Aveți pe cineva ca Monica Seles sau Venus Williams acolo” – Fanii trântesc afișul de Ziua Internațională a Femeii al WTA. Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff

Martina Hingis rose to prominence in the late 1990s and established herself as an all-time great within a couple of years of her arrival. She set a slew of youngest-ever records, which still stand to this date. She remains the youngest woman to win a Major in the Open Era, and to attain the No. 1 ranking as well.

Hingis won five Major titles in singles, 13 in women’s doubles, and also completed the Calendar Year Grand Slam in 1998. She won seven Major titles in mixed doubles, and with her win at the French Open 2016, completed a career Grand Slam in the discipline.

Hingis’ path to greatness wasn’t easy, and she faced some of the toughest competition in the history of the WTA. On that note, here’s a look at five of her biggest rivals from her playing days:

Hingis and Sanchez Vicario paths crossed quite frequently since their very first meeting in 1996. The Swiss won the first set 6-0 in that encounter but ended up losing the match. She wouldn’t taste defeat in this match-up for a long time after that.

Hingis won her next 15 matches against Sanchez Vicario. The latter was still a competitive player, and even won the French Open in 1998 after losing to her younger rival in the quarterfinals a year before.

Sanchez Vicario won her second match in this rivalry in 2001 at Amelia Island, and Hingis won their next three matches to end the head-to-head 18-2 in her favor. Despite contesting 20 matches against each other, they met in a final only once, with the Swiss coming out on top in the championship round at the Hamburg Open 2000.