Hingst had played at several local clubs at junior level. At age 15, she played for the first team of Hertha Zehlendorf in the Regionalliga, then the second-highest division in Germany. In 1996 and 1997, Hingst won the league with Zehlendorf, but they failed to win their promotion play-offs both years. At that time, Germany's head coach Tina Theune had urged her to play at Bundesliga level, if she wanted to continue her international career.
Hingst joined newly promoted Bundesliga side Turbine Potsdam for the 1997–98 season. From 2001 to 2003, Potsdam was runner-up in the Bundesliga for three years in a row. Hingst won the Bundesliga title with Potsdam in 2004 and 2006, and claimed the German Cup competition from 2004 to 2006 three consecutive times. In the 2004–05 season, Potsdam also won the UEFA Women's Cup.[4]
Hingst made her debut for the Germany national team in August 1996 against the Netherlands. One year later, she won her first international title at the 1997 European Championship. The final against Italy was her only game in the starting line-up. At the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, Hingst was Germany's youngest player in the squad, yet she started in all matches and scored one goal in a group match. The team was eliminated in the quarter-finals. At the 2000 Summer Olympics, Hingst won bronze with the German team. She scored after 88 minutes in the final first round match against Sweden, which secured Germany's first place in the group.[4]
Hingst again won the European Championship in 2001, which was played on home soil in Germany. However, she was only used sparely and did not appear in the final of the tournament. Hingst was part of Germany's winning squad at the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, starting in all matches for Germany. One year later, she went on to win the bronze medal at the Summer Olympics, and in 2005, she claimed her third European Championship. Hingst was one of the team's key players at Germany's successful title defence at the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup. Alongside Kerstin Stegemann, Annike Krahn and Linda Bresonik, she was part of Germany's defence which did not concede a single goal in the entire tournament.[4]
One year later, she won her third bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics and she was part of the team to win Germany's seventh title at the European Championship. Hingst was also called up for Germany's 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup squad. She announced her retirement from international football following the tournament as Germany's third most capped player with 173 appearances.[4][7]
