Martina Hingis and Serena Williams shared a competitive rivalry. The Swiss star did not hold herself back from commenting on her opponents. This was clearly the case when Hingis was brutally honest about the domineering style of the younger Williams sister during her initial days on the tour.

Now that Serena Williams has announced her retirement, let’s revisit the comments made by Hingis on the type of game she played and how she approached it.

Martina Hingis on playing against Serena Williams

The Swiss player shared a long rivalry with Williams and had an interesting take on Serena’s playing style. She said, “Playing (Serena) it always felt like playing a steamroller.” Hingis added, “No subtlety, no finesse, just raw, loud power.”

Hingis expressed her hesitation in accepting her gameplay and took a veiled dig at Serena Williams. She stated, “To respect this style of play was always a bit tough for me, but of course, I had to because the rules of tennis don’t state that having a beautiful game is required to become No. 1.”

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Martina Hingis and Serena Williams faced each other 13 times. The H2H series is in favor of the American player with a ratio of 7:6. They both first faced each other in 1998 and then for the last time in 2002.

Serena’s incredible tennis career?

The legendary American player won her first grand slam title at just 17, when she claimed the US Open title in 1999. After that, she continued her domination of the tour and added 22 more grand slam titles to her list of achievements.

Lest we forget, Williams won the Australian Open in 2017, pregnant with her daughter Olympia. Now the player has announced her retirement after 27 glorious years.

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Apart from that, she has become an inspiration for millions around the world. Watching her play at the US Open for the last time would surely be an emotional moment for her fans.