| ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) -- Martina Hingis will skip the
Sydney Olympics because her schedule is loaded and she is wary of the demands
of another hard-court tournament.
``I would like to represent Switzerland in the Olympics, but the workload
is too great,'' the world's No. 1 player told Swiss television on Tuesday.
Unlike the men's Olympic tennis, there are no world ranking points to
be gained for women at the Sydney Games. The 19-year-old star also is concerned
about the stress of playing too many events on hard courts.
``Martina's health is the most important thing,'' said her manager,
Mario Widmer.
``She has a little problem with her heels ... and she's playing in San
Diego, Los Angeles, Montreal, and at the U.S. Open. That makes about five
weeks on hard courts. To play on the hard courts at Sydney as well would
be risky.''
Hingis was eliminated in the second round of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics
at age 15.
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