For a lot of us, Martina Hingis was the first real athlete that served us notice of the infusion of World-Class Athlete and Sex Object that could exist in the sports world. Hingis paved the way right through Centre Court for other sexy tennis stars like Anna Kournikova, Maria Sharapova, and that French chick with daddy issues. And after a two-year break, Hingis will return to action with a full season in World Team Tennis.

The five-time Grand Slam singles champion and youngest woman to be ranked No. 1 retired for the second time in 2007, when she was given a two-year suspension for testing positive for cocaine. Hingis denied taking the drug but did not appeal the ruling.

That ban ended Sept. 30, and the 29-year-old Hingis is eager to get the chance to play more tennis this year: She has committed to a full season of World TeamTennis, the coed league founded by Billie Jean King and heading into its 35th season. –Sporting News.

Hingis’ first comeback came in 2006, where she climbed back to No. 6 in the rankings after a four-year layoff. She’ll be available in a leaguewide draft on February 11th, whatever that means. Welcome back, Martina. Try not to snort the baseline on your second comeback. The gallery is after the jump. It was just too much sexy for the front page. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a recent outburst from John McEnroe during a recent World Team Tennis event. It’s such casual and conversational way of getting into someone’s face that it leaves me in stunned amusement. Chuck Adams, the dude in the blue, got suspended for crossing the net to engage in the argument.

During the men’s doubles match, a shot by Washington’s Leander Paes hit New York’s Robert Kendrick, prompting Adams and McEnroe to yell at Paes, the WTT said. The Sportimes were issued a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct by the chair umpire because Adams and McEnroe entered the opponent’s side of the court.

Four points later, Kendrick swatted a serve that hit Paes. via.

This is the closest thing tennis has to a bench-clearing brawl, so maybe we should be grateful for Adams’ suspension. McEnroe probably got a bonus for doing the exact same thing. Still doesn’t make me want to watch team tennis, though. Team freeze tag? Hey, where do I sign?