Martina Hingis can no longer
walk through the gates at Wimbledon, the historic locale where she
won the 1997 title as a bright-eyed, soft-handed 16-year-old. The
suspended five-time Grand Slam champion can’t waltz through the
entryways at the Australian Open (which she won three times), the
U.S. Open (one win), or the French Open (where she fell apart twice
in the finals).
She’s in limbo, living through
a two-year suspension for having cocaine in her system at Wimbledon
in 2007. Hingis claims she’s completely retired with no chance of
returning after her sentence is served out.
She still proclaims her
innocence, saying she has no idea how the banned substance entered
her system, but gave up the court battle after losing her appeal in
front of the International Tennis Federation in December 2007. Her
suspension will last through October of 2009 and by then, she will
be 29, not an age when she wants to start a third comeback.
Hingis is concerned that her
reputation has been tainted and her legacy tarnished. Despite having
the numbers to grant her an easy entry into the Hall of Fame, she
may not end up being nominated, given the gravity of the charge.
But there was no way she was
going to keep fighting the accusation, as she felt bled dry by
lawyers and had nowhere else to turn.
"I felt like I had a no-win
situation," Hingis told FOXSports.com at the Esurance Tennis Classic
in Tiburon, Calif., where she played an exhibition and gave clinics.
"I wish today I still know what happened, how it got into my system.
I feel like I’m innocent, but I can’t prove any different. I could
have spent millions. The expenses of the lawyer were there. Three
months later, you know it was costing me $1,000 dollars an hour".
