Martina's gone but not forgotten; she says it's realistic that she could play US Open

Ooh it was sooo nice to see Martina's pic all over the ESPN website's tennis page today. Gosh I miss her SOOOOOO much. Even if she comes back and struggles some I will just be happy if she could grace the tennis world again with her unique and beautiful game and her stunning presence. :hearts:


GENEVA, Switzerland -- Martina Hingis says she could still play in next month's U.S. Open despite the WTA confirming she will miss Monday's entry deadline.

The WTA said Friday that representatives of Hingis had confirmed the former world No. 1 would not be submitting an application to play in the final Grand Slam of the year by the July 15 deadline.

Hingis, who won the U.S. Open in 1997, is recovering from a troublesome left ankle injury but said she could play at Flushing Meadows thanks to an invitation if she is declared fit for the tournament, which starts on Aug. 26.

"I've chosen to leave things alone because I don't want to set a fixed date for my return to competitive tennis," Hingis told Swiss Sunday newspaper Sonntags Zeitung.

"But the possibility that I can play in Flushing Meadows is realistic enough. I still have over five weeks for preparation and surely there is a possibility I can play in New York."

Hingis' injury has kept her out of the French Open and Wimbledon and she has also pulled out of a number of tournaments leading up to the U.S. Open.

"The recovery of my ankle injury is going satisfactorily and I can more or less play tennis twice a day," Hingis said.

Hingis has won five Grand Slam titles and reached the final of the Australian Open earlier this year, but lost to defending champion Jennifer Capriati.

Hmmm, they better not give her a wild card. I was thinking of making a comeback for the Open and need the card. I'm sure they'll remeber I was the crowd's sweetheart in the '80s and since my career has been better than Ms Hingis' I'm sure USTA will give me the wc.

I think she should rest and miss it.

She'll have so many more chances, why rush back just to catch the last grand slam of the year ?

So what if she doesn't get very far in the Open? I think if she's there, all the better. No pressures, just testing things out. There's nothing to lose. If she's able to play, then I hope she goes for it. I am really missing her in the game, and it'd be great if she came back for this last slam. But only if she feels well enough.

my speculation is she will return........in Zurich:)

yeah as long as she feels fine any points that she can defend would be helpful in the future so why not try to play if she feels 100%

I mean there's a lot of players whom we don't expect to get past the fourth round and we would not say that they should not even bother to show up.

I don't think she should play imho she'll only be adding more pressure onto herself and game. What if she loses in the first round? The media will have a field day and thus Martina's confidence will fall even more. One thing the media likes to talk about when concerning Hingis is her grandslam drought, I mean why risk it? I say rest her body until she is 100% ready to COMPETE, the hell with ranking points and with playing, at least not until she is 100%.

So many players come back too soon and cause even more injury to themselves.

I don't think Martina will lose in the early rounds...she used to have the ability to destroy the lower-ranked player;however, I think she'll lose to either of the Williams Sisters very badly...so why does she need to make her comeback???
The thing that she had to do now is PRACTICE MORE!!!!

She is missed, but I want to be see fully recover.

I miss Martina too. I'm sure she won't return unless she's completly healthy. wouldn't is be great if she came back in time for the US open, and had a match against Lindsay? OMG, I miss seeing these two play.

Hingis should get back into the game as soon as she is physically able to do so because she has so much catching up to do. Venus went out for six months and came back and won 2GS in that year, Martina should be able to do the same. In fact, because she is the smartest player on the tour, she should win 3 of 4 GS's next year.

Venus and Hingis are two different players at two different stages. Before Venus' injury, she had not won a slam and had not been in a final for three years. She came back a little rusty at first but then hit an incredible rhythm during the grass court season. Her forehand errors decreased, and she went for her serve more. All in all, she actually surprised a few people.
Hingis, on the other hand is a five time slam winner. She does seem to have great finesse, but her lack of any real coordination disables/disallows her to get in a position to attack any of the real heavy hitters. I can't see that happening.