Navratilova to play doubles at Eastbourne

Nine-time Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova will briefly come out of retirement to partner Mariaan de Swardt in the doubles competition at the Eastbourne grasscourt championship in June.

Organisers said today that the pair had been handed a wild card for the June 19-24 event which is immediately before Wimbledon.

Navratilova, 43, won 10 singles titles at Eastbourne and six successive doubles titles with Pam Shriver between 1981 and 1986. It's her first return to the tournament for six years.

De Swardt, 29, won the Eastbourne doubles title with Jana Novotna in 1998.