Tennis legend Martina Hingis has turned the clock back to compete once more in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships

Martina Hingis by Thomas Buchwalder Photoshoot

February 16, 2015 Dubai, UAE 
 Tennis legend Martina Hingis has turned the clock back to compete once more in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, eight years after her last appearance in the Emirates. 

 The now 34-year old, who spent an incredible 209 weeks as the world number one and won five Grand Slam singles titles, was the very first winner of the WTA event in Dubai, beating Nathalie Tauziat in the 2001 final. She went on to reach a further two quarter-finals before eventually retiring from the game. But always the keenest of competitors, she decided to return to compete in doubles and has carried on as before, adding more trophies to her already crowded shelves and returning once more to the world’s top 10. 

 It is no surprise that she is enjoying so much success again, as she was also a world number one doubles player, earning no less than nine Grand Slam titles as well as two mixed doubles crowns. This year she has already partnered Sabine Lisicki to the Brisbane title, going through the entire week without the loss of a set and following up their success in lifting the Miami title in 2014 when Martina claimed her first title in seven years. But it is with her other favoured partner, Flavia Pennetta, that she will compete in Dubai. 
The pair won two titles together last season, in Wuhan and then in Moscow. Incredibly, the pair also reached the final of the US Open before losing in three tight sets to Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina, who are seeded number two in Dubai this week.