Hingis vs. Serena Williams — The Rivalry That Marked a Changing of the Guard

Serena Williams and Martina Hingis played 13 times between 1998 and 2002, with Williams winning the series 7-6. The numbers are close. What the rivalry actually represented wasn't.

Two players, one year apart, two very different games

Hingis and Williams turned professional almost exactly a year apart — Hingis in October 1994, Williams in September 1995 — which made them near-contemporaries rather than players from clearly different eras. But their games couldn't have been more different. Hingis built her success on technical precision and court craft, reading opponents and constructing points rather than overpowering them. Williams brought a level of physical intensity the women's game hadn't fully seen before. Over the course of their rivalry, that physicality gradually took over.

The final that announced it

Their most significant meeting came at the 1999 US Open final. Williams won it 6-3, 7-6(7-4) — a clean, two-set win over the reigning champion, and Williams's first Grand Slam singles title. It wasn't just a result. It was an early, unmistakable signal of where the power in women's tennis was about to shift.

A rivalry that mostly played out on hard courts

Williams held the clear edge on hard courts, 7-5. Their only meeting on clay went to Hingis, at the 1999 Italian Open. They never played each other on grass or carpet. In majors specifically, Hingis actually won more of their matches overall, 6 wins to Williams's 7 — but Williams took 2 of their 3 meetings in major finals, including the one that counted most.