One of the biggest names in tennis in the 1990s and early 2000s saw her career came to an end after she chose to retire following a positive drugs test and a two-year ban from the sport
A former tennis ace felt forced to retire from the sport at the tender age of 27 due to drugs allegations amid the controversial breakdown of her first marriage.
Martina Hingis clinched 25 Grand Slams, encompassing singles, doubles, and mixed doubles victories at Wimbledon, during her illustrious career. The Swiss star had the world at her feet after securing five Grand Slam singles in her teens.
With the fifth longest reign as world No. 1 in women’s singles by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) – a tenure of 209 weeks from March 1997, her career had rapidly disintegrated by 2007 due to injuries before she was suspended following a positive drug test.
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At the age of 27, Hingis convened a press conference to reveal that she was under investigation for testing positive for benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine.
She stated: “I have tested positive but I have never taken drugs and I feel 100% innocent. I am frustrated and angry. I find this accusation so horrendous, so monstrous, that I have decided to confront it head-on by talking to the press.”
She was tested at Wimbledon and her sample contained an estimated 42 nanograms per millilitre of benzoylecgonine. The International Tennis Federation’s report concluded it was a low quantity and she did attempt to appeal on the grounds it was contamination, rather than her using anything illegal.
However, her appeal was unsuccessful and the following year a tribunal banned Hingis from the sport for two years. As a result, she retired from professional tennis.
The former sports star also made headlines when her husband allegedly discovered her in bed with another man.
French equestrian Thibault Hutin accused her of being a serial adulterer and found her in bed with someone else just a year after they were married.
He stated: “Martina has a very personal conception of morality. She has always been like that; I think she has always been unfaithful to her boyfriends.”
In 2018, Martina tied the knot with former sports physician Harald Leemann and they have a daughter together.
But just four years later, the couple had split, with Hingis and her daughter reportedly moving out of their house to relocate to a flat near her mum.
She confirmed back in 2022: “Yes, Harry and I have separated. We have different life plans and different goals and have grown apart from each other.”
Reflecting on her playing days, Hingis told ESPN: “My weapon on the tennis court is and always was one single thing: the game, the ingenuity on court.
“And for this style of tennis, there is only one performance enhancer – the love of the game.”