NEW YORK—Last month, when news broke of Sania Mirza’s and Martina Hingis’ abrupt split, it shocked even them.
Dubbed “Santina,” the pair had enjoyed an incredible 15 months on the court, winning 14 doubles titles—including three Grand Slams—and putting together a 41-match winning streak. But as incredible it all was, that only made their next challenges harder to conquer.
“I think we both have so much expectations from ourselves with the results that we had,” Mirza said at the U.S. Open, her first major without Hingis since the 2015 Australian Open. “We weren’t able to fulfill those results, which was the reason that we split. We both felt the same way, that we would be able to have better results with other people.
“Obviously, it was the right choice.”
After a discussion in Montreal, their last tournament together, and night’s sleep to let it settle in, the most dominant doubles team in the world was in an “open relationship,” free to try out new partners in the middle of the U.S. hard-court season. (Hingis and Mirza will be back together to defend their WTA Finals title in Singapore, which they have already qualified for.)
It took one tournament for them to reunite—as opponents, in the Cincinnati final. Hingis ended up contacting CoCo Vandeweghe, while Mirza looked to tour veteran Barbora Strycova. Mirza and Strycova won the championship match, 7-5, 6-4.
“I’m not going to lie and say it was like any regular match, no it wasn’t,” Mirza said of facing Hingis. “We shared a lot of things together and it was a little difficult, I think for both of us not just for me. The thing is once that first time is over, I think it’s fine and it doesn’t matter anymore.”
Both new teams are into the U.S. Open quarterfinals, and Strycova and Mirza—who will face Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic on Tuesday—have yet to lose a set.
“It was a sudden decision for both [Martina and I],” Mirza said. “Out of the blue we had to look for someone, which was kind of a shock to our systems.
“I thought that our games would be able to compliment each other, and I’m glad that I was right. I’m glad that [Barbora] said yes.”