Un-Retirement Watch

Shortly after Martina Hingis announced her intended comeback, related news started pouring in about other tennis stars long absent from the game. John McEnroe intends to play doubles with Jonas Bjorkman at the SAP Open in February 2006, and Anna Kournikova and Monica Seles have both made statements regarding their respective comebacks.

McEnroe's return (even if it is for just one tournament) seems legitimate. " Doubles has been struggling and I thought if I could get a little attention focused on it, it might help," McEnroe told ITN. He continued, "I still have a lot of events I play on the Champions Tour, which keep me busy, but the option to play more doubles is there. We'll see what happens when I get out there." Some reports and commentaries have been interpreting McEnroe's one-tournament return as something that could lead to a Martina Navratilova-like career. Navratilova had retired and was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame, but returned to the game and still competes in doubles on the tour and in Grand Slams. I'm adopting a wait-and-see position on this one.

Kournikova seemingly has been repeating the same sentiment for the past few years that she might return to playing tennis on the WTA Tour. This latest statement could have been brought about because the same line of questioning keeps coming up at her press conferences: will she or won't she return? Anna has always remained vague and coy about when that time will come, and this latest statement is just as non-committal. Sorry to burst your bubble, boys, but you'll just have to book tickets to World Team Tennis if you want to see Anna play.

Seles's most recent statement is more definite, but not in saying that she will definitely return. In fact, she says that if she doesn't return in 2006, she'd have to move on. "I'm still training and still trying, but at the same time I'm realistic," Seles told the AP. Monica, now 32 years old, seems upbeat about the possibility she may never return to professional tour play. The same wire service article that reports such statements bears the headline Seles aims for comeback when Monica's language is not that positive about her return.

I guess it's a slow news month for professional tennis. At least the Hyundai Hopman Cup begins in about two weeks, and then the tours begin to pick up steam again before the Australian Open.

posted by Noelle De Guzman @ 7:35 PM