At the age of 16, Martina Hingis was the #1 female tennis player in the world. She won three Grand Slam singles titles in 1997 (Wimbledon, Australia and the US Open) and would collect a total of 14 Grand Slams (single and doubles) until she retired for the second time in November.

However, this retirement came on the heels of her testing positive for cocaine at Wimbledon in July. Hingis denies she "had ever knowingly taken cocaine" and challenged the International Tennis Federation's doping-test result, but to no avail.

Hingis was suspended for two years, starting in October, and on Jan. 3 stripped of championship and ranking points, and required to repay prize money ($129,481) earned at four tourneys following Wimbledon, according to the ITF's Martina Hingis Tribunal Decision. She last competed at the China Open in September.

The 27-year-old Slovakian swatter (she lives in Switzerland) was randomly selected for a doping test on June 29. She had won the first two rounds at Wimbledon, but then lost in the third round to Laura Granville, 6-4 and 6-2. The ITF decided the loser of that match would be required to submit a urine sample, which Hingis complied with. The sample, analyzed at a Montreal lab in July,  contained 42 ng/ml of benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine. When Hingis learned of the test result and suspension on October 1, the tennis star contended the sample was not hers and termed the test unreliable.

She argued that coke "probably entered her system by means of a drink, food, supplement or medication," contaminating the sample. Upon taking the test, Hingis wrote on the form that she had previously ingested Vitamin C and Living Fuel (a nutritional supplement).

"I have never taken drugs and I feel 100% innocent," Hingis said when the positve test was announced. "I would personally be terrified of taking drugs. When I was informed, I was shocked and appalled."

Even though 42 ng/ml is a low concentration (the U.S. military requires 150 ng/ml to flunk a test) and despite her opinion that "no competitive advantage was gained" by cocaine being in her system, Hingis chose to retire - something she had done in 2003 due to nagging injuries - rather than continue to fight the ITF.

Pic: Hottie Hingis in better days