Martina Hingis, just recently inducted in to the Tennis Hall of Fame, is ending a nearly six-year retirement to play doubles at next week’s Southern California Open, the WTA said on Tuesday.
Hingis, a five time grand slam singles titles winner, will partner up with Sloviakia’s Daniela Hantuchova, currently ranked No. 46, at the July 27-August 4 tournament in Carlsbad, California.
“I am very much looking forward to making a return to competitive play at the Southern California Open,” the Swiss former world number one said in a statement on the WTA website.
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. She spent 209 weeks at No. 1 in singles (No. 4 on the all-time list) and 35 weeks at the No. 1 in doubles. She has a total of 43 singles titles and 37 doubles titles, including 10 Grand Slams.
