Former world number one Justine Henin has announced her intention to return to competitive tennis in 2010, having retired just 16 months ago.
The 27-year-old Belgian, who won 41 singles titles, including seven Grand Slams, sparked rumours of a comeback when she began training again recently.
Henin retired on 14 May 2008, saying she had lost her passion for tennis.
Her return follows the fairytale comeback of compatriot Kim Clijsters, who won the US Open earlier this month.
Clijsters returned to the sport after two-and-a-half years away, during which time she gave birth to a daughter, Jada.
After barely a month back on the tour, the 26-year-old former world number one beat both Venus and Serena Williams on her way to success at Flushing Meadows.
Henin had played down speculation of a comeback in May, saying that the sport had left her with so many physical ailments a return was unthinkable.
But since the revelation that she was back in training, she had refused to speculate on a possible return to the WTA Tour.
Following her retirement, Henin, who was ranked number one in the world when she quit, had been working as a goodwill ambassador for Unicef and opened her own tennis academy.
She won the French Open four times, the US Open twice, the Australian Open once and an Olympic gold in 2004.
Henin's relatively small stature - she is only 5ft 5ins tall - and elegant one-handed backhand made her stand out among her rivals.
Her last competitive match was a three-set defeat by current world number one Dinara Safina at the German Open on 8 May, 2008.
BBC SPORT | Tennis | Henin to return to tennis in 2010
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After Kim Clijsters' heroics at the US Open, this was almost inevitable! The Belgian split at it again.
It'll be very interesting to see if she's still got it; she was brilliant in her prime. Maybe she can knock that useless bint Safina off the number one spot.
The 27-year-old Belgian, who won 41 singles titles, including seven Grand Slams, sparked rumours of a comeback when she began training again recently.
Henin retired on 14 May 2008, saying she had lost her passion for tennis.
Her return follows the fairytale comeback of compatriot Kim Clijsters, who won the US Open earlier this month.
Clijsters returned to the sport after two-and-a-half years away, during which time she gave birth to a daughter, Jada.
After barely a month back on the tour, the 26-year-old former world number one beat both Venus and Serena Williams on her way to success at Flushing Meadows.
Henin had played down speculation of a comeback in May, saying that the sport had left her with so many physical ailments a return was unthinkable.
But since the revelation that she was back in training, she had refused to speculate on a possible return to the WTA Tour.
Following her retirement, Henin, who was ranked number one in the world when she quit, had been working as a goodwill ambassador for Unicef and opened her own tennis academy.
She won the French Open four times, the US Open twice, the Australian Open once and an Olympic gold in 2004.
Henin's relatively small stature - she is only 5ft 5ins tall - and elegant one-handed backhand made her stand out among her rivals.
Her last competitive match was a three-set defeat by current world number one Dinara Safina at the German Open on 8 May, 2008.
BBC SPORT | Tennis | Henin to return to tennis in 2010
************************
After Kim Clijsters' heroics at the US Open, this was almost inevitable! The Belgian split at it again.
It'll be very interesting to see if she's still got it; she was brilliant in her prime. Maybe she can knock that useless bint Safina off the number one spot.
