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The fact that Martina Hingis can play some tennis should hardly come as a surprise—fans have been warned of her potential greatness for at least four years. What was surprising was the ease and the speed with which she ran over everyone in 1997. For example, in the finals of the Lipton Championships in April, Hingis steamrolled her childhood idol, Monica Seles, 6-2, 6-1. The win was neither more nor less remarkable than many others, but it did make the 16-year-old Hingis the youngest woman ever to be ranked No. 1. That Hingis did it all with such cool nonchalance made it even more incredible: To her the shock wasn't that she was winning, but that anyone could give her a game. On the year, Hingis was 75-5. She became the first player to earn more than $3 million in a season, and won three of the four Grand Slam tournaments. "Why should I be worried about the future?" Hingis said earlier in the year. "Right now, everything is almost perfect."
From Sports Illustrated: Photograph by Bob Martin
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