(July 13, 2013) --
Martina Hingis was one of the sport's youngest Grand Slam champions. Now is she one of the youngest ever to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
READ - Hingis Headlines Hall of Fame Inductees
The five-time Grand Slam champion who rose to No. 1 in the world led this year's inductees into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. A brief rain delay didn't stop Hingis from giving an emotional acceptance speech, mainly thanking her mother Melanie Monitor, who introduced her daughter to the sport at the age of two.
Hingis, who was named for tennis legend Martina Navratilova, was born in then Czechoslovakia before her family moved to Switzerland.
Stan Smith, currently the president of the International Hall of Fame, described Hingis as "one of the most complete players."
"Thank you, tennis. You gave me the world, and now I honestly am out of words, because there are no words to explain what I feel. You chose to give me a place here for eternity," Hingis said to the crowd on hand.
Of late, Hingis competes for World Team Tennis and also has her own tennis clothing line, which she mentioned at the end of her acceptance speech.
Drysdale, Pasarell, Tiriac Join Hall of Fame
In addition to Hingis, several former pros who made contributions to the sport long after their playing days ended were also honored.
Cliff Drysdale, who works now as an analyst for ESPN, reached as high as No. 4 in the world as a player. After he retired, Drysdale had a leading role in the formation of what would become the modern ATP Tour.
Charlie Pasarell earned the US No. 1 ranking in 1967 and won 16 singles title in his career. Parsarell was also one of the leading members of a player's group that went onto to form the modern ATP Tour. He also served as tournament director for the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
Ion Tiriac, who also was an esteemed player back in the 1970s, was inducted for being an industry leader including his recent work with the Madrid Masters event.
Tiriac, who during his acceptance speech said he didn't feel like he deserved the honor, acknowledged the growth in prize money that today's players now earn.
"I'm not jealous. Let them make tens of millions a year. But they will never have the times we had in our era of tennis," Tiriac said.
94-year-old Australian Thelma Coyne Long was inducted by two-time calendar Grand Slam winner Rod Laver into the masters player category.