Hingis nominated for Hall of Fame

Saturday, 8 September 2012 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

REUTERS: Swiss former world number one Martina Hingis, a winner of five grand slam singles titles, has been nominated for induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Hingis, 31, was announced as a nominee on Thursday along with 1991 Wimbledon champion Michael Stich of Germany and Czech Helena Sukova, one of the greatest doubles players of all time.

Other nominees included veteran Thelma Coyne Long of Australia, who won 19 grand slam titles from the 1930s to 1950s, and former players Charlie Pasarell of the United States and Ion Tiriac of Romania who each became successful tennis promoters.

Hingis, who won the Australian Open and Wimbledon at the age of 16, quit tennis for the first time in 2003 at the age of 22, suffering from ankle injuries. She returned in late 2006 and finished the following year ranked seventh.

However, she quit for a second time in 2007 under a cloud after she tested positive for cocaine at that year’s Wimbledon. Hingis served a two-year ban but maintained her innocence.

She also won nine grand slam women’s doubles titles and one grand slam mixed doubles title.

The Hall of Fame’s 2013 class will be announced early next year and an induction ceremony will be held on 13 July.

Located in Newport, Rhode Island, the International Tennis Hall of Fame has inducted 225 people representing 19 countries since 1955.