IN BRIEF (Page 24)

Hingis will have to wait for help from WTA

MADRID: Martina Hingis will have to wait for help from the WTA Tour in her fight to clear her name after being accused of testing positive for cocaine at Wimbledon.

WTA Tour president Stacy Allaster said on Sunday that the women's tour will only get involved after tennis doping authorities hand over a report on the case.

"We let that process happen independently and then, depending on the findings of the tennis anti-doping committee, we'll be there to support Martina," Allaster told The Associated Press at the Sony Ericsson Championships. "What relates to becoming involved in the (current) process, the tour is not involved."

Hingis made a surprise appearance at the season-ending championships, which the five-time Grand Slam champion won twice, over the weekend.

"I personally haven't seen her, but she's part of our tennis family, and I'm glad she joined us here," Allaster said. "Martina was a great champion, a very accomplished athlete. Our sport has been very fortunate to have had Ms. Hingis."

Sharapova to make Fed Cup debut

Maria Sharapova is hoping to make her Fed Cup debut for Russia against Israel in February.

The sixth-ranked Russian has never played for her country. An injury kept her on the sidelines for the victory over Italy in September.

"I am definitely very looking forward to it," Sharapova said after losing to Justine Henin in the final of the Sony Ericsson Championships. "I haven't really talked about it with (Russia's captain Shamil) Tarpischev, but I did say that I really want to play and most likely I am, definitely."

Sharapova watched as the Russian team won its third Fed Cup in Moscow, with her right shoulder injury limiting her to practicing with the team.

Sharapova had cited injury as an excuse to not take part in the competition in the past. There have also been suggestions that she has been kept off the team due to personal friction with other Russian players.

Russia is to play at Israel in the first round on February 2 and 3.

Henin sets money mark

Aside from setting a new single-season money mark, Justine Henin also overtook Venus and Serena Williams in the all-time prize money list with her 39th career win at the Sony Ericsson Championships.

Henin moved up to No 5 with $18,940,405. Steffi Graf leads the list with $21,895,277.

The 25-year-old Henin will also celebrate the new year with a 98th week at No 1, equaling Lindsay Davenport for sixth most. Graf holds the record of 377 weeks.

After a semifinal loss to Marion Bartoli at Wimbledon, Henin closed out the season with a career-high 25 straight wins, the longest streak since Venus Williams won 35 straight in 2000.

Maria Sharapova, who lost to Henin in the final in Madrid, went back into the top five after dropping out for the first time in three years.

The top four remain unchanged, with Serena Williams falling to No 7 from No 5 and Anna Chakvetadze moving up one place to sixth.

(China Daily 11/14/2007 page24)