Hingis gets Wimbledon wildcard

London - Martina Hingis is returning to play at Wimbledon for the first time in seven years.

The former singles and doubles champion from Switzerland was granted a wild card by the All England Club on Wednesday for the women's doubles tournament. Her partner is Russia's Vera Zvonareva, a former doubles winner and singles runner-up.

In addition to her singles title in 1997, the 33-year-old Hingis is a two-time doubles winner at Wimbledon, with Helena Sukova in 1996 and Jana Novotna in 1998.

After a second retirement in 2007, Hingis returned to the game in July 2013 but has restricted her outings to doubles.

She last played at Wimbledon in 2007, losing in the third round of the singles. Her last doubles appearance at Wimbledon dates back to 2000, when she went out in the second round.