Rick Johnson

ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) -- Martina Hingis said Thursday she has been
accused of testing positive for cocaine at Wimbledon, and then announced
her retirement from professional tennis.

Hingis, a five-time Grand Slam champion and former Wimbledon winner,
denied using cocaine.

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Hingis said she was accused by "an outsource testing company" of taking
cocaine during Wimbledon. She said she was "shocked and appalled" when
notified that her urine sample came back positive after the loss to
Granville.

"They say that cocaine increases self-confidence and creates a type of
euphoria," she said in a statement. "I don't know. I only know that if I
were to try to hit the ball while in any state of euphoria, it simply
wouldn't work.

"I would think that it would be impossible for anyone to maintain the
coordination required to play top class tennis while under the influence
of drugs. And I know one other thing -- I would personally be terrified
of taking drugs."

Hingis said she later underwent a privately arranged hair test which
came back negative for cocaine. The official backup "B" sample test on
her Wimbledon urine sample, however, tested positive for the drug.

Hingis said she hired an attorney who found "various inconsistencies"
with the urine sample taken during Wimbledon.

"He is also convinced that the doping officials mishandled the process
and would not be able to prove that the urine that was tested for
cocaine actually came from me," she said.

Hingis said it could take years to fight her case.

"I have no desire to spend the next several years of my life reduced to
fighting against the doping officials," she said. "The fact is that it
is more and more difficult for me, physically, to keep playing at the
top of the game.

The full story:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/tennis/11/01/hingis.cocaine.ap/index.html?cnn=yes