It was the first match since October 2002 for Hingis, who retired from tennis after failing to sufficiently recover from a left ankle injury.

Saying at first that she was playing the event to raise money for children's charities, she later admitted that she wanted to judge whether she might be able to consider a full comeback.

On the evidence of her performance against 74th-ranked Weingartner, that appears unlikely.

"I think I'm ready for playing exhibitions," said Hingis. "I felt pretty good about my game. I just couldn't raise it when she started playing quicker.

"She really raised her level, and that's another step for me to do physically. That's the game of today."

Although Hingis took the opening set with ease, that was in large part due to her opponent's errors.

Weingartner, perhaps nervous at playing in such a high-profile match, struggled to keep the rallies going and also had problems with her serve.

She was broken in all four of her service games in the first set, conceding the set with her third double-fault as she was broken to love, and Hingis seemed to be heading for a comfortable and encouraging victory.

But once Weingartner settled, early in the second set, the match began to turn. Hingis was never the most powerful of players, and her serve in particular began to be punished by her German opponent.

The turning point came as Hingis led 2-1 and then 40-0 on her opponents serve. Weingartner responded by winning nine of the next 10 points, breaking to lead 3-2, and Hingis' game became increasingly ineffective against a stronger and more confident opponent.

More good returns gave Weingartner another break for 5-2, and the final set slipped away from Hingis just as quickly.

A netted backhand gave Weingartner a break for 1-0, and an impressive double-handed backhand down the line gave her a second break and virtually ended the contest.

"It takes so much energy and so much focus," said Hingis.

"I almost didn't miss a ball in the first set. But keeping that focused and that consistent the whole match is just almost impossible at this point.

"I've never had plans further than this step. Maybe I'll play some exhibitions. That's my plan at the moment. At this point I have no plans to play any more tournaments.

"My life has been very good the last couple of years. I'm very comfortable, and this is really hard work."