WASHINGTON (AP) -- Martina Hingis plans to play a tournament in Thailand in January, the first WTA Tour event for the former No. 1-ranked player since 2002.

Hingis will play the Volvo Women's Open in Pattaya to raise money for several Thai charities that help women and children who have suffered from abuse, homelessness and illness.

Hingis was 22 when she retired in 2002 after operations on both ankles. The five-time Grand Slam singles champion was the youngest player to reach No. 1 at age 16 years and six months. She won a combined 76 singles and doubles titles during her career.

Hingis was appointed a goodwill ambassador for the World Health Organization and in 2000 she launched their "Match Point Against Polio" campaign.

(She'll also play an exhibition doubles match with Svetlana Kuznetsova and a singles match against Gabriela Sabatini in a charity match in Spain this month.)

Great news for tennis! Martina has been my favorite female tennis player. And I miss her famous doubles with partner Anna Kournikova! (When Martina and Anna, tennis' sexiest bombshells, used to play, guys didn't watch the game, they watched something else :p ) At 24 and if she keeps healthy, she still has a good many years left and could easily give those mediocre Russians a run for their money! :cool:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Martina Hingis plans to play a tournament in Thailand in January, the first WTA Tour event for the former No. 1-ranked player since 2002.

Hingis will play the Volvo Women's Open in Pattaya to raise money for several Thai charities that help women and children who have suffered from abuse, homelessness and illness.

Hingis was 22 when she retired in 2002 after operations on both ankles. The five-time Grand Slam singles champion was the youngest player to reach No. 1 at age 16 years and six months. She won a combined 76 singles and doubles titles during her career.

Hingis was appointed a goodwill ambassador for the World Health Organization and in 2000 she launched their "Match Point Against Polio" campaign.

(She'll also play an exhibition doubles match with Svetlana Kuznetsova and a singles match against Gabriela Sabatini in a charity match in Spain this month.)

Great news for tennis! Martina has been my favorite female tennis player. And I miss her famous doubles with partner Anna Kournikova! (When Martina and Anna, tennis' sexiest bombshells, used to play, guys didn't watch the game, they watched something else :p ) At 24 and if she keeps healthy, she still has a good many years left and could easily give those mediocre Russians a run for their money! :cool:



....The game was passing her bye before she got injured. She has always been a precision player who wins with placement and the girls playing now hit the ball even harder than they did a couple of years ago. She doesn't have the power to compete with the big hitters. I will be surprised if she breaks top 15 in the world.

....The game was passing her bye before she got injured. She has always been a precision player who wins with placement and the girls playing now hit the ball even harder than they did a couple of years ago. She doesn't have the power to compete with the big hitters. I will be surprised if she breaks top 15 in the world.
The current crop like Myskina and most of the Russians, the Belgians Clijster & Hennin are really not that hard-hitters (except perhaps for Sharapova). And she beat most of the "old-timers" in the Top 10 today like Venus, Capriati and Davenport. I wouldn't say she'll be back to her 100% form, though. But breaking the top 15 should not be too difficult given the level of competition today.

:D Man i missed her, i remember when she beat both the williams sisters one after the other.
I am going to be watching womens tennis again
she is prolly my favourite player, not because of her looks either.

:D Man i missed her, i remember when she beat both the williams sisters one after the other.
I am going to be watching womens tennis again
she is prolly my favourite player, not because of her looks either.
The players today doesn't only come with good skill, but also with good looks or glamor. That's always a nice combination, and it attracts more fans (specially the male species!).

I'll never forget her crying and running to her mum when she lost the final in Roland Garros to Steffi Graf. :D

That's good news. I'm a Hingis fan too, i'll try to catch that tournament in Pattaya (of all places! :D) ...curious to see if she still has the skills & reflexes to mix it up against the current stars like Sharapova (woohooo).