Swiss world number one Martina Hingis will not play at the Sydney Olympics because she does not want to risk injury after the tough hardcourt season. Hingis made the announcement on a Swiss-German television programme, adding that she did not want to endure the fatigue of travelling twice to Australia in one year.
The Olympic tennis tournament begins just a few days after the finish of the US Open, the year's final grand slam and, according to her manager Mario Widmer, she is concerned about the possibility of injury after playing five weeks on the American hardcourts.
"I would have liked to represent Switzerland at the Olympics but it is not possible," said Hingis (19), who went out in the second round at the Atlanta Olympics. Hingis would have been the gold medal favourite in Sydney, having claimed three of her five grand slam titles at the Australian Open.
The Swiss teenager had captured three consecutive Australian crowns from 1997 to 1999, before losing this year's final to American Lindsay Davenport.
Meanwhile, of the top 104 women in the WTA Tour singles rankings, 103 have entered the 2000 US Open, tournament director Jay Snyder announced yesterday.
Irina Spirlea of Romania, ranked 68th in the world, is the only player in the top 100 not entered in the Open, which will be staged from August 28th-September 10th at the National Tennis Centre in Flushing Meadows. Leading the list of entries is Serena Williams, the current world number seven, who beat Hingis in the 1999 final.
Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia, ranked 105, was the 104th and last player accepted directly into the women's field of 128. Sixteen more will gain entry through the qualifying rounds, while the remaining eight spots are wild-card entries.
