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Sunday April 6, 6:42 PMTennis: Former Japan No. 1 Date to make comeback(Kyodo) _ Kimiko Date, one of Japan's most successful tennis players, is to come out of retirement 12 years after calling time on her career, it was learned Sunday.Date, 37, will announce plans to rejoin the women's professional circuit at a press conference on Monday. Date retired from the WTA Tour in 1996 in the prime of her career after reaching the Wimbledon semifinals and quarterfinals of the season-ending Sanex Championships. She made entries in the doubles of the Toyota Princess Cup and the Japan Open in 2002 but at the time said she had no plans to compete on the pro circuit beyond the Japan Open. Date became the first Japanese player to break into the top 10 of the world rankings in 1994 and climbed to fourth, her highest ever ranking, the following year. She won seven career titles and also reached the semifinals of two other major tournaments, the French Open and the Australian Open. Date recently played with Martina Navratilova and former rival Steffi Graf in exhibition matches in Tokyo. |
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