Martina Hingis has announced her retirement from tennis for a third time.
The 37-year-old Swiss revealed the news at the WTA Finals in Singapore, where she is playing in the doubles event with partner Chan Yung-jan.
Hingis said: ‘It’s the right time for me. It’s better to stop at the peak and I can say I had a very good time.
‘The successes I’ve had over the past three years have been great and it’s going to be hard to beat anyway. And my priorities change, too, of course.’
Hingis returned to the sport for the third time in 2013 and forged a hugely successful career in doubles, winning 10 more grand slam titles, taking her overall tally to 25.
She retires ranked as the doubles world number one and as the holder of the US Open women’s doubles title and mixed titles at Wimbledon and in New York.
Hingis prompted speculation about her future at the US Open when she stopped short of committing to going for a third straight mixed crown with Britain’s Jamie Murray at the Australian Open.
Hingis was a child prodigy and the youngest ever grand slam champion, winning the women’s doubles with Helena Sukova at Wimbledon in 1996 at the age of just 15.