Martina

Television News Covers Women’s Sports Less Today Than It Did 25 Years Ago.

Which is too bad. I generally prefer when I watch sports to watch women play as men try to dominate with solely raw power, while women’s sports tend to be more about finesse and strategy.

For this reason years ago I used to love watching the tennis player Martina Hingis.

Unlike people like Maria Sharapova or basically anyone on the men’s side, she wasn’t particularly tall or strong and she didn’t hit the ball all that hard (comparatively — her lightest non-strategic strike is probably harder than I’ve ever hit it in real play), but she was simply smarter than her competition.

My favorite game of hers that I recall is during some massive rally she ran up to the net and it appeared she was about to completely slam the ball. Instead, she waited until the last possible moment and just ever so lightly tapped the ball so that it lollygagged barely over the net right in front of her competitor.

It was a perfect shot because it was unexpected and confusing. It made returning her other shots harder. It meant that the other player now had no strategy because Hingis had become completely unpredictable.

I didn’t know she was still playing doubles until just now, but doubles isn’t as fun to watch.