Martina Hingis:
Attitude Problem or Not?

As of March 26 this year, I've been hooked on women's tennis. It began as I sat in the hushed stands of the Lipton Cup tournament, watching Serena Williams play a tense third set against Martina Hingis. I was overwhelmed at first by the sheer strength and agility of the athletes, and then by the not-so-subtle drama taking place before my eyes.

Although I knew very little about either player before the match, I was wholeheartedly rooting for Williams. My reason was simple: Hingis appeared smug, overconfident and childish. She began the match with a bloodthirsty smile and powerful playing, but by the third set she was losing petulantly and harassing the linesmen whenever she felt they were in error. When Williams finally won, I felt that justice had been done.

After the Lipton, I began closely following women's tennis - especially Williams and Hingis - and discovered that I wasn't alone in noticing Hingis's less-than-mature behavior. HBO's Jim Lampley said during her two-year dominance that she played "with a smirk on her face while she was beating people up." And at the Australian Open earlier this year, Hingis drew substantial and long-lasting criticism for describing opponent Amelie Moresmo as "half a man." This kind of behavior didn't go unnoticed by the media or the fans, and Hingis developed a reputation for immaturity both on and off the court.

Hingis's behavior was easier to take while she was winning, but during her loss to Stefi Graf at the French Open (after she'd dismissed Graf as too old), she was zealously booed for her tantrums and quarrelsome behavior. When it was all over she fled the court and the hostile crowd, only to return sobbing on her mother's shoulder.

Then came disaster - she dismissed her mother and coach Melanie Molitor a week before Wimbledon, and was then eliminated by newcomer Jelena Dokic in the first round. Headlines such as "Hingis wipes out in Wimbledon upset," and "Aussie teen shocks top seed Hingis in opener" appeared all over the sports pages.

To explain why Hingis's problems caused such a stir, I'll use Sports Media Challenge's "Mud Sticks" Theory*. There are three categories of information: neutral, positive and negative. When information is neutral, it has a positive psychological impact because people are learning something about an athlete. If information is positive, information has double the impact, but if it's negative, it has four times the psychological impact. Bad news (a.k.a. "Mud") has a much stronger impact on our psyches and we remember it much longer.

When an athlete works vigilantly to project a positive image, the media and fans will be more lenient and supportive when the athlete's career takes a turn for the worse. If Hingis had cultivated a positive image before her losses, it might've acted as a safety net against the resulting media scrutiny. Instead, the negative news that followed her losses had an immense impact on public perception of her.

Hingis's game is back in shape, judging by her victory against Venus Williams in August's TIG classic. Will this improve her image and endear her to fans again? Certainly not right away - it's been widely reported that a fan shouted "Go home, Hingis" at the TIG classic this month. Both the fan's outburst and the media's eagerness to report it are indicative of a still-tarnished image.

On a positive note, many have faith that Hingis will approach her career with more maturity as time passes. The WTA Tour's Chief Executive Bart McGuire has said that she "has a positive side to bring forward." Chris Evert, Hingis's partner in the WTA's mentoring program, has said: "I didn't think it was that big a deal at Wimbledon because, don't all teen-agers go through that?"

Hingis's agent Ivan Brixi has said that media relations training offered by the WTA has helped her to better express herself. "She has been guided and taught how to explain what she means properly so that there are no misconceptions. It is important that things are put in perspective and that she shows who she truly is."

Regardless of what others think, Hingis's future truly belongs to Hingis. If she learns from her mistakes and develops a positive image while still being a powerhouse player, then her future looks bright indeed. In her own words: "You can always learn from mistakes and I feel like I've grown a little bit from [them]. But it also feels like something that happened a very long time ago. I'm very positive about the future."

* Click Here for a longer explanation of the "Mud Sticks" theory.