Hingis considers retirement at 22 as ankle problems persist

Martine Hingis appears to be on the brink of ending her career. "It is possible that I will never play top-level tennis again, because my feet will not allow it," the 22-year-old Swiss player was quoted as saying in Zurich yesterday.

Hingis has had surgery on both ankles since October 2001 and has been out of action for 10 of the past 16 months. She has not played competitively since losing to Monica Seles in the second round of the US Open last September.

The latest operation was on her left ankle last May, when two ligaments were removed. She was dispirited by her display at the US Open. "I was lucky to be in the tournament after the first round," she said at the time. "In the past I wasn't struggling against players like [Marissa] Irvin.

Yesterday, Hingis was quoted by the Swiss newspaper, Blick, and the Swiss news agency, Sport Information, as saying: "As soon as I try to train competitively, the pain starts... I'm not even thinking about a comeback."

Hingis won the last of her five Grand Slam singles titles at the 1999 Australian Open and has since been overpowered by such big-hitters as the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, Jennifer Capriati and Lindsay Davenport.

"Tennis was, and remains, my passion," she said yesterday. "But I've also grasped that, after eight years on the Tour, I will only return if I can practise without pain."

Having contested the last six Australian Open singles finals, winning the first three, Hingis has been watching this year's championships on television. "I'm having fun being able to watch the others, how they are running around in the heat on court," she said. "I'm not bored. I've spent the last two months doing lots of sports – skiing, riding – and taking long walks in the wood with my dog. I'm now going to school, trying to perfect my English. And I now have more time for my private life."