ITF Slaps Martina Hingis With 2-Year Ban

Martina Hingis, who retired from professional tennis in November after testing positive for cocaine, was banned for two years after an independent tribunal confirmed the offense. The International Tennis Federation said in a statement on Friday that Hingis, 27, would also forfeit ranking points resulting from last year's Wimbledon championships and $129,481 in prize money.

Martina Hingis, a five time grand slam champion, has denied taking cocaine. In November, when the allegations first came to light, she said that she had "no desire to spend the next several years of my life reduced to fighting against the doping officials." It was at this time that Hingis decided it was time to retire.

The ITF also stated today that the anti-doping tribunal had ruled after a two-day hearing that samples produced by Martina Hingis at Wimbledon in June 2007 had indeed tested positive for a metabolite of cocaine. Furthermore, they rejected the suggestion that there were doubts about the identity or integrity of the sample attributed to her, stating:

"The Tribunal also rejected Ms Hingis' plea of No (or No Significant) Fault or Negligence, on the basis that no mitigation was possible as it had not been shown how the cocaine entered her system."

In a separate statement, Larry Scott, CEO of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), said:

"We are saddened by this news as Martina has meant so much to fans the world over and made many positive contributions to the sport."

However, Scott did state that the WTA fully supported the tribunal:

"We support and will enforce the ruling of this independent tribunal under the Tennis Anti-Doping Program," he said.

Hingis has not yet issued a statement about the ruling. Having already retired, the two-year ban is unlikely to affect her significantly.