Congratulations Martina Hingis on the birth of Lia!

Congratulations to Martina Hingis on the birth of her daughter, Lia, last month. Love the photo she released on social media of baby Lia in pink dungarees, looking absolutely gorgeous¹. The way Martina is cradling her daughter in her hands reminds me of the artistic photos of babies by Anne Geddes. She looks amazing so soon after giving birth! What’s the secret? Staying fit hiking in the mountains?

Great to see Martina taking a gender neutral approach with Lia by taking her for a walk (or is it a jog?) in her blue pram². Looking forward to seeing Lia holding her first tennis racquet! Maybe by the age of 2 she’ll be volleying at the net? Lucky Lia having a multi-grand slam winning genius tennis mother!

Martina is also such a natural with children, as can be seen in the photos from Kids’ Day at the Samsung Open in Lugano, Switzerland, where she’s helping them acquire tennis skills³. She’s clearly enjoying herself and, despite being such a tennis legend, is giving these children the benefit of her vast experience and skills willingly, generously, non-judgmentally and enthusiastically. Martina is very much hands-on and focuses just as keenly when coaching them as she does when playing matches. She doesn’t concentrate less on them even though the chances of them becoming grand slam winners is very low. Martina is an inspirational role model for young players, giving them a healthy mentality which encourages them to aspire to become the best they can be, un-self-consciously.

This is something that is thin on the ground these days, not just in sport but also in various walks of life, from academia to classical music! Far too many people who are at the top of their profession either do very little to give back to their field of expertise or are very negative towards young aspiring people in their field, whether early career or still at the aspirational level. I believe, whether giving a talk (including everyone at Q&A), a masterclass or coaching, you should never criticise in way that denigrates others, whether it’s dressed up as just peer review, humour, or a rant. The aim should always be to build people up and extend their knowledge or skills with respect. Too much advice is not given with the best of intentions which can result in misinformation and a loss of confidence and love of their chosen field. On the other hand, in an interview⁴, Martina gave the best advice for young players, which was to love what they do, in this case, tennis. Although many people give this advice, none quite convey how to put this into practice. Martina certainly conveys a love of the game in matches and when coaching. This shows the important link between a positive psychological approach to teaching or coaching and the learning process. If you don’t inspire others to love what they are doing, then they can’t even begin to learn or achieve. As she says, nobody can push you into doing something you don’t love doing! I totally agree!

  

¹ for photos, see Martina Hingis’s twitter

²ibid

³ibid (9^th April 2019)

⁴ ibid (6^th September 2018)