After only two years back on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, former world number one Martina Hingis has officially retired again from professional tennis.
Unfortunately, one of the greatest mental players of this generation could end her career amid allegations that she used cocaine at the 2007 Championships at Wimbledon.
BBC Sport wrote early today that Hingis, who returned to the Tour in 2006, would again announce the news that she was retiring from professional tennis. The news was not unexpected, especially as she ended her season early because of a nagging hip injury.
However, the subsequent press conference took a shocking turn as the five-time Grand Slam champion admitted that she had tested positive for cocaine use at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships.
You can read a full copy of Hingis’ announcement at Peter Bodo’s TennisWorld, but I’ve copied a portion of it below.
I have been accused by an outsource testing company of taking cocaine during the Championships at Wimbledon. I find this accusation so horrendous, so monstrous, that I have decided to confront it head-on by talking to the press.
My weapon on the tennis court is and always was one single thing: the game, the ingenuity on court. And for this style of tennis, there is only one performance enhancer – the love of the game.
They say that cocaine increases self-confidence and creates a type of euphoria. I don’t know. I only know that if I were to try to hit the ball while in any state of euphoria, it simply wouldn’t work. I would think that it would be impossible for anyone to maintain the coordination required to play top class tennis while under the influence of drugs. And I know one other thing – I would personally be terrified of taking drugs.
When I was informed that the A Test I took following my defeat at Wimbledon apparently came back positive for a cocaine metabolite, I was shocked and appalled.
. . .
I am frustrated and angry. I believe that I am absolutely, one hundred percent innocent. The fact is that it is more and more difficult for me, physically, to keep playing at the top of the game. And frankly, accusations such as these don’t exactly provide me with motivation to even make another attempt to do so. I attempted a comeback after a three-year break and succeeded in winning three tournaments, bringing my ranking to 6 in the world. But in the meantime, I’m now 27 years old, and realistically too old to play top class tennis.So now I’m standing before you, confronting the situation. Today I also informed my sponsors. And so, considering this situation, my age, and the problems I have been having with my hip, I have decided to no longer play tennis on the Tour.
. . .
Upon advice from my attorneys, I’m afraid I am unable to answer any questions. My answers could insult someone and create even more problems for me. Therefore, there is only one more thing for me to do – to thank all of you for many years of goodwill, and also to assure you:I have never taken drugs.
For decades, the WTA Tour has been free of the scandals plaguing other mainstream sports such as cycling, baseball, etc. Never before has a champion of Hingis’ stature been accused of doing something so appalling.
With that being said, remember that a person is innocent until proven guilty. One erroneous drug test can undermine a player’s credibility for life. Martina Hingis has never given evidence of being under the influence of cocaine, and I find it hard to believe that someone who relied on her mental skills as much as Hingis would be stupid enough to blow it by taking a mind-altering substance.
The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour has also released a statement today, acknowledging that they have not received any official information on this matter and cannot comment about the allegations. Furthermore, Tour CEO Larry Scott has also reminded that “it is important to remember that in the area of anti-doping, all players are presumed innocent until proven otherwise.”
After she tested positive, Hingis underwent a hair test, which subsequently came back negative for cocaine. However, a second “B Test” did come back positive for a metabolite that is said to remain in a person’s system for an extended time after cocaine use.
Naturally, news of Hingis’ allegations could not have come at a worse time. The Tour Championships start in less than a week, and amid the ongoing match-fixing controversy, the last thing tennis needed was more negative publicity.
Until all the facts are known, it is wise to resist making a judgment call on Hingis, her past, her present, and her future. If she is indeed guilty, the Tour needs to make every effort to impose consequences worthy of her crime.
However, if she is innocent, heads need to roll for ruining a champion’s reputation and credibility after a dozen years of exemplary performance.
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That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Martina was an inspiring player, and influenced me and many others by how well she played, and her amazing comeback. The fact that she has to leave the tennis scene with such bad press and is bull and I feel truely sorry for her.
Poor Martina. I really hope that it is not true.
But my initial reaction is that retiring now makes her look even more guilty, But the real question on my mind, is how did this whole thing play into the breakup of her engagement to Radek Stepanek? We will probably never know.
[...] (Martina Hingis Tested Positive for Cocaine at 2007 Wimbledon, Announces Retirement) [...]
Hmmm…I wonder why she has chosen to not fight the allegations.
Will she be allowed back in after being retired for a few years?
It all seems a bit sketchy to me.
Riley – where’s the bull? She tested positive for cocain. Yes, there is a chance that the test results are a “false positive” or something like that, but I think she’s getting bad press because she’s choosing to NOT fight back, at least for now. That decision has lead the press to believe that maybe she is guilty of drug use.
Paula, she could possibly choose to fight the allegations (clear her name), but with both of the official samples coming back positive, it doesn’t bode well for her future.
If she is found guilty, she could possibly be banned from pro tennis, but I highly doubt that she would attempt a second comeback, especially as it could be years before the investigations are over.
Her press statement hardly conveyed confidence and it seems as if she is tired of the run-around and ready to move on with her life.
Still, if she is innocent, she should make the effort to clear her name.
Is every player tested routinely at every tournament for drugs or is it a percent of the players tested?
[...] today! (Yesterday was bad [...]
I think Andy Roddick or someone one said they just come knocking at your door randomly without warning and ask you to provide urine test.
As for the Grand Slam, I would think they require all players to get tested, but then again there would be over 300 players to test and that I think would be a lot of money to spend on.
This is too back for Martina but hopefully she’ll clear her name on this thing. The London-based ITF might favor her and never give out the test result so the media and fans might never know.
The article above talks about “allegations” and “admitted” and “heads need to roll if”
In fact, what happened is that Hingis chose to make those results public prior to any official accusation by any source. The lab simply informed her of the tests results. She chose to go public.
Martina has had a hard time with injury and her personal life. I hope that these allegations are unfounded. I too would like to see her clear her name although as some else remarked here, maybe she is just too tired of it all.
It would not be the first time that samples or the sampling proceedure was messed up.
Strange that Cocain carries a 2 year ban (rightly so) yet at the ITF’s anti doping site, players who used prohib1ted substances get a 2 month ban.
This is SOOOO disappointing. I LOVE Martina Hingis and watching her play. She was such a great player and is WAAAAYYYY SEXXXY! I just don’t believe she did coke. No way. I’ve seen this stuff 1st hand cuz I’m from Jacksonville and saw it happen with Jimmy Smith. And just like J-Smooth, she says that she’s 100% innocent, so then I believe her. She had always been trustworthy before, never gave anyone a reason not 2 believe her. And I also think that these allegations will be proven false. I will miss U Martina.
martina was a great player but now for what so ever reason, her game is going down.i did notice recently that she lacks spirit of a sportsperson as she gives up easily. but its a big disgrace for a player like martina hingis to be accused of taking coacine.
Apart from the allegations, her decision of retiring from tennis is a shock besides she should fight the allegations and come up clean out of this whole controvery.