Apparently, Japan's Kimiko Date is making a comeback. She retired way too early, but who woulda thunk it? For anyone who doesn't read Jon Wertheim's column:

I never did understand why she retired at 25. Who did she think she was, Bjorn Borg? (At least she wasn't using a wood racket last week.)

Although it's the Challenger's circuit --- Kimiko is managing to sting together several wins, and won the tournament in Tokyo yesterday--- her ranking should be just inside 300 after these results are updated. Go girl...

That was really funny.

I do love it when players come back from retirement. Hey, isn't this "the sport for a lifetime?"
On the other hand, I miss Pete Sampras, and wish I could see him playing the master's events or whatever that is called. The tennis channel is showing Pete v. Federer at Wimbledon, 2001. What a treat!
Johnny Mac is still going strong with a pretty good game......

Didn't Date recently beat both Graf and Martina N in an exhibition?

She did play them both and beat them both...I've attached a nice article where she was interviewed about her "comeback."

http://www.tennis.com/backcourt/general/ba....aspx?id=124520

For those interested...
Seems as though Kimiko is going to give it a go on the WTA Tour this season ...

http://www.asbclassic.co.nz/2008/12/24/jap...for-asb-classic

Well this is pretty cool. I hope this will be on Tennis Channel. Would be cool to see how she does.

I guess she'll be my new old timer now that Linds is preggers again.

She's done very well in the ITF's in the past year. She's really fit and consistent, but will probably be overwhelmed by the power of today's top players. She drew Jill Craybas in her 1st round, battle of the consistent hitters. Hmmm.

Speaking of comebacks! Mirjana Lucic got a wildcard in as well. Glad she hasn't given up yet.

Yayyy, Kimiko qualified for Oz!!!! I know this news was mentioned in another thread, but it would be cool to keep this thread running for Kimiko throughout the year....or however long she decides to play.

First round opponent for Kimiko is 26 seed Kaia Kanepi. Tough first round, but winnable. Go Kimiko!!!

There hasn't been a follow-up to this thread, but Kimiko managed a very respectable 8-6 in the third loss to the tricky Kanepi. Not a bad outing. While I'm here, Mr Crumm is very easy on the eyes.... :P

I hope she's still around at The Championships...she will give some of these new girls fits on the grass for sure.

Kimiko defeats Kleybanova and Hantuchova to reach the semi in Seul

And she won the tournament. Tomorrow she will be 39, she's the second oldest WTA winner.

That's a minor tournement, but this win will re-inforce the "state of female tennis" critics.

Wow, Kim Clijsters really has jolted some players into "successful comeback mode!" Congratulations, Kimiko!! She's only about a year younger than Steffi Graf and about three years older than Seles, maybe this will entice them to come back, too?

Nah, but it's still a fun daydream.

You've got to hand it to her for persevering through all these months of ITF tournaments and qualifiers. It would have been awfully easy to hang it up after going eight months without a main draw win at the WTA level. Very nice to have a moment of glory, even at a minor tournament. While the field was not strong,she did have to beat Hantuchova.

Kudos for Kimiko!
She's quietly made her way into the Top 100...

ST. PETERSBURG, FL, USA - The field has been set for the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions, a season-ending event for the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's top International tournament winners. Marion Bartoli, Samantha Stosur, Yanina Wickmayer, Anabel Medina Garrigues, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, Shahar Peer, Melinda Czink, Agnes Szavay, Aravane Rezai and Magdalena Rybarikova have qualified, while Kimiko Date Krumm and Sabine Lisicki have accepted invitations as tournament wildcards to round out the playing field at the inaugural event. Additionally, Vera Dushevina will travel to Bali as an alternate.

Making its debut in Bali, Indonesia from November 4-8, 2009, the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions features established and next generation stars competing in an innovative 12-woman round robin singles format (four groups of three players), and offers $600,000 in prize money. The top 10 highest-ranked players who have won an International tournament during the 2009 season on the Tour and who are not competing at the Sony Ericsson Championships - Doha 2009 (which features the top eight singles players in the world) qualify for the event. The Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions represents the championships for the International tournaments, bringing a season-long link and race tying together the International events.

She reaches the semifinals in Bali benefitting from Wickmayer withdrawing after the ban. She had lost to Wickmayer 76 63 but won over Medina Garrigues 64 63.
She will now face Big Marion. The other semifinal is between Martinez Sanchez and Rezai.

I think this "mini master" is over-prized compared to the quality of players involved.

Old thread, I know --- can't but help continue to follow her progress....
Last week she defeated a Top 20 player in Razzano and route to a QF - her ranking is now 64, and last night she defeated another Top 20 player in Nadia Petrova....She'll never crack the Top 10, but with wins like these the Top 50 is realistic, and who knows - enough momentum, and the luck of the draw in some larger Tournaments perhaps, Top 30? Go girl...

We'll have to follow her doubles progress now too. She is playing in Melbourne with Yayuk Basuki......I LOVE IT!!!! Pulled a tough opening round against Ruano-Pascual/Mirza, but I think the old ladies can do it.

And yes Virginia, there are women on tour older than you.

Kimiko lost a 3 setter to Kuznetsova today.
She had entered the Top 50 going into the Open... Go girl...

Kimiko turned 40 this week.

In Tokyo, she beat Sharapova and Hantuchova.

Schiavone defeated her today.

That she is 40, and as fit as she is, playing as well as she is, can be inspirational to everyone everywhere. It's a sad statement on the WTA today, though. If a 40 year old woman can come back after a decade away from the game - knock out Sharapova, a winner of 3 Majors, and push another Major champion in Kuznetsova to the brink, it doesn't say a lot for those younger women. Small wonder then that Serena can still dominate everyone at her best. And if Kimiko can push these young women around like that, we can figure Serena might have quite a few more years to do the same since she has so much more game to begin with.

I have to wonder if it's the mental more than the physical with many of the young players, and the physical more than the mental with a smaller number of others.

The Ivanovic's, the Dementieva's, the Jankovic's, the Safina's, the Vaidisova's, the Chakvetadze's, Szavay's, Safarova's, Paszek's of the tour, just seem to be mentally weak. Yes, they've had their share of physical ailments, but even when fit, have been such head cases. Ivanovic was lucky to get her slam, and while the Kuz has her slams, I still think her problem's been more mental than physical.

On the flip side, you have the Sharapova's, who have the fight and mind of a champion, but a body that won't hold up.

It seems this generation doesn't have the combination of the two that the previous generations had. I think Chris, Martina, and Hana Mandlikova had both the minds and the bodies, but in fairness, didn't have the Big Babe grind to deal with. I think Venus and Serena were wise enough to limit their schedules over the years so their bodies would hold up, no one would question their minds. Lindsay and Jenny always had minds of champions, their bodies eventually caught up. And Steffi and Monica had both, too, obviously. While Big Babe absolutely took a toll on all these players I've listed, at one time or another, it just seems to me that the current generation (excluding Kim and the aging Serena and Venus) are just plain mentally weak.

For those who are interested -

Kimiko Date Krumm made history on Friday, becoming the first 40-something in Sony Ericsson WTA Tour history to beat a Top 10 player, stunning No.8-ranked Sam Stosur in the quarterfinals of the HP Open, 57 63 76(4).

Date Krumm, seeded No.6 at the International-level event, lost the first set but began mounting her comeback in the second set. She brought up her first match point leading 5-4 third set, but would eventually close the No.1 seed and defending champion out on her second match point in the breaker.

Back in May, Date Krumm became the oldest woman ever to beat a Top 10 player with a French Open win over Dinara Safina at the age of 39 years, seven months and 26 days; at 40 years and 17 days, she broke her own record.

Go Girl!!!

I do kind of love how this thread is periodically revived, as Kimiko continues to turn in the occasional eye-catching result that shows her comeback wasn't nearly as quixotic as it may have seemed the other year. Outlasting the supremely fit Stosur in a third-set tiebreaker shows just what good shape she remains in even as she enters her forties. But what particularly pleased me was that earlier in the week she bested talented junior Brit Laura Robson, who at 16 is 24 years her junior. That has to be near the top in records for age gap in a match in which the elder player won.

It also tickles me that her win over Sharapova and now Stosur came on home soil each time (just like her title last year came in neighbouring Korea). It's not only that it makes clear that she draws well upon home support, but it makes these achievements more visible back home than if they were in some far-flung challenger event in Eastern Europe or some such. It's probably asking too much to expect her to win the Osaka title now, with Top 20 stalwarts Peer and Bartoli in her way, but it's not exactly impossible either. What I would really like is if her fellow Asian veteran Tammy Tanasugarn pulled her own upset in the other semi to meet her in the final.

And since I have to mention this whenever I discuss Date Krumm, Mr Krumm is pretty hot.

They have trimmed the number of competitors from 12 to a field of 8 ----
Kimiko and Hantuchova were extended wildcards and accepted....Solid Group ----


ST. PETERSBURG, FL, USA - The field has been set for the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions, an annual season-ending event for the WTA's top International tournament winners to be held in Bali, Indonesia from November 4 to 7. Li Na, Aravane Rezai, Yanina Wickmayer, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Ana Ivanovic and Alisa Kleybanova have qualified, while Daniela Hantuchova and Kimiko Date Krumm have accepted wildcards.

The Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions features established and next generation stars competing for a share of $600,000 in prize money. The six highest-ranked players who have won an International tournament during the 2010 season and who did not qualify for the WTA Championships in Doha qualify for the event. It is the championships for the International events.

"Players and fans are excited about the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions in beautiful Bali," said Stacey Allaster, Chairman and CEO of the WTA. "With the field featuring some of the sport's leading players and next generation stars, a great week of tennis and fierce competition is guaranteed."

For more on the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions and the winners of this year's International tournaments, click here.

Kimiko took out #1 Seeded Na Li in a 3 set match today 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. She advances to the Semi Finals to face Ivanovic who blasted Pavlyuchenkova 6-0, 6-1.

Kimiko fell to eventual champion Ivanovic in the Bali semis, but picked up enough points to finish the year in the Top 50. Her ranking, like her age, is now in the 40s.