Sport

Hingis banned for two years by ITF

TENNIS: Former world number one Martina Hingis, who retired from tennis in November after testing positive for cocaine, was …

Sat Jan 05 2008 - 00:00

TENNIS:Former world number one Martina Hingis, who retired from tennis in November after testing positive for cocaine, was banned for two years yesterday after an independent tribunal confirmed the doping offence.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said in a statement that the 27-year-old Swiss would also forfeit the ranking points resulting from last year's Wimbledon championships and €87,645 in prize-money.

Hingis, a five-times grand slam champion, has denied taking cocaine but said in November she had "no desire to spend the next several years of my life reduced to fighting against the doping officials".

The full statement said: "The International Tennis Federation announced today that an independent Anti-Doping Tribunal convened under the 2007 Tennis Anti-Doping Programme has found that Martina Hingis, a 27-year-old Swiss tennis player, has committed a Doping Offence.

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"Following a two-day hearing in December 2007, an independent Anti-Doping Tribunal found that a sample provided by Ms Hingis on 29 June 2007 at the Wimbledon Championships in London, England, had tested positive for a metabolite of cocaine.

"The Tribunal rejected the suggestion made on behalf of Ms Hingis that there were doubts about the identity and/or integrity of the sample attributed to her.

"The Tribunal also rejected Ms Hingis' plea of No (or No Significant) Fault or Negligence, on the basis that no mitigation was possible as it had not been shown how the cocaine entered her system."

Larry Scott, chief executive of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), said in a separate statement: "We are saddened by this news as Martina has meant so much to fans the world over and made many positive contributions to the sport." He added, however, that the WTA Tour fully supported the tribunal.

Hingis won 43 WTA singles titles during her career. The former world number one spent three years out of the sport before returning to the tour in 2006, and won three titles in Kolkata, Roma and Tokyo before retiring in November last year following the announcement of her positive drugs test.