Last year it was Kim Clijsters, this year it was Justine Henin, and now it might be Martina Hingis, again.
Hingis, the former world No. 1 and 5-time Grand Slam champion, is scheduled to play a full slate of World Team Tennis this summer. Billie Jean King, the co-founder of World Team Tennis, believes that Hingis will attempt to return to the WTA after the WTT season is over. King noted that Hingis would most likely start playing doubles first. Hingis has nine career Grand Slam doubles titles.
Hingis dominated the women's tennis world from 1997-1999. However, by 2003, Hingis was plagued by injuries and seemingly burned out from the sport she dominated from such a young age. She also started to have increasing trouble against the emerging power players on tour, including the Williams sisters.
Hingis retired from competitive tennis in 2003 before returning to the sport for one unsuccessful tournament in 2005. She then played World Team Tennis in 2005 to shore her game up, and it worked. She made a full tour comeback in 2006. She missed the sport she ruled as a youngster too much.
Hingis was able to win a few tournaments on tour following her 2006 return, but she was never able to recapture her youthful dominance of the late 1990s.
Hingis was ousted from Wimbledon in the third round in 2007. During Wimbledon of that year, Hingis provided a drug sample that later tested positive for cocaine. Although Hingis fervently denied taking the drug, the International Tennis Federation confirmed in January 2008 that traces of the drug were found. The ITF consequently handed Hingis a two-year ban that ran through September 30 of last year. She has been involved in occasional equestrian events in her time away from the sport (photo).
Hingis has not played competitively on tour since becoming eligible again. Billie Jean King believes that Hingis will use this year's World Team Tennis matches to prepare herself for future WTA doubles play, just as she did in 2005 following her first retirement.
Hingis will be teaming up this summer in legends doubles on the WTT circuit with partner Anna Kournikova. This is just King's hunch as the 29-year-old Hingis has not made any official statement yet. She will most likely see how the summer treats her first.
tennisfunhouse.com
Since I don't see any actual quotes from King herself. I'm gonna chuck this up to the 'wishful thinking' category.
I know I've said that we should all move on, and stop dreaming about another Hingis singles comeback but after seeing the patheticness that was the French Open women's final.
I'm starting to once again swing back to the 'it may not be a bad idea' category.
If someone like freakin' Francesca Schiavone can win the French Open, why not Hingis?. Might certainly revitalize the women's game again.
It's in major need of one at the moment imho. And yes I know Hingis has explicitly stated otherwise but she did the same thing after her first retirement.
And so did Clijster's and Henin. 2010 seems to be the year of 'the comeback'. So I say what the heck come back and join the party full time Martina!.
No comments:
Post a Comment