Hingis tops list of 2013 Hall of Fame class

Wednesday, 6 March 2013 00:18 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Swiss former world number one Martina Hingis, a winner of five grand slam singles titles, headlined the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s list of inductees for the 2013 class.

Broadcaster Cliff Drysdale, tennis promoter Charlie Pasarell and former Romanian player Ion Tiriac will be inducted to the contributor category, the Newport, Rhode Island, hall said in a statement. Australian Thelma Coyne Long was previously named as an inductee to the master player category.

Hingis, who won the Australian Open and Wimbledon at the age of 16, quit tennis for the first time in 2003 at the age of 22, suffering from ankle injuries. She returned in late 2006 and finished the following year ranked seventh.

Martina Hingis

However, she quit for a second time in 2007 under a cloud after she tested positive for cocaine at that year’s Wimbledon. Hingis served a two-year ban but maintained her innocence.

The 32-year-old Swiss won a total of 15 grand slam titles including nine major doubles titles and one mixed doubles crown, and claimed 43 singles titles and 37 doubles titles.

She won three successive Australian Open singles titles from 1997 and also triumphed at Wimbledon and the US Open, and was a finalist at the French Open. In 1998, Hingis led the Swiss team to their only Fed Cup title.

Long (94), won a pair of Australian singles titles among 19 women’s grand slam titles, including doubles and mixed doubles between the 1930s and 1950s.

Drysdale was a player during the 1960s and 1970s and then helped launch the ATP, serving as its first President. He later turned to broadcasting and for more than 30 years has been one of the sport’s most respected voices.

Pasarell, a former US number one and ATP co-founder, is most recently known as past director and managing partner of the Indian Wells tournament. He also partnered with Arthur Ashe and Sheridan Snyder to launch the (US) National Junior Tennis League.

Tiriac, a former player turned tennis power broker, has been an influential leader in roles ranging from coach to player manager to tournament promoter. He spent 15 years on Romania’s Davis Cup team, helping them reach the finals three times. The Class of 2013 will be inducted on 13 July in Newport.