Morariu returns after leukaemia battle

Corina Morariu barely reached the shoulders of her 6ft 2in partners when winning her two Grand Slam titles, the Wimbledon women's doubles with Lindsay Davenport in 1999 and the Australian Open mixed doubles with Ellis Ferreira in 2001. But nobody in sport was bigger than Corina Morariu yesterday.

The 25-year-old from Detroit, who is in remission from leukaemia, was a guest on ABC's Good Morning America and CNN Live and expressed her feelings of delight to the international tennis media after confirming that she would make her comeback in a WTA tournament in Carlsbad, San Diego, California, next week.

Morariu has been given a wild card entry into the doubles at the Acura Classic, and is due to partner Kimberly Po-Messerli, an American compatriot with whom she won the women's doubles title in Oklahoma City in February 2000. In April 2000 Morariu became the world's No 1 women's doubles player.

In May 2001, four months after winning the Australian Open mixed doubles with Ellis Ferreira, of South Africa, Morariu was diagnosed with acute promyelocitic leukaemia (a rapidly progressing type of the disease which affects the production of white blood cells) and underwent intensive chemotherapy. The seriousness of her condition was obvious, particularly to her family. Her parents, Albin and Rodica, both of Romanian origin, are physicians, as is her bother, Mircea. Albin Morariu was the late Tim Gullikson's neurologist. Gullikson, Pete Sampras's former coach, died of brain cancer in 1996.

Morariu married her coach, Andrew Turcinovich, in November 1999. Mary Joe Fernandez, Lisa Raymond and Kristina Kunce were bridesmaids. Morariu's fellow competitors on the WTA Tour, knowing she continued to follow tennis on television in hospital, made a point of sending get-well messages during post-match interviews.

As soon as Morariu was able, she began to train again, showing the determination that had marked her success as a doubles player. Ferreira can testify to the extent of that. After their 6-1, 6-3 victory against Joshua Eagle and Barbara Schett at the Australian Open, Morariu looked towards her partner and said, only half-joking: "He doesn't have a good reputation for putting in 100 per cent effort in mixed [doubles], so I wanted to make sure that he did this time."

Welcoming the battler back to the courts, Raquel Giscafri, a former player and co-founder of Promotion Sports, owners of the Carlsbad tournament, said: "Corina is one of the most popular and best-loved players on the tour. Her courage and perseverance are an inspiration to her many friends and fans. We're thrilled that she has made such a great recovery and we're delighted to be able to give her the opportunity to compete once again."

Morariu won the doubles championship in Carlsbad with Davenport in 1999. Whatever happens next week, she has undoubtedly earned her latest title: international sports ambassador for the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Society.