F

ormer tennis ace Yayuk Basuki is trying out new doubles partners she bids to return to her former glory after years in retirement.

After reaching the finals at a recent tournament in Taipei, paired with American Riza Zalameda, Yayuk will next play with Angelique Widjaja at the Xpro Open tournament, which begins Sunday.

Angelique, a former junior Wimbledon champion, had recently hung up her racket and retired from the professional game.

Other players Yayuk will try out with include Kimiko Date-Krumm and Ayumi Morita of Japan, and Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand.

Yayuk will pair with Date-Krumm, who won the recent Korea Open in spectacular fashion at the age of 39 after 12 years in retirement, at the Nov. 23-29 Toyota Cup in Japan.

She will then play with Morita in Dubai in December, before teaming up with Tanasugarn in February at a tournament in Pattaya, Thailand.

"I now play with various players, like a rainbow," said Yayuk, who received the WTA Sportsmanship Award in 1996 and 1998. "I hope I can find the right partner soon."

Her comeback to professional play began from the simple wish that she wanted to regain her physical fitness and enjoy the game, she said.

The Taipei run has helped push her doubles ranking to 191 from 247 in the WTA rankings.

The 39-year-old is upbeat about her prospects. "If I can get a suitable partner, I'm optimistic that I can still be on a par against the younger players," she said.

Yayuk will need to get into the top 50 to be able to play in Grand Slam tournaments.

In her heyday, Yayuk's world ranking peaked at No. 19 in singles and No. 9 in doubles.

Her best Grand Slam performance was making the semifinals of the 1993 US Open, pairing with Nana Miyagi of Japan, and the quarterfinals of the 1997 Wimbledon in the singles.

"I feel I'm more appreciative now about what God has given me than during my younger days, when there was so much more pressure and boredom," Yayuk said.

She did not compete between 2002 and 2008, although she regularly went to the gym.

"Anyway, I have to be realistic that age doesn't lie," she said.