Hingis, Mirza seize ninth title at WTA Finals

Martina Hingis of Switzerland and Sania Mirza of India celebrate with their trophy after defeating Garbine Muguruza of Spain and compatriot Carla Suarez Navarro in their women’s doubles finals tennis match of the WTA Finals at the Singapore Indoor Stadium 1 November - Reuters

AFP: Swiss veteran Martina Hingis and India’s Sania Mirza crowned a stunning year for their partnership on Sunday by winning their ninth title at the WTA Finals in Singapore. 

The top seeds, who joined forces only in March, beat Spain’s eighth seeds Garbine Muguruza and Carla Suarez Navarro 6-0, 6-3 in 66 minutes, much of which looked more like an exhibition match than a season finale.

Hingis, 35, and Mirza, 28, have also won Wimbledon, the US Open and Indian Wells on their way to Singapore, where they also swept all their matches.

Their only finals loss was in Rome.

It has been 15 years since Hingis won a doubles title at the WTA Finals -- she was also the singles champion in 2000 -- and the pair share 33 years of professional experience between them.   “Sania just played out of her mind today,” said Hingis. “It’s about choosing the right partner, right?”

Mirza said: “everything, on court, off court” is working for the pair, who end the year as the world number one women’s doubles team. “These are the moments we’ve worked all our lives for and we feel very fortunate together. We’ve done some amazing things this year so it’s a perfect way to, you know, end the year for us,” she added.

Mirza successfully defended the WTA Finals title that she won with Cara Black last year, while for Hingis it was her fiftieth doubles titles.  

In her singles career, Hingis won five Grand Slam titles.