Hingis Marries a Younger Equestrian

She’s had several high-profile romances and even a couple of engagements, to lawyer Andres Bieri and player Radek Stepanek. But now Martina Hingis has transformed from the Swiss Miss to the Swiss Mrs. after marrying Frenchman Thibault Hutin in Paris. At 24, he is six years her junior.

According to Schweizer-illustrierte, which carried pictures of the private ceremony as well as many of the pair at a function, they met last April at a horse show in St. Tropez. Although they only went through a low-key civil ceremony, they plan a more ‘romantic’ wedding in the summer. Which begs the question of why they didn’t wait until then.
"Our marriage may come as a surprise to many, but it was long planned in advance," Martina was quoted as saying.

Hingis has not played on the WTA Tour since 2007, after she tested positive for cocaine during Wimbledon. Although she strenuously denied involvement with the drug she did not bother to contest the charge, which resulted in her receiving a two year ban and ultimately signaled the end of her career. She had returned to the Tour in 2006 after a lengthy break caused by a severe ankle injury, but by the second half of the following year she was clearly struggling and, without the ban, it is possible she might not have continued beyond 2007 anyway.

Her last match was a second round loss to Shuai Peng in Beijing that year, although she did play with former doubles partner Anna Kournikova in the Ladies Invitational event at Wimbledon this year after her ban had expired. Recently, Hingis did hint that she might consider a return to the Tour once again, but only to compete in doubles. Presumably, following her marriage and also her considerable involvement in competing on the show-jumping circuit, that possibility can now be dismissed.