The latest coaching novelty is that five-time Grand Slam champion Martina Hingis is now working full-time with Russian Anastasia Pavlychenkova, with whom she has been cooperating as part of the Patrick Mouratoglou Academy, but this is the first time that she’s her personal coach. Hingis and the world No.19 Pavlyuchenkova are currently in Moscow, preparing for this weekend's Russia vs. Slovakia Fed Cup World Group semifinal clash in Sports Center Krylatskoye.

The Hingis-Pavlyuchenkova cooperation is planned for the 2013 claycourt season. This month the 21-year-old Pavlyuchenkova won the Monterrey title, beating top seed Angelique Kerber in the final. (source: Tennis.com, photo via Beyond the Baseline)

In Part 1 of our feature on slamless number ones we closely analyzed the years in which players reached No.1 ranking without winning a Grand Slam title and the five such players are the likes of Kim Clijsters, Amelie Mauresmo, Jelena Jankovic, Dinara Safina and Caroline Wozniacki (the first two won Grand Slam titles later in their careers). This Part 2 will focus on Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport – players who had years in their careers that they finished on top of the rankings without claiming a single Grand Slam title during that season – so they could theoretically be called slamless No.1s, even though they had won Grand Slams in the previous years, because in some years they were ranked No.1 they had no majors won. If these two analyses don't stop all the fuss about the recent "shameful" slamless No.1s I don't know what will! Omair, bring on the numbers!

We have talked a lot about the spot being held by Caroline Wozniacki, Dinara Safina and Jelena Jankovic and discussed about whether their reign at the top was (is, in case of Wozinacki) fair or not. How did they end up being at the top of rankings without winning a major first? We did not appreciate their consistency throughout the year, tournament in, tournament out, what we did was only criticize them about being the slamless No.1s. I guess that's enough of it, let's move on to something I wanted to share with you guys. The other day I was going through the Tennis.com forums and there I saw that during the past 11 years, i.e. from the beginning of the 20th century, seven times a player has ended the year as No.1 and she did not win a single Grand Slam during the year. Here is the list of year-end No.1 players from 2000 onwards.

Martina Hingis, though she had won Grand Slams before 2000, did not end up winning a single major in 2000 and despite that she ended the year as world No.1. Lindsay Davenport had also won Grand Slams before 2001 but she did not win a single major in 2001, 2004 and 2005 and despite that she ended the years as No.1.

These two players did clinch the top spot without winning a major during that year, yet they have never been criticized for this achievement like Jelena Jankovic, Dinara Safina and Caroline Wozniacki. Some people argue that they did not win a major during that year but they had won it before that year, which to me is not a very strong logic. I think that these two players were not criticized because by winning a Grand Slam these two players had demonstrated their ability to win majors and hence put the critics to the silent mode.

In our Part 1 we had focused on the years of Clijsters, Mauresmo, Jankovic, Safina and Wozniacki, let's now have a look at how well Hingis and Davenport performed in the years they earned the top spot without winning a major. We won't include the stats of slamless year-end No.1s Jankovic and Wozniacki because we had already included them in our Part 1. Hope you people enjoy it

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The word is out that Swiss Martina Hingis might play mixed doubles with Roger Federer at the 2012 Australian Open and that the pairing could also be active at the 2012 London Olympics.

Herald Sun, in the article entitled "Martina Hingis back for Australian Open", says that Hingis is understood to be contemplating a two-pronged involvement at Melbourne Park next year and Hingis is believed to be considering partnering Federer in mixed doubles.

What can be said with greater certainty is that the 31-year-old will be present in Melbourne to help launch the first veterans' event for women (women’s legends event).

Hingis retired for the second time in 2007 because of a series of injuries and health problems and she was also accused of doping when traces of cocaine were found in her blood. Hingis' two-year ban ended September 30, 2009. Roger Federer was supportive of his compatriot in those hard times.

Additional info: The 2012 Australian Open will be the 100th edition of the Australian men’s championship and it will be the richest tournament in Grand Slam history with the record prize money of $25 million. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Martina Hingis started working with Vancouver-based active wear brand Tonic and in March 2012 we can expect Tonic Tennis by Martina Hingis.

The cooperation between the Canadian company and Swiss tennis player was initiated in Chelsea, when Hingis visited a sports store and was attracted by the softness and unique look of Tonic clothes. Then Hingis tried their clothes in action at a Wimbledon exhibition last year, after which she approached Tonic with a suggestion to launch a tennis collection.

When you go out and play tennis, you want to feel nice. You want to feel like a woman and know that the clothes won't let you down. What's so great about this line is its versatility and comfort, making it wearable from club to professional level. – Martina Hingis, winner of 5 Grand Slams in singles

(via Tennis Served Fresh)

The second part of our series "WTA players and their mothers" is a special featuring retired tennis players (you can check out the first part here).

Martina Navratilova and her mother Jana, who passed away at the age of 75.

In the photos above and below you can see Amelie Mauresmo's mother Françoise. The photos are from the Paris ceremony paying tribute to the career of the France's former world No.1 and two-time Grand Slam champion. Read more »