Tennis player Martina Hingis (born 30 September 1980) became the youngest ever world number one in 1997, achieving the ranking at the age of 16 years and 182 days. Originally from former Czechoslovakia, she moved to Switzerland with her mother when she was a child.

Between 1997 and 1999 she won five Grand Slam tournaments: the Australian Open three times, the US Open and Wimbledon once apiece, making her the youngest ever winner of the prestigious English tournament. She dominated women’s tennis from 1997 to 2001, holding the world number one ranking for 209 consecutive weeks. In her career, she has won a total of 43 WTA Tour singles titles and 37 WTA doubles titles.

She announced in October 2002 that she planned to take an indefinite break from tennis because of a recurring foot injury. However, she embarked on a successful comeback in January 2006, finishing 6th in the world rankings. In November 2007 she announced her retirement, still plagued by health problems and after having tested positive for cocaine at the Wimbledon tournament earlier in the year - a charge she strenuously denied.