The Great Story of Miss Martina

Martina. Say that name in tennis circles and it's the other Martina people will be thinking about. While Ms. Navratilova is a legend in her own right, this is a tribute to the "other Martina."

Martina Hingis.

She spent 209 weeks as Women's Tennis Association's number one player.

She won five Grand Slam singles titles. She also won nine Grand Slam women's doubles titles.

Unfortunately, heavy ankle injuries forced her into early retirement at the old age of 22.

So she spends some years having surgeries and riding her horses and returns to the game in 2006.

In November of 2007 she announced her retirement from the sport after testing positive for cocaine.

Martina endured a rollercoaster of ups and downs in her career but when you really take a look at her game, she was one of the best to ever pick up a racquet.

Despite all of the highs and lows though, what many do not realize is what a mouth this girl had on her.

And so now, to celebrate Martina Hingis and her talent and her drive are the best press release statements from the Swiss girl with the iron arm and the acid tongue:

(1) Referring to Amelie Mauresmo's lesbianism on the eve of their 1999 Australian Open final, Hingis told reporters, "She's here with her girlfriend. She's half a man already."

(2) When asked in the late 90s how she felt about the budding rivalry between herself and the then-up-and-coming Anna Kournikova, Martina responded, "What rivalry? I win all the matches."

(3) At the peak of the Williams sisters' and Hingis' competitive and fierce rivalry, Hingis stated in a press conference: "They always have big mouths. They always talk a lot. It's happened before so it's gonna happen again. I don't really worry about that."

And finally:

(4) Responding in a 1999 press conference on why she terminated her doubles partnership with former Wimbledon champion Jana Novotna, Hingis remarked, "She's old and slow."

Acid tongue, liquid arm. Professional tennis is such a weird machine that puts 30 year olds into life long retirement. We enjoyed watching you Martina. You were one of the greatest. Now go wash your mouth out with soap.