For some one who made so much noise on the court, and grunted her way to five Grand Slam titles, millions of dollars in prize money and a plethora of records, Martina Hingis has bowed out with a whimper.

No farewell hugs, no speeches, no heavy hearts either. Tears, yes ... lots of them.

Olympic star Marion Jones also bid a similar farewell a few weeks ago ... thus making it two of the most charismatic champions leaving the sporting arena, which they lit up so brilliantly, under a cloud of darkness.

Both were pretty, abundantly talented and awesome in action.

I have admired both of them for long, as much for their dazzling smiles as for their sporting abilities.

Jones was a multi-faceted athlete, the golden girl of track and field with five gold medals at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, and a quintessential American product. She had her ups and downs, both on and off the field, but fought back every time with renewed vigour and verve.

Sadly, all that will only be a footnote in the history books as her tryst with tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) condemns her forever to the 'cheats corner'. Jones is in such dire straits that she has already returned the five gold medals she won in Sydney, her records have been erased, and she may even be imprisoned for lying to federal officials.

Hingis' situation is not so hopeless true, but still far from happy, for sure.

Bursting on the scene with precocious talent, Hingis had the world at her feet by the age of 16 - she was the youngest World No 1. She went on to win three Australian Open, one Wimbledon and one US Open titles on the way to carving a niche for herself as the 'Smiling Assassin'.

The most I liked about Hingis was the way she stood up to a fast emerging breed of power players, like, for instance, the Williams' sisters, Mauresmo, whom she once called 'half man', and Davenport. When the game became increasingly physical and all about intimidation and power, she fought back with her own brand of power - power of the mind and precision of angles.

At her prime, Hingis mentally dismantled her opponents before physically defeating them.

Still, she was waging a losing battle as a string of injuries and surgeries weakened her.

She finally threw in the towel in 2003 when still 22, but already a