Don’t get your hopes up for the next comeback of Martina Hingis’ tennis career.
Speaking today from the Liverpool International where she is competing in an exhibition against Jana Novotna, the Swiss Miss has ruled out the possibility of returning to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.
Though Hingis says that she has had her full of professional competition, she still has plenty of time to change her mind. Her cocaine suspension does not end until October 2009.
“When I came back the first time I badly wanted it but the second time around I don’t have any regrets,” said Hingis in comments published by the British press.
“I re-lived it again for two years but I don’t miss anything. I don’t care so much about it. I’ll be nearly 30 when I can come back. There are different steps in life that you shouldn’t really criss-cross. There is also the physical aspect. You always have to keep realistic.”
Hingis is currently serving a two-year ban from professional tennis after testing positive for cocaine at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships.
I wish would come back Aaress. I read the ITF doping commisions report, and there are so many holes in it you could drive a tank through them. The girl was having a bad time with her personal life, and I believe that is why she did not contest it. Just to worn out and tired.
With players being charged with accepting bribes, is it not possible that Marti was given a spiked drink? Friends in the Police Force tell me that if you are in a room where someone has been smoking cocain, if you in hale it ( as you would to breath) you will suffer the same effects. Remember what John McEnroe said about criminal infulences having an affect on the sport?
When she rejoined the tour, I realised what had been missing from the game. Elegance, class and intelligent play. Even the girls who had never played her before said as much, and they said they have learned from her.
If she is Playing Exos, her heart is still there. Wouldnt it be great if she opened up her own tennis academy?
Sorry for the long waffle. But Marti but I feel has not been treated fairly by the Authorites and to an extent the media.
Jim, I also read the ITF’s report and I agree, there was a lot that simply didn’t add up. But then again, we’ll probably never know the truth unless Hingis publishes a tell-all book in about 20 years. Now, that would be an explosive read!
Still, it has been good to see her stay involved by playing exhibitions, but she has a long road back before she’ll once again be embraced completely by the tennis community.
I believe she would make a successful coach, but she’ll have to work hard to fight the stigma of being banned. Guilty or innocent, a two-year suspension doesn’t exactly look good on a prospective coach’s portfolio.
I think that there are many people who respect Hingis as a player as much as they did before this suspension. Especially since the issue was about cocaine and not PEs