Rejuvenated Hingis to return

A day after Jelena Dokic declared her readiness to embark on a new beginning for her tennis career, former world number one Martina Hingis has announced that she will be making her second return to the WTA Tour in early 2006.

Now 25, Hingis will be hoping that she can give Switzerland two world number ones with Switzerland’s other gift to tennis, Roger Federer, likely to occupy the number one spot on the men’s tour for a while to come.

Throughout her career, Hingis was a model of consistency, winning at least one singles and one doubles title for seven straight years and incredibly reached the semi-final or better in 104 of the 118 events she played between the 1996 US Open and the tournament at Indian Wells in 2002.

Hingis has won every major tournament on all four surfaces except on clay at Roland Garros. Her 40 singles titles comprise five Grand Slam titles, including three consecutive Australian Open crowns from 1997 to 1999.

In 1997, she had her career-best season, winning three of the four Grand Slam finals she reached. In 1998, Hingis won the doubles titles at all four majors.

However, Hingis’ career, which has earned her over US$18.3 million and took her to third all-time on the career prize money list behind only Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova, was brought to an abrupt halt in October of 2002.

The Swiss had been struggling with recurring injury problems to her ankles and hips throughout her career and, at only 22, was prematurely forced out of the game she loved.

“I was never happy that my injuries cut my career short and ultimately forced my decision to step away from tennis,” said Hingis.

“I miss the game and the challenge of competing at the highest level of tennis, and I want to gauge whether I can stay healthy and compete against today’s top players.”

In February of 2005, the former Swiss number one did make a brief comeback in a tournament in Thailand, but was bundled out in the first round and withdrew from all remaining tournaments.

Hingis is one of only five players to reach the top of both the singles and doubles WTA rankings at the same time, and with her remarkable tennis-mind, all-round talent, and one-of-a-kind grit and personality, there is no doubt that her return will be a great asset to the sport.

“Martina Hingis is one of the game’s great champions and unique personalities,” said Larry Scott, CEO of the WTA Tour.

“For fans of women’s tennis, Martina’s return will add another level of excitement.”

Hingis’ comeback will mean an added attraction for the WTA Tour, whilst tennis fans worldwide will be following her story closely to see whether she can engineer a comeback good enough to reach the top spot in women’s tennis once again.

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