- Title: JAPAN: Japan's tennis queen Date to come back to the sport tour at age of 37.
- Date: 8th April 2008
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (APRIL 7, 2008) (REUTERS) FEMALE TENNIS PLAYER KIMIKO DATE PRACTICING AT AN INDOOR COURT DATE WALKING TO REPORTERS AT TENNIS COURT (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) KIMIKO DATE, TENNIS PLAYER SAYING: "I think I know how hard it will be to come back playing after 11 years of hiatus. It is not a realistic target for me to compete with the top players on the WTA tour at this moment." DATE AND REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) KIMIKO DATE, TENNIS PLAYER SAYING: "I do not feel that I have reached my physical limit though I am 37 because I have gone through various training such as marathons and Pilates after quitting. What I think a key point for success is whether I can regain the feel of playing good tennis after a long absence." DATE AND REPORTERS
- Embargoed: 23rd April 2008 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVAAAW6VN2VK70F9QWSMGANMTWWP
- Story Text: Japan's female tennis star Kimiko Date, previously ranked in the top-ten women players in the world, announces her come back to the sport after over eleven years out of the game.
Japan's female tennis star Kimiko Date announced her return to professional tennis on Monday (April 7), 12 years after hanging up her rackets, but ruled out a fairytale comeback.
A former top five player, the 37-year-old will test the waters at selected satellite tournaments before contemplating a full-scale return to the women's WTA Tour.
The main objective for 2008 for Japan's most successful tennis player is to do well at the national championships in November.
"I think I know how hard it will be to come back playing after 11 years of hiatus. It is not a realistic target for me to compete with the top players on the WTA tour at this moment," Date told reporters before starting her first official practice as a professional tennis player. However, she later backtracked, saying that she thought there was a small chance that she might play on the tour in a future.
Date reached a career-high ranking of fourth in 1995 but abruptly quit the following year after making the semi-finals at Wimbledon and the last eight at the Atlanta Olympics.
She recalled that she had hated to play tennis for the last few years of her career, as she didn't enjoy travelling around the world and being alone. So she stopped and distanced herself from the sport.
Date, a winner of seven WTA titles, recently beat former rivals Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova in an exhibition event in Tokyo.
She said that those matches convinced her to try to come back as she regained confidence that she could still play the game.
"I do not feel that I have reached my physical limit though I am 37 because I have gone through various training such as marathons and Pilates after quitting. What I think a key point for success is whether I can regain the feel of playing good tennis after a long absence," she said.
Date, who damaged her Achilles' tendon in 2002 playing doubles in a one-off appearance at the Japan Open, admitted her return could be short-lived. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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