Martina Hingis got off to a successful start in her comeback bid after three years away from the women’s tennis Tour.
Hingis recorded a 6-2 6-1 victory over Venezuela's Maria Vento-Kabchi in the first round of the Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts tournament today.
The 25-year-old left the circuit after the 2002 season because of nagging injuries to her left foot, ankle and heel.
She played one tour match in Pattaya City, Thailand last February, losing to Germany's Marlene Weingartner, and took part in World Team Tennis last summer.
The youngest woman ever to be ranked number one, Hingis had her best season in 1997 when she won the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open and was a finalist in the French Open at age 16.
The Swiss native has 40 career singles titles to her name, 36 in doubles and trails only Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova in career earnings with €18,344,660.