Martina Hingis Retires in Wake Of Positive Test for Cocaine Use
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In an out-of-nowhere end to Martina Hingis’s comeback, the five-time Grand Slam champion disclosed yesterday she tested positive for cocaine at Wimbledon and will retire for a second time rather than fight what she called a “horrendous” accusation.
“I am frustrated and angry,” the 27-year-old Hingis said at a news conference in Zurich, Switzerland, her voice breaking as she fought back tears. “I believe that I am absolutely, 100% innocent.”
She read a prepared statement ending with the vow, “I have never taken drugs,” then left without taking questions.
The chief executive of the WTA Tour, Larry Scott, said he recently found out about Hingis’s doping test from the player’s representatives — word had not reached him through official channels because it’s an ongoing case in which a hearing has yet to be held.
Although the formerly no. 1-ranked Hingis said she’s retiring in part because she doesn’t want to spend years dealing with the legal process, Scott said he expects the case to continue.
“Like a lot of Martina’s fans and friends and colleagues, (I am) saddened,” Scott said in a telephone interview. “She’s a great legend, one of the most well-liked players on the tour. But at the same time, I’m … also mindful that the player has to be given the presumption of innocence until the process plays out until the end.”
Hingis tested positive June 29, the day she lost in straight sets to American Laura Granville in the third round at Wimbledon. That was her first tournament after missing 1 1/2 months with hip and back injuries.
“I just didn’t want to miss Wimbledon,” Hingis said at the time. “Probably at the end of the day, it wasn’t, like, the smartest thing.”
Although doping charges usually are announced by a sports league or event, athletes are told if a sample tests positive. A second, backup sample then is tested. Mario Widmer, Hingis’s manager, said she learned of the first positive test result in mid-September and the second two or three weeks later.
“I find this accusation so horrendous, so monstrous, that I have decided to confront it head-on by talking to the press,” Hingis’s statement said.
