Hingis, who pulled out of this week's Swisscom Challenge on home turf, will now miss the events in Linz and the season-ending Championships in Los Angeles.

The 22-year-old, who injured her left ankle earlier this year, underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament and three loose ligaments on May 20th.

The injury forced her to miss the German, Italian and French Open tournaments, in addition to Wimbledon, San Diego and Los Angeles before returning in mid-August at the Canadian Open, where she reached the quarterfinals.

"I will not play anymore tournaments this year," Hingis said, speaking from Zurich. "I am not playing at the level I would like to play and I don't want to play in front of my fans like this. Maybe I came back too early after my surgery."

Hingis said she would take two or three weeks off.

"Then (I will) talk to Mum, Mario (Widmer, her agent) and get advice from my doctor," she said. "I have not decided on a comeback at the Australian Open. That remains to be seen as I have set myself no dates at this point."

Hingis was the youngest player ever to hold the world No. 1 ranking, which she held for a total of 209 weeks on and off between March 1997 and October 2001.

During her career, Hingis collected 40 singles titles, including five Grand Slams, and nine Grand Slam doubles crowns.

The Swiss Miss has earned almost US$18 million in prize money to date.