Hingis to miss US Open following ankle surgery

Martina Hingis will miss this year's US Open as she continues to recover from surgery on her left ankle.

The former world No 1 from Switzerland had surgery on 20 May in her homeland to repair ligaments in her ankle. According to her representatives, rehabilitation is "progressing well" and Hingis hopes to resume play soon.

However, she will not appear in forthcoming events in San Diego, Los Angeles and Montreal and will not submit an application for the year's final Grand Slam event.

The 1997 US Open champion and five-time Grand Slam champion will therefore have missed all the majors this year. Initial reports had claimed that her injury – allegedly caused by her trainers – was career-threatening.

In the French Community tournament in Brussels, the top seed, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, dropped the first set but then dominated her Spanish compatriot, Magui Serna, to advance to the semi-finals.

Sanchez-Vicario, the former world No 1 now ranked 32nd, won 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. Today she will face the eighth-seeded Emilie Loit, of France, who reached the semi-finals with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over Austria's Barbara Schwartz.

Virginia Ruano Pascual upset the second-seeded Austrian Barbara Schett 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 to set up the possibility of an all-Spanish final against Sanchez-Vicario. First Ruano Pascual will have to overcome a wild card, Myriam Casanova of Switzerland, a 6-4, 7-5 winner over the German Martina Muller.