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Leander Paes and Martina Hingis only joined hands in the twilight of their respective careers, but their partnership yielded stellar results. The duo lifted trophies at each of the four Grand Slams between 2015 and 2016 — completing the Career Slam as a team.
Despite their remarkable achievements together, there was a chance that the pairing might never have materialized. In a recent interview with The Week, Paes said it took him an entire year to convince Martina Hingis to come back from retirement and partner him in mixed doubles.
Describing the Swiss former player as "gentle, soft-spoken and introverted", Paes said she was worried about the partnership's success despite them having won three world championships together.
"Martina Hingis was very gentle, very, very soft-spoken, introverted, shy," Leander Paes said. "In fact, to convince her to come out of retirement after we won the world championships three times together, it took me one full year."
"[I said] since we are undefeated in world championships, we’ll be undefeated on the tour in Grand Slams. 'But what if we lose?' she asked. Can you imagine the humility of these champions? Can you imagine also some of the insecurities? So, when you are dealing with human beings, you [need the] ability to recognise the human being," he added.
"Martina Hingis played a very, very, very solid technical game" - Leander Paes
Shifting focus to Martina Hingis' game, Leander Paes said the Swiss possessed a very strong technically strong game — heaping particular praise on her backhand.
Paes said Hingis could generate more power than him on the two-hander, which made her a good fit for the back-court, a position usually reserved for the male player in mixed doubles.
"Hingis played a very, very, very solid technical game," Leander Paes said. "Her backhand was so beautiful, and she played the back end court. Most men in mixed doubles play the back end court. Why? Because the ball goes above the shoulders where you can’t generate power."
"A man can generate more power there," he continued. "Hingis on her double-fisted backhand could generate more power than I could. Because I had a single-handed backhand and I didn’t have technique on my backhand."
Hingis and Paes lifted their first Grand Slam title at the 2015 Australian Open, before sweeping the Wimbledon and US Open titles the same year. The duo completed the Career Slam as a team at the 2016 French Open.
