Former world number one Martina Hingis is to marry Czech tennis player Radek Stepanek.

The 26-year-old Hingis confirmed news of her engagement at a media conference at the Gold Coast on Friday where she is preparing to play the Australian women's hardcourt championships.

Hingis said 28-year-old Stepanek, ranked 19 in the world, had proposed to her in Prague last month but it was not until she arrived in Australia that anyone noticed her diamond ring.

"I was surprised when it was spotted right away because in Switzerland I've been walking around for a month and no-one's said anything," she told reporters.

"I guess people here pay more attention to things."

Hingis dominated women's tennis in the late 1990s, winning the Australian Open three times in a row from 1997 to 1999, before ankle and foot injuries forced her into early retirement in 2002.

She took three years off before making a comeback last year, finishing the season ranked in the world's top 10.

Stepanek will make a comeback of his own at next week's Australian men's hardcourt championships in Adelaide. He reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon this year but has not played since after dislocating a disc in his neck.

(China Daily via Reuters December 30, 2006)