T

he big buzz at the Australian Open is about the return of Belgian comeback queen Justine Henin to Grand Slam play. But Yayuk Basuki will also be back at Flinders Park at the age of 39 and for the first time since 1999 after she and Kimiko Date-Krumm received a wildcard into the main draw.

The former national number one only got the good news on Friday night when her Japanese partner, also aged 39, SMS-ed her. She joked on her Facebook page that the duo's combined age is almost 80.

"I'm very happy, it's special," Yayuk said Saturday evening as she prepared to leave for Melbourne. "Kimiko had been asking for it and we were waiting to hear the news. It's an opportunity for us and hopefully we can get some good points."

She is currently world ranked 161 in doubles but has career-high singles and doubles rankings of 19 and 9 in 1997 and 1998 respectively.

She said experience and tactical play can help overcome the powerful hitting of today's young players even if the pair is one of the oldest to ever compete at a Grand Slam.

"Of course, we both are still strong, we still have power when we need it, and we also know how to play doubles well," said the mother of one.

"A lot of the women today don't know how to play doubles, it's like two singles players on the court together. And the most important thing is that we communicate well with each other."

The two women were friends during their first time on the WTA Tour in the early and mid-1990s, Yayuk said, and remained in contact during retirement and when they returned to competitive play in 2008. They teamed up to reach the semifinals of the Toyota Cup in Tokyo last November, where Date-Krumm also won the singles title.

Yayuk said she is recovering from the ankle injury suffered during the Tokyo tournament, and had a pain-killing injection earlier this week.

She is looking forward to continue playing with Date-Krumm, ranked 131 in doubles, for the rest of the year.

"We have fun playing together, and we talked about the opportunities to play together, and Kimiko said about playing together this year. I've told her I've got no other plans, so we'll see how we do in Australia, and then the tournaments in Pattaya and Malaysia."

Where and when they play will depend also on Date-Krumm's singles commitments, Yayuk said.

The Japanese, who first retired in 1996, has jumped to a ranking of 64 in the world from 101 at the end of 2009.

"Of course, it would be something to play Wimbledon, it's still the most important Grand Slam," said Yayuk, who reached her only Grand Slam quarterfinal at the All England Championships in 1997.

After retiring in 2001, Yayuk continued to play occasionally in local level tournaments and coached several juniors.

She also was a tournament organizer, TV commentator and an adviser to then sports and youth minister Adhyaksa Dault.

However, she told The Jakarta Post WEEKENDER in December 2008 that she often thought about whether she could still compete in today's game.