THE SCOOP: SUNDAY, FEBRUARY, 16

Capriati training to return to the tour
Hingis enjoying retirement; Is Serena changing clothing companies?

By Sandra Harwitt
tennisreporters.net

Siggi Bucher

Word from the Saddlebrook Resort where Jennifer Capriati lives on the west coast of Florida, is that she is on the court and training hard for a return to action.

Nevertheless, Saddlebrook bigwig Kevin O'Connor reports that Capriati still isn't quite 100% healed from the surgery she had last fall to remove pterygiums from both eyes. O'Connor said that when she practiced on Wednesday she did so with sunglasses because her eyes are still rather sensitive to the sunlight.

O'Connor also revealed that Capriati is keeping her off-court fitness training in high gear and her current favorite activity is Tybo, so watch your step if you happen to be in reach of the former world No. 1 … she probably packs a good kick.

According to O'Connor, the remainder of the year is shaping up just fine for Capriati, who should easily rebound from her first-round upset at the Australian Open last month. He understands that Capriati is planning on playing the Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells, Calif., which is not usually on her schedule, as well as the upcoming NASDAQ-100 Open at Miami.

"If Jennifer gets aggressive and back on track, we'll see what happens," O'Connor said. "She doesn't have any more big points to defend for the year so all she can do is gain ground. The truth is if you're ranked two, four or eight it doesn't really make a difference because you're usually playing the same mix of people from the quarters and beyond. If you're pushed out of the top eight than it can get dicey."

Hingis enjoying retirement
Now that Martina Hingis has seemingly decided to call it quits, tennisreporters.net decided to check up on how handling retirement. O'Connor, who has spent a great deal of time with Hingis when she's in residence at her Saddlebrook home, strongly believes that "she's enjoying where she is at." He said that it was no secret that Hingis was still having real problems with her feet and that he anticipates that she's likely to stay off the tour.

Nevertheless, he doesn't avoid thinking about the possibilities if Hingis did eventually change her mind and come back to the game.

"If she could come back, she'll have a protective ranking because theoretically, she's on a medical leave," O'Connor said. "That protective ranking would put her into the top 10. That would be an interesting scenario since the points she has to defend are frozen."

While Hingis is spending most of her time back in Switzerland, going to college where she's studying English and other subjects, O'Connor believes she will keep her Saddlebrook digs. "This is her house, her retreat, when she wants to get away for a while," he added.

Is Serena changing clothing companies?
Word has been going around for quite a few months now that Puma cannot afford the price figure that world No. 1 Serena Williams wants to stay with the clothing company. Are the creators of the "cat suit" and other Serena sensations on the way out? Well, let's just say that we shouldn't be surprised if we see Serena donning the Nike swoosh in the near future.

And don't be surprised if you find Serena on the arm of recently divorced Tampa Bay Buccaneer wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson. Miami Herald tennis writer Michelle Kaufman reported in her column this week that Serena rushed back from winning the Australian Open title to be squired around post-Super Bowl parties by Johnson, whose team captured a first Super Bowl trophy for the Tampa football team. Other reports say that Johnson sent Serena 20 bouquets of a dozen roses while she was in Melbourne.

This would not be the first football player on Serena's dating roster. In the past she was linked to LeVar Arrington of the Washington Redskins.