Martina Hingis might be ranked among the best female players of all time in the glamorous sport of tennis but she won’t be able to shake off the doping issue that has lifted its ugly head to entrap the Swiss tennis star. Although the WTA has refused to confirm that Hingis tested positive for a banned substance during this year’s Wimbledon, the tennis player’s decision to come out and retire from the sport is a firm indication that nothing more can be done.
Hingis herself has revealed that her A sample tested positive for cocaine at this year’s Wimbledon but has denied that she ever took the drug. Hingis doesn’t go head-on to accuse the drug-testers of any mistake but at the same time, Hingis denies that she ever took any banned drugs to enhance her performance.
So at 27 years, Hingis has decided to retire. This is of course not the first time that the Swiss legend has called the curtains. In 2003, a series of serious injuries forced her to retire prematurely from the sport when she was arguably at the peak of her ability. By that time, she has already racked up 5 Grand Slams, including the Wimbledon.
Her return to the tennis circuit in 2006 inspired the belief that Martina Hingis could once again scale the lofty heights. Indeed since her comeback from retirement last year, she has won three titles and has improved consistently in the Grand Slams too but the shocking revelation that she took drugs, knowingly or unknowingly, has knocked the steam out of that conviction.
Hingis’ claim that she never took any banned substance in her career is not too difficult to sympathize with when one considers the amount of honours she has gathered in her illustrious tennis career. Her retirement from tennis in the wake of the doping allegation signifies her resignation to fate and the suspicion that she did take cocaine to enhance her performance would of course be hard to ignore. After all, she had just retuned from 3 years of persistent injury problems.
Image Source: The Flower Pot
Source: BBC
