For the moment, the Swiss player is still walking with crutches and making daily trips to Zurich from Wollerau -- where she is convalescing at her mother's -- for treatment.

Next week the brace that is immobilizing her ankle joint will be removed for the first time, allowing Hingis to begin her physical therapy, Buehlmann said.

"I want to get healthy again," Hingis said. "In the past few months I have played week in and week out. Now I have the chance to regain some strength.

"The nights are especially long because I'm doing so much less during the day. I can't really sleep through the night."

But she said the pain has subsided somewhat.

The defending champion received flowers and a get-well card from American Jennifer Capriati, who replaced her as the world No. 1 player following her injury.

Hingis tore ligaments in her right ankle during her semifinal against Lindsay Davenport at the Porsche Grand Prix in Germany last Saturday.

Her loss allowed Capriati to replace her atop the computer rankings.

Hingis needed to beat Davenport to stay at No. 1, which the Swiss player held for 209 weeks, the last 73 in a row.

Hingis hasn't won a major tournament since 1999, but had retained her top ranking thanks to a complicated computer system that rewards her consistency. She's now in the worst slump of her career, though, going 13 events without a title.

She is expected to return to action next January.