Martina Hingis is missing the ongoing French Open due to injury. However, I found on a website martinaworld.com that she will play the $175,000 Ordina Open in 's-Hertogenbosch, Holland. This Tier III event starts June, 18. It's played on grass. The world number 6 won this tournament in 2000, the only time she competed there.

After the event in Holland, we will watch Martina play at Wimbledon, which starts a week later.

Martina Hingis withdrew from the French Open, the only Grand Slam she hasn't won in her career. After losing to compatriot Patty Schnyder in Berlin, Martina admitted having back and hip injuries.

World No. 6 pulled out of the Italian Open, hoping she would recover till Roland Garros. However, the Swiss stated that she won't play in Paris unless she's 100% ready.

It seems she didn't manage to recover that quickly.

Maria and Martina have both suffered injuries and they are considering whether or not to compete in Roland Garros which starts on 27 May.

The Russian hasn't played since March when she lost to Serena Williams in Miami. Her right shoulder injury made her pull out of next week's Italian Open, and she's still considering whether to play in France. "I just want my fans to know that I am doing everything possible to be ready to play at the French Open," she said.

The Swiss player has back and hip injuries and has also pulled out of Rome. She may recover till Roland Garros, but she won't play unless she's 100% ready. "I don't know if it's going to get better that quickly. I'll see how far I get in the next two weeks," she said. (Source: BBC Sport)

How often do injured players retire when closer to victory, and how often when they are losing? Which players are more likely to retire, and which stay in match even though they are losing?

Tennis Magazine, who did this research, took into account the top 20 players and calculated the proportion of times they retired when close to losing a match. The aim of their work was to determine which players retire when they see that defeat is near, which, as they believe, tells a lot about a person's attitude. So, matches where a player retired before the completion of the opening set, as well as those when a player withdrew while less than two games behind, were not included.

Some players are more prone to injuries, but you can see that some of them withdraw when they see that they can't win. It's evident that player's retirement affects the opponent as well as spectators. The opponent can't enjoy the victory as much, because things were left unfinished.

One of favorite WTA players, Kim Clijsters, had lots of injuries in her career, but retired while losing only once. Ana Ivanovic, Shahar Peer, Nicole Vaidisova and Martina Hingis have never left the match when behind.

On the other hand, an unbelieveable 11.4 % of Jelena Jankovic's defeats are retirements while losing, which is more than one in every nine losses. Players following Jankovic are Serena Williams and Anna Chakvetadze.

A spokesperson for the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, who saw the results of the research, said: "There is no evidence that WTA Tour players do anything other than compete their very best." However, John Lloyd, British Davis Cup captain and former Australian Open finalist, claims that "really good champions don't feel they're going to lose until the last point, so they never throw in the towel."

I don't really agree with the view that players who are prone to retiring while losing are players with worse attitude and not real champions. It shows a certain part of their character, but it doesn't make them worse people, or worse players. They are simply like that (it's normal to lose interest when you see you have no chance to win), and after all, it's not forbidden to withdraw while behind.

(more at Tennis Magazine website)

A five-time Grand Slam singles and nine-time Grand Slam doubles winner, Martina Hingis, accepted the 2007 Meredith Inspiration Award in Charleston three days ago. The award is given to a female professional athlete who has inspired women from all over the world to achieve their best, both in personal and in professional life. Martina earned this award by her action both on and off the court. Charleston donated $5,000, and Hingis added another $5,000; these $10,000 she chose to give to UNICEF's Basic Education and Gender Equality program. (source: martinaworld.com)