Shikha Uberoi makes a comeback

Shikha Uberoi

Former India no.1 and top 100 doubles player Shikha Uberoi will be back to competitive tennis at an ITF event in Mumbai this week. She will be seen playing with Rishika Sunkara in the doubles competition. They will be opening against the wild-carded Indian duo of Vasanthi Shinde and Dhruthi Venugopal. They could face the second seeds in the quarterfinals. Shikha last played competitive tennis in 2011, after which she retired. She had made her intentions of returning to competitive tennis through a series of tweets many months ago. She is now 31 and playing her first competitive match after more than three years. It is not yet clear whether she has decided on a long-term comeback.

The major highlight of her career is a high ranking of no.122 in singles and 87 in doubles. She became the second ever woman to reach the second round of a Grand Slam at the 2004 US Open. She also has three WTA final appearances in doubles - two with sister Neha in 2005 and the final with Sania's new partner Hsieh Su-Wei in 2007. She has represented India at the Fed Cup and Asian Games and also won a medal at the 2006 Asian games.

How good can she be in her comeback is a question that will gradually be answered. With four more events lined up in the next four weeks, we could see how her comeback really pans out. If she is mulling a serious return to the game, it would also help in providing the selectors another choice when it comes to deciding Sania's doubles partner at major events. In the current scenario, where none of the young players seem to be making fast progress, her return could help women's tennis at major events.