February 7, 2003
Martina abandonne le Tennis dans le WTA Tour
Martina leaves the WTA Tour
Martina Hingis has officially confirmed
October 17, 2002
London, England - World No. 11 Martina Hingis (SUI) has officially
confirmed that she has had to withdraw from her two remaining scheduled
tournaments for 2002 due to needed rehabilitation of her left ankle injury
sustained earlier this year. The two tournaments are: the Generali Ladies
Linz presented by Bank Austria Creditanstalt (Oct. 21-27) in Linz, Austria
and the season-ending Championships presented by Porsche (Nov. 6-11) at
STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.
On May 20, 2002, Hingis underwent surgery to repair one torn ligament and three loose ligaments on her left ankle. The injury forced her to miss the German, Italian and French Open tournaments, in addition to Wimbledon, San Diego and Los Angeles before returning in mid-August at the Canadian Open, where she reached the quarterfinals. Speaking from Zurich, Hingis has this to say, 'I will not play anymore tournaments for the rest of the year. I am not playing at the level I would like to play and I don't want to play in front of my fans like this. Maybe I came back too early after my surgery.
'Speaking on her plans for the immediate future, Hingis said, 'I'll take two or three weeks completely off and then talk to my Mum, Mario (Widmer) and get advice from my doctor. I have not decided on a definite comeback at the Australian Open. That remains to be seen as I have set myself no dates at this point.
Hingis is the youngest ever player to hold the No. 1 ranking - a position she held for a total of 209 career weeks on and off between March 1997 and October 2001. During her career, the Swiss has claimed a total of 40 singles titles (five of them Grand Slams) and nine Grand Slam doubles titles and won almost $18 million in prize money to date.
The Sanex WTA Tour is the world's premier professional sport for women.
In 2002, more than 1,000 players representing 76 nations are competing
for over $51 million in prize money at the Tour's 66 events in 33 countries.
More than 4 million people attended women's tennis events in 2001 with
millions more watching events on television networks around the world.
The Sanex WTA Tour's season concludes with the Championships presented
by Porsche at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California, November 6-11,
2002. Further information on the Tour can be found on the Internet at www.sanexwta.com.
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Doctor: Hingis operation went well, ligaments need up to eight weeks to heal
May 20, 2002
ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) -- Martina Hingis had surgery Monday to repair
ankle ligaments, but her doctor said it is too early to assess her tennis
future.
Dr. Heinz Buehlmann told Swiss radio he was pleased with the result
of the 90-minute operation, during which he repaired one torn and three
loose ligaments in Hingis' left ankle.
He said he expected Hingis to make a swift recovery, but that she would
need ''6-to-8 weeks of rest to help the healing process.''
Hingis also was suffering from severe pain in her feet, left knee and
left hip, which forced her to stop playing or practicing.
Buehlmann said Monday that he wanted to wait until the post-operation
swelling had gone down before making a final assessment of Hingis'
chances of an early return to tennis. He said her career still could
be threatened if the pain in her feet and joints returned.
Last week, Buehlmann said he feared the ligament damage -- which he
said was ``complex'' -- could end the 21-year-old Hingis' playing career.
On Saturday, after two days of tests at the Bethanienheim clinic in
Zurich, Buehlmann said the outlook was positive, with Hingis likely to
resume light water training and cycling in about three weeks -- and be
back on the tennis court in three months.
Buehlmann also operated on Hingis' right foot in October last year,
after which the Swiss star was out of action for two months.
The ankle injury already has forced Hingis to miss the German Open
and last week's Italian Open.
On Friday, the WTA said the player also would miss the French Open,
which begins May 27.
The French Open will be the first Grand Slam tournament Hingis has
missed since turning professional in 1994, breaking a streak of 29 straight
appearances.
Hingis has won five Grand Slam tournaments in her career.
Last week, the player's mother, Melanie Molitor, said her daughter's
injuries may have been caused by the shoes that Hingis wore for tennis
from the age of 11 until three years ago.
Last June, Hingis filed a $40 million lawsuit against Italian sportswear
manufacturer Sergio Tacchini, with whom she had a five-year sponsorship
deal. She claimed that she had been provided with "defective'' shoes "unsuitable
for competition,'' forcing her to withdraw from several tournaments.
Sergio Tacchini said the claims had been made only so Hingis could
avoid paying damages for breaching her contract with the company.
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Hingis could be training in three weeks, playing in three months
May 18, 2002
ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) -- Martina Hingis could be working out in
three weeks and back on the court in three months after ankle surgery.
Hingis is scheduled to have surgery Monday in Zurich to repair one
torn and three loose ligaments in her left ankle.
"This injury is complex,'' Dr. Heinz Buehlmann told the Blick newspaper.
"But I think the chances for recovery are good. In about three weeks
she will be able to start light water training and careful cycling.''
Tests this week revealed the ligament injury, forcing Hingis to withdraw
from the French Open and miss a Grand Slam tournament for the first time
since turning pro in October 1994.
Buehlmann, who operated on Hingis' right ankle last October, told a
Swiss radio network Wednesday that the 21-year-old Hingis had severe pain
in her feet, left knee and left hip, which had forced her to stop training.
The former No. 1 player had played in 29 straight Grand Slam events,
winning five: the Australian Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open in 1997, and
the Australian in '98 and '99.
In seven appearances at the French Open, Hingis has been a finalist
twice (1997 and '99) and a semifinalist three times ('98, '00 and '01).
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Tennis: Hingis pourrait manquer aussi Wimbledon
samedi 18 mai 2002, 10h00
ZURICH (Reuters) - La Suissesse Martina Hingis, qui a déjà
tiré un trait sur Roland-Garros, pourrait être également
absente de Wimbledon étant donné qu'il faudra à l'ancienne
numéro un mondiale deux à trois mois pour se remettre de
l'opération à la cheville prévue pour lundi, selon
les médias helvétiques.
L'opération, dans une clinique de Zurich, durera une heure.
Pour le médecin Heinz Bühlmann, cité par le journal
Blick, Hingis pourra recommencer à jouer au tennis dans deux à
trois mois.
"Je pense que les chances de récupération sont bonnes",
estime Bühlmann. Mais le temps nécessaire pour parfaire la
rééducation ira au-delà du 24 juin, jour où
commencent les Internationaux de Grande-Bretagne. Hingis a d'ores et déjà
déclaré venredi qu'elle serait absente de Roland-Garros,
qui commence le 27 mai.
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Hingis to have surgery, miss French Open
May 17, 2002
ROME (TICKER) -- Martina Hingis of Switzerland, who is seventh in the
WTA rankings, will undergo surgery on her left ankle on Monday and will
miss the French Open, the WTA Tour announced Friday.
Hingis, who remains a French Open triumph shy of completing the career
Grand Slam, will have the operation in Zurich on Monday. The 21-year-old
former world No. 1 has one torn and three loose ankle ligaments that need
to be repaired.
That will snap Hingis' streak of playing in 29 consecutive Grand Slam
events, dating to October 1994.
"I am obviously very disappointed that I will be unable to play in Paris," Hingis said. "However, I am hopeful that the surgery on Monday will go well and that I can look forward to a speedy recovery."
Recent reports have categorized Hingis' ailment as career threatening.
She also was sidelined for three months after undergoing surgery on torn
tendons in her right ankle on October 14, 2001.
However, the WTA described such suggestions as "premature and unwarranted."
A French Open finalist in 1997 and 1999, Hingis has won 40 career WTA
titles, including the Sydney and Tokyo crowns earlier this year.
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Tennis: Hingis, blessée, tire un trait sur Roland-Garros
vendredi 17 mai 2002, 23h02
ZURICH (Reuters) - Martina Hingis a annoncé qu'elle allait devoir
subir une opération de la cheville lundi prochain, ce qui signifie
qu'elle ne pourra pas participer à Roland-Garros à la fin
du mois.
Dans un communiqué diffusé par la WTA, la Suissesse précise
que des examens effectués à Zurich cette semaine ont révélé
que plusieurs ligaments de sa cheville gauche étaient touchés.
"Je suis évidemment très déçue de ne pas
pouvoir jouer à Paris", déclare l'ancienne numéro
un mondiale. "Cependant, j'espère que cette opération se
déroulera bien lundi et que je pourrai ensuite vite me rétablir.
J'aurai juste besoin de temps pour me reposer et entamer un programme de
rééducation."
Elle précise par ailleurs que les rumeurs laissant entendre
que cette blessure pourrait la contraindre à mettre un terme à
sa carrière étaient "prématurées et injustifiées".
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Pas d'Internationaux de France pour Martina Hingis
vendredi 17 mai 2002, 23h02
ROME (AP) - La Suissesse Martina Hingis va subir lundi à Zurich
une opération chirurgicale à la cheville gauche qui l'obligera
à faire l'impasse sur les Internationaux de France à Roland
Garros, a annoncé vendredi l'Association des joueuses de tennis
professionnelles (WTA).
Cette intervention vise à réparer la déchirure
d'un ligament et l'élongation de trois autres, a précisé
la WTA dans un communiqué diffusé en marge du tournoi de
Rome.
"Je suis évidemment très déçue de ne pouvoir
jouer à Paris", a commenté l'ancienne numéro un mondiale.
"Néanmoins, j'espère que l'opération de lundi se passera
bien et que je m'en remettrai rapidement. J'aurai simplemnt besoin de temps
pour me reposer et entamer un programme de rééducation."
Le communiqué ne dit pas si cette blessure à la cheville
risque de mettre en péril la carrière de la joueuse âgée
de 21 ans. Martina Hingis n'a encore jamais manqué un tournoi du
Grand Chelem depuis son passage chez les professionnelles en 1994. Elle
en a gagné cinq sur 29. AP
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Doctor: Hingis injuries may be career-threatening
May 15, 2002
ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) -- Martina Hingis may have to give up
tennis because of joint injuries, her doctor said Wednesday.
Dr. Heinz Buehlmann told a Swiss radio network that Hingis, 21, is suffering
severe pain in her feet, left knee and left hip, which had forced her to
stop training.
The former top-ranked player was due to have tests Wednesday and Thursday,
Buehlmann told Radio 24. She may have inflammation which has led to joint
damage and may have to consider ending her career, he said.
``We cannot yet say how sensible it would be for her to continue her career or whether an end to it would be advisable on medical grounds,'' Buehlmann said.
Results are expected by the end of the week, Buehlmann said.
Hingis' mother, Melanie Molitor, confirmed that her daughter was undergoing
tests in Zurich.
She said the damage may have been caused by the shoes that Hingis wore
for tennis from the age of 11 until three years ago.
Hingis missed the German Open last week and the Italian Open this week,
and Molitor said that it was unlikely her daughter would compete in the
French Open, which starts later this month.
Last June, Hingis filed a $40 million lawsuit against Italian sportswear
manufacturer Sergio Tacchini, with whom she had a five-year sponsorship
deal. She claimed that she had been provided with defective shoes ``unsuitable
for competition,'' forcing her to withdraw from several tournaments.
Sergio Tacchini said the claims had been made only so Hingis could
avoid paying damages for breaching her contract with the company.
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Tennis: Hingis, 21 ans, pourrait mettre un terme à sa carrière
mercredi 15 mai 2002, 20h03
ZURICH (Reuters) - L'ancienne numéro un mondiale Martina Hingis,
âgée de 21 ans, pourrait être contrainte à mettre
un terme à sa carrière en raison d'une grave blessure au
pied, a annoncé le médecin de la Suissesse.
"Nous allons voir à quel point ses articulations sont touchées par l'arthrose", a déclaré le Docteur Heinz Buhlmann sur Radio 24.
"Nous ne pouvons pas encore dire si elle pourra continuer sa carrière ou si elle devrait l'arrêter pour des raisons médicales."
Buhlmann, qui soigne Hingis à Zurich, a expliqué qu'elle
souffrait de douleurs aux articulations du pied, du genou et de la hanche
gauches.
Son diagnostic doit encore être affiné.
Melanie Molitor, mère de Hingis, a émis une hypothèse
selon laquelle les chaussures que sa fille a portées pendant sept
ans, depuis l'âge de 11 ans, seraient responsables de sa blessure.
Hingis est toujours en justice contre son ancien sponsor Sergio Tacchini,
accusé d'être à l'origine de ses problèmes de
pied.
Son manager a d'ores et déjà évalué à
80% les chances de l'ancienne numéro un mondiale de manquer les
Internationaux de France qui débutent à Roland-Garros dans
douze jours.
Hingis ne s'est jamais imposée Porte d'Auteuil et a déjà
déclaré forfait pour les tournois de Rome et de Berlin.
"Une seule semaine d'entraînement avant Roland-Garros, ce n'est
pas suffisant", a souligné Mario Widmer. "Il est sûr à
80% qu'elle ne jouera pas."
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Tennis: Hingis pourrait devoir mettre un terme à sa carrière
mercredi 15 mai 2002, 18h12
ZURICH (AP) - L'ancienne numéro 1 mondiale Martina Hingis pourrait
devoir abandonner le tennis en raison de plusieurs blessures, a annoncé
son médecin mercredi.
Le Docteur Heinz Buehlmann a déclaré sur les ondes de
Radio 24 que Hingis, 21 ans, souffrait de douleurs aux pieds, au genou
gauche et à la hanche gauche qui l'ont forcé à arrêter
ses entraînements.
La joueuse doit passer des examens mercredi et jeudi, et selon Buehlmann,
leurs résultats pourraient être inquiétants.
Hingis pourrait souffrir d'une inflammation ayant provoqué toutes
ces blessures et envisager une retraite prématurée, a-t-il
dit.
La mère de Hingis, Mélanie Molitor, a confirmé
que sa fille devait subir des examens à Zurich.
Selon elle, les blessures de Hingis peuvent avoir été
causées par les chaussures de tennis qu'elle a portées pendant
sept ans, entre 11 et 18 ans.
Molitor a ajouté que sa fille, qui a déclaré forfait
pour les tournois de Rome et de Hambourg, ne participerait certainement
pas à Roland Garros. /AP
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02/01 - WEEKS AT NUMBER ONE :
Martina Hingis passes Monica Seles on the All-Time No. 1 list.
Martina Hingis moved into the fourth position with 180 career weeks at the top spot, behind Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. Hingis conserved her number one ranking since the 2000 Italian Open in Rome.
To move past the current No. 3 holder, Chris Evert at 262 weeks, Hingis would have to remain at the No. 1 position without interruption until October 2002. To overtake the record holder, Steffi Graf - 378 weeks - Hingis would have to remain No. 1 for almost another four years.
Only eight players have attained the world No. 1 ranking since the computer rankings began in 1975. Below is a list of 5 of 8 players and their respective total number of weeks at No. 1 :
Steffi Graf 378 weeks Martina Navratilova 331 weeks Chris Evert 262 weeks Martina Hingis 180 weeks Monica Seles 178 weeks07/00 : Martina, ambassadrice de l'Organisation mondiale de la Santé, était en Colombie dans le cadre d'un programme contre la pauvreté. Elle a visité les quartiers défavorisés de Bogota en compagnie de l'épouse du Président colombien, Nohra Pastrana-Puyana.
02/98 : Mario Widmer, 57 ans, quitte le poste de chef de la rédaction sportive du Blick pour devenir le manager de Martina Hingis / 57 year-old Mario Widmer leave his job as chief of Blick sports column to begin Martina's manager.
1998 : A Grand Slam Cup to add women's
competition. The Grand Slam Cup, which features the best performers at
the four Grand Slam tournaments, will add a women's event this year, the
International Tennis Federation announced today.
The field will consist of the top eight female performers at the four
Grand Slams -- the Australian Open, French Open,
Wimbledon and the U.S. Open -- battling in a single-elimination format
for a total purse of $2.45 million, with the winner
receiving $800,000.
"This is a great opportunity for the players," said WTA Tour Chief
Executive Officer Bart McGuire. "However, it presents
more issues for our tournaments and the tour in general and we are
working to see if we can resolve those issues."
The event will be held the same week as two regularly scheduled WTA
Tour events, including the Sparkassen Cup event in
Leipzig, Germany, where top-10 player Jana Novotna of the Czech Republic
is the defending champion.
1997 : Martina s'est fait mal au
genou en avril et s'est cassée une dent en octobre... à cheval
et a raté sa licence en novembre / Martina hurt her knee in April,
broke a tooth in october when riding and failed her horse-riding licence.
MARTINA HINGIS WINS NEPAL’S OPEN… AGAINST A TOUGH OPPONENT :
Nepal, 10-02-98
Martina Hingis, the world’s top-ranked female tennis player, has not only tennis on her mind: while she was fighting last year for victory in the French Open Tennis Tournament, a group of health workers and volunteers from Nawalparasi district in Nepal were fighting a battle against neonatal tetanus. In a well prepared activity, on 30 & 31 May 1997, Nawalparasi District Health Office immunized with Tetanus Toxoid vaccine, 12,157 women of childbearing age living in areas at higher risk for neonatal tetanus. This represented 88.6% of the target and was up from the 85% achieved one month before during the first round.
But, what is the link between Martina Hingis and the enthusiastic and energetic health workers and volunteers in Nawalparasi ? The link is that Ms Hingis provided the funds for the operational costs of this campaign (including needles & syringes), while HMG contributed the vaccine.
These immunized young women, most of which are Martina’s own age, will be protected against tetanus for the next two years, and the vaccine will also protect their unborn children from dying of neonatal tetanus. But this was just the second round. Three more doses are needed to protect the women and their newborns for life.
Tetanus is an acute neurological disease induced by an exotoxin of the tetanus bacillus. When the disease appears in a newborn, it is called Neonatal Tetanus. The tetanus bacillus grows in an anaerobic environment at the site of an injury (in newborns, in the unhealed umbilicus cord as result of the absence of clean delivery practices, or after delivery by the dressing of the umbilical stump with substances heavily contaminated with tetanus spores, frequently as part of traditional rituals). The main factors which influence neonatal tetanus incidence and mortality are tetanus toxoid immunization of women of child bearing age, especially pregnant women, and the extent and quality of ante-natal care, at delivery and during the neonatal period.
Neonatal tetanus tends to occur in populations with limited access to, or making limited use of, health facilities, in which newborns are delivered by traditional and untrained birth attendants and to mothers who were not adequately vaccinated with tetanus toxoid vaccine.
Neonatal tetanus remains a serious health problem in countries like Nepal, where maternity care services are limited and immunization against tetanus is still inadequate. Although incidence rates due to the disease have declined worldwide in the last 5 years due to improved immunization activities targeting women of childbearing age, WHO estimates that more than 500,000 deaths due to neonatal tetanus still occur annually in the developing world.
The winner in the battle against neonatal tetanus will not receive a trophy, the loser will not go on to another match. In this tournament, the winner gets life, the loser certain death. But the difference is that in the struggle against neonatal tetanus, everyone can be a winner!. How? By reaching all those who are at risk (non-vaccinated women of childbearing age, and especially non-vaccinated pregnant women) through effective immunization activities, like those Martina is supporting.
On January 31 1998, Martina Hingis won yet another tournament: the Australian Open Championship becoming the youngest player in tennis history to win this tournament for two consecutive years. At the same time, far away from the Australian tennis courts, preparations are under way to administer the third dose of tetanus toxoid to women from 10 VDCs of Nawalparasi district, that will protect them (and their newborns) from tetanus for the next five years. On this occasion, Martina herself will be present. On 16 October 1997, she accepted an invitation from Dr. Hiroshi Nakajima, Director General of WHO, to become "Goodwill Ambassador" for the health agency’s Expanded Programme on Immunization. In this capacity Ms Hingis will visit Dhumkibas Health Post in Nawalparasi district on 14 February 1998, when the District Health Office will launch the third round of the tetanus toxoid immunization campaign to which she has so generously contributed.
As Dr. J.W. Lee, Director of the Global Programme for Vaccines and Immunization put it: "When young people like Martina, show concern for the health of children in other parts of the world, it puts fresh energy into our work. She typifies health and vitality". Martina’s example of health, vitality and spontaneous generosity, together with the tremendous energy of the people from Nawalparasi district in Nepal, will inspire us in our efforts to achieve the goal of a world in which all children are protected against vaccine preventable diseases.
WHO’s expanded programme on immunizations (EPI)
was launched in 1974, when less than 5% of the world’s children were being
immunized against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio, measles and
tuberculosis. Today, programmes throughout the world are immunizing 80%
of the 130 million children born each year and thereby saving at least
3 million of them from dying or becoming crippled as a result of these
diseases. EPI’s objectives include the eradication of polio and the elimination
of neonatal tetanus world-wide by the year 2000. Martina Hingis has joined
hands with other traditional EPI partners like Rotary International, UNICEF,
USAID, NORAD, JICA and many other NGOs and agencies, in their efforts to
rid the world of these diseases.
Source: WHO's Country Office: P.O.
Box 108, Kathmandu, Nepal
Martina holding the Goodwill Ambassador certificate
that she received in October 1997, when she was appointed. Dr Ralph Henderson
and Dr J.W. Lee look on.
