Sharapova shock at Hingis drugs ban

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Hingis tested positive for cocaine following her defeat by Laura Granville at Wimbledon last year and was yesterday handed the ban by the International Tennis Federation.

Tough stretch: Sharapova shocked

The 27-year-old, who spent three years away from the sport before returning in 2006, retired from tennis last November after revealing she had tested positive.

The former world number one and five-time grand slam winner returned a positive result from a routine urine sample following the defeat by Granville, but has previously insisted she was "100% innocent."

And Sharapova, who suffered a 6-4 6-3 defeat by Venus Williams in the final of JB Group Classic in Hong Kong on Saturday, had nothing but praise for the Swiss star.

"Martina has always been super nice to me," she said.

"It is definitely sad to see as to this day I think she is an incredible champion and in front of my eyes she has always been an incredibly hard worker from spending extra hours on the court to extra time in the gym.

"She has been one of the toughest examples, especially when I was growing up, to see the work ethic she put in to what she did was incredible. I think it is just as surprising to me as it is to anyone else."