Wimbledon: Hingis blames injury for defeat

Top seed Martina Hingis claimed tendonitis in her back had affected her performance after she was knocked out of Wimbledon in the first round by world number 83 Virginia Ruano Pascual.

Hingis lost 6-4 6-2 to the Spaniard to crash out of the competition at the first hurdle for the second time in three years.

She said: "I thought it was going to get better - I didn't want to miss Wimbledon. It's behind me.

"I didn't know how far I could go - but she played well.

"I had acupuncture in my lower back and got better but I missed out on practice - and you have to practise before Wimbledon.

"I wasn't playing well but she had some great shots and was better - there's no excuse.

"Either I do really well here or lose first round."

She continued: "I've always had ups and downs in my career - like right now - and I know sometimes you need time to recover.

"But I played it, I tried and now it's behind me.

"Next time I may be better prepared - and I'll have to decide beforehand if it's a good idea to pull out.

"But it's frustrating when there's a Grand Slam coming up and you can't run."