ONCE upon a time, Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova were so angry with each other that a vase was tossed across the locker-room and they turned the air blue. Time heals the slightest scratch; Kournikova is one of only two players who keeps in regular contact with Hingis and will be sadder than most to discover that the former world No 1 and Wimbledon champion is contemplating the end of a career that brought her glories and riches she was probably too young to appreciate fully.

The news yesterday that Hingis, 22, has no plans to make a comeback to professional tennis, that she is not missing it at all, that she prefers to go to school in Switzerland to perfect her English than run herself into the ground at Melbourne Park, is a terrible blow to those for whom variety is the spice of sport. Not forgetting that we shall miss Hingis horribly if she has really gone, because she was a wonderful player.

A telephone call between the former doubles partners yesterday (Monica Seles is the other player who asks after Hingis) may well have ended in a flood of tears as Hingis confirmed to her Russian friend that she has no career left to speak of, while Kournikova blubbed about the latest humiliation in her attempt to be taken seriously as a contender for the leading titles. Actually, any old title would do.

Hingis, who reached the past six finals at the Australian Open and was champion three times here from 1997 to 1999, has not played since October, when she lost in the first round in Filderstadt to Elena Dementieva, another Russian. After that, the latest in a long list of setbacks, Hingis decided to take a complete break from tennis, knowing that she had not recovered sufficiently from an operation on torn left ankle ligaments in May to do herself justice.

Speaking from her home in Switzerland last night, Hingis was emphatic when asked if she was considering a comeback. “I don’t even think about that right now,” she said. “Tennis has always been my passion, but I know that after eight years on the tour, I will only come back to competitive tennis if I can practise without it hurting. Competition is no fun if I can’t take part without proper preparation.

“I cannot complain about my health. If I don’t force myself in practice, it is OK, but as soon as I start to practise like I would in competition, my ankle hurts. Then the hurt spreads to other parts of my feet.

“It does not hurt me to miss tennis right now. Actually, it’s fun to watch on television the other girls chasing each other around in the heat. I’m not bored at all. I do a lot of sports for fun, skiing, horse riding and I love taking my dog for long walks in the woods. And I am going to school to improve my English.”

By the time this endurance test of a grand-slam tournament is over, Hingis not only will have tumbled to a WTA ranking of around No 20 but will also have been replaced as the No 1 player in Switzerland by Patty Schnyder. “It wasn’t my goal to be the No 1 in my country, but to be the No 1 in the world,” she said.

“I enjoyed that position for four years. I am surviving not being No 1 in the world. The level of the sport gets better but also more athletically demanding. The health problems for female athletes are increasing — the players who stay until the end of tournaments are in danger of sacrificing their health for the sake of the tour.

“My health has to come before my ambitions. My mother (her coach, Melanie Molitor) has been the first one to say that I should not contemplate a comeback if I can’t practise without it hurting. It is very possible that I will not compete in top tennis any more. Right now I am enjoying my life and I am living well without the stress of competition.”

Kournikova, having produced “the near-perfect match” in the opening round here on Monday, played quite the most awful 48 minutes in the Rod Laver Arena yesterday, losing 6-0, 6-1 to Justine Henin-Hardenne, the 2001 Wimbledon runner-up from Belgium, before anyone could even get excited about seeing her out on court. It was like a rerun of the Kournikova horror show here three years ago, when she sent down 27 double faults in one match.

There were six doubles yesterday — but she only served six games. Was it a match? she was asked. “We were both on court, I think it was a match,” Kournikova replied. “I was always on the defensive and she was always a step ahead of me. I had no weapons against her today.

“This is just the beginning of the season. I’m looking forward to a long and healthy one. That’s the most important thing for me and that’s been the trouble, staying healthy in the past few years.”

As her old doubles partner — back in the chill of Switzerland — undoubtedly would concur.

DEBATE

Does the women's game need Hingis?

Send your e-mails to debate@thetimes.co.uk