Martina Hingis Born in 1980, Martina Hingis, Swiss Tennis player and student, was, at only 17, history ' s youngest No. 1 player. At 10 1/2, Martina was the winner of the 1991-92 Indoor World Championship of 14 year olds and in 1992 she won the International Youth Tournament for up to 16 year olds - she was only 11 1 /2. A year later, in 1993, Martina became the youngest player ever to win a French Open Juniors (up to 18 year olds) and made her first win in a WTA Tournament in Langenthal, Switzerland. By 1994, Martina was the youngest Wimbledon winner ever in the Junior Tournament. Martina Hingis won the Wimbledon doubles title in July 1996 and was the youngest title holder ever. In October of that same year, she won the Bank of the West Tournament in Oakland, California, vs. Monica Seles, 6-2, 6-0, becoming the youngest player to reach the $1 million mark in prize money. These are only some of the highlights in Martina' s already outstanding career! And there are more... In 1997 she won several of the world' s most coveted titles among which: in July, she became the youngest Wimbledon singles champion, and won the Bank of the West Tournament in Stanford, California; in August, she won the Toshiba Tennis Classic in San Diego, California; in September, she won the U.S. Open at Flushing Meadow, NY; in October, she won the Porsche Cup in Filderstadt, Germany; and in November, she won the Advanta Championships in Philadelphia, PA. Earlier that year, in January 1997, she had won the Australian Open in Melbourne, making her the century's youngest winner of a Grand Slam Tennis Tournament, and won the title again for the second year in a row, in 1998, which made her not only the century ' s youngest winner of 4 Grand Slam Tennis Tournaments but the youngest in the Open era to defend a Slam Championship! Martina Hingis is a truly accomplished Tennis player, her precision and technique are outstanding, and her charm and smile enhance each of her performances. Based in Geneva, Switzerland, World Health Organization(WHO) is dedicated to protecting the population against vaccine-preventable diseases. In its efforts to eradicate polio from the globe by the year 2000, and to eliminate neonatal tetanus, WHO offers programs on Immunization and provides immunization services to children worldwide. Annually, WHO reaches 500 million women and children with vital vaccines. Martina Hingis has been involved with WHO since 1996, the year in which she supported an immunization project in Nepal. Martina got the idea of supporting the WHO's immunization program during one of her visits to Asia in which she witnessed first-hand the poverty, sickness and death often caused by vaccine preventable diseases. In 1997, Hingis was appointed Ambassador of WHO. In her first official speech as their spokesperson Hingis stated "WHO experts tell me that more than 9 million children die every year from infectious diseases. I know I can't change these sad facts. What I can do, though, is to help spread the message that vaccines can prevent these deaths. " That same day Martina made a significant contribution in the amount of $75,000 to the organization. In between her busy schedule, Martina is planning her next trip abroad to help spread the word to stop the disease. For further information about the World Health Organization contact: CH-1211 Geneva 27 - Tel. 41-22-791 2111