Injury forces Hingis to retire from tennis

FORMER world number one Martina Hingis announced her retirement from top-flight tennis yesterday.

The 22-year-old, who topped the world rankings for four consecutive years, revealed she has lost her battle against severe ankle problems.

Hingis told French sports newspaper L’Equipe: “A return to competition is unforeseeable, and I have no plans to ever return.”

“Tennis was part of my life for so many years but now it’s finished. And life goes on,” she said.

She won her first big tennis trophy at the age of 12 and wowed the world with her perfect style.

Hingis, who won five Grand Slam tournament titles, had surgery on her right ankle in October 2001 and on her left ankle last May.

Apart from a brief reappearance on the WTA tour in the autumn, she was completely sidelined as Serena and Venus Williams strengthened their hold, transforming the game from a match of skills into power play.

Since her withdrawal from competition, Hingis has been living quietly in the village of Schindellegi, near the Swiss city of Zurich.

In the interview from her snow-covered home, she told L’Equipe she is thoroughly enjoying attending college to perfect her English and pick up other qualifications for a future career, possibly involving some kind of collaboration with her current sponsors.

For relaxation she indulges in her long-standing passion of horse riding, having recently bought an eight-year-old mare Laetitia as “my after-career present”.

“There’s no question of envisaging a return to the circuit,” she told the newspaper.

In an interview last month with the Swiss sports agency Hingis also said she may never play competitively again. But her comments to the French paper were much more definitive.

“Stop talking about a comeback,” she retorted upon being further pressed. “You have to understand I really appreciate my new way of life... I am 22 years old and I have my whole life ahead of me.

"The only thing I can no longer do is to train in a way as to remain competitive,” she said.

Despite Hingis’ apparent determination to quit, her manager Mario Widmer said it was premature to talk about definitive retirement.

“I am of the view that someone who is 22 years old can’t say she’s retiring because you don’t know what the future holds,” Widmer said.