didn't know the language. I needed to go to school, but couldn't understand a thing due to the language. I started liking Maths as I didn't need to know the language for that. But I learnt very fast as I had a good memory. Six months later, no one could tell that I was not Swiss. My mum was a tennis player herself and she taught me to play tennis. That is why our bond is even stronger as she is my mother, my friend, my coach, all in one person. Earlier, I used to hate playing with her but ever since I was 12, I have been defeating her and we now sometimes play together. It used to be really cold in Switzerland so we had to play in indoor courts and I would have to wait for hours to just play for an hour for at least six months of the year as the courts were never free. So when I turned professional, the first thing I invested in was my own court at the age of 15. Just to support me and make me learn tennis, she was at one point doing three jobs at the same time. She named me after Martina Navratilova as she is not just a great player, but also a great human being. She was also a symbol of freedom to the people of Czech Republic at that time. I am a single child and am my mother's girl.
What does she like the most about you?
That I have a good heart. And that I am very sensitive, sometimes too nice. And that is also why I get hurt easily. I keep things inside me and then will explode. My mom feels that I should let it out faster as against keeping it inside me.
What was the lowest emotionally for you in your life?
The day of the doping wasn't the happiest day of my life. I never did anything but to be banned for two years took away what I loved in life the most, tennis. I was not only not allowed to just play the sport but also banned from watching it. I was not able to even enter the ground. You feel like you have done so much for the tennis world and they were my family and all of a sudden, I was not allowed to even watch the game. The horse world became my saving ground at that time. I have been riding since the age of 11. I remember I was shocked when I got and opened the letter I had received from the ITF (International Tennis Federation) banning me for two years, at midnight.
Talk about you and Leander together as people?
I am very emotional. Leander is very sensitive but he does not show his emotions as much as I do. He keeps it inside but I know he never forgets. So I have to be careful with the right words as I have great respect for him and don't want to hurt him. Communication on court is very important. We can read each other very well and we speak about everything in our lives to each other as we are friends off the court.
For us in India, Switzerland means the Alps and chocolates. Do you have a favourite brand of chocolate?
I love chocolates and that is my biggest sin. I love going to the Sprungli cafe and have hot chocolate there.
Do you have a favourite Bollywood star?
I love Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. She is very popular in Switzerland and she is very beautiful.
Do you see yourself becoming a mother some day?
Yes, I can see myself in that position when the right time will come. My mother had me when she was 23 and that is why we are such friends. I don't want to be a mother at 40. But I cannot do that right now. I can see myself playing for the next 2-3 years and am looking forward to playing the next Olympics.