Miami: Venus Williams, granted a wildcard entry, made a triumphant return to the WTA Tour on Wednesday, winning her first round match at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.
The former world number one had not played a singles match since last year's US Open in New York when she revealed she had been diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome, an auto-immune disease that causes fatigue and joint soreness.
But the 31-year-old American was back on court on Wednesday, beating Japan's Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-0, 6-3 in an hour and 17 minutes.
"Just to be in this tournament is a huge win for me."
"Just being here is a win, I told myself going into this, this is a win. Just to train and get back at this level," Williams said.
Belgium's Kim Clijsters, another former number one on the comeback trail, overcame a slow start before beating Australia's Jarmila Gajdosova 4-6, 6-1, 6-0.
Clijsters had not played since she lost to eventual champion Victoria Azarenka in the Australian Open semi-finals when she injured her ankle.
"It's always tough to get that first match rhythm under your belt."
"One thing I can count on is I have the experience, though. It doesn't take me that long to get used to it again. But it has become tougher," Clijsters said.
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