Hingis, 32, is to be honoured along with Australian tennis great Thelma Coyne Long at a ceremony at the Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island on Saturday.

But attention in Switzerland's press is less focused on Hingis's legacy of five Grand Slam titles from the late 1990s than on revelations from her husband, French equestrian Thibault Hutin, who claims she has cheated on him on numerous occasions.

Hutin, who is six years younger than Hingis, told Swiss newspaper Sonntagsblick in an interview of her extramarital affairs.

"A year after the wedding . . . we were supposed to meet in New York and I wanted to giver her a surprise," he told the German-language paper.

"Upon arriving at the hotel room it was me that was surprised," Hutin said.

"Because Martina was not alone."

Hutin said he tried to save the marriage but "late last year I found out that she had cheated on me again".

On Monday, Schweizer Illustrierten magazine reported an announcement by Hingis that she and her husband had been separated since the beginning of the year.

However, Hutin was not aware of this, Blick said.

Hingis is now reported to be coupled with David Tosas Ros, a Spanish sports management executive.

All of which is beside the point for the Tennis Hall of Fame, which is recognizing the Slovakian-born former professional player for her play on — not off — the court.

Hingis was the world's number one women’s singles player for 209 weeks, winning three consecutive Australian Opens, one Wimbledon title and one US Open between 1997 and 1999.



She also held the world number-one doubles ranking for 35 weeks, making her one of just five women in history to have been the world number-one in singles and doubles simultaneously, the Hall of Fame noted.

Hingis won nine doubles titles and one mixed doubles title for a total of 15 major titles.

Officially a resident of the village of Hurden in the canton of Schwyz, she was forced to withdraw from professional tennis in 2002 at the age of 22 due to ligament injuries.

After surgery, she returned to the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) tour in 2006 but she announced her retirement the following year after testing positive for cocaine during the Wimbledon tournament.

Hingis denied using the drug but did not contest a ban imposed by the International Tennis Federation.