The "Santina" reunion, for one tournament only, kicks off on Friday. Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis will play the Chinese Taipei pair of Hao-ching Chan and Yung-jan Chan in their first doubles match of the WTA Finals in Singapore.
Sania and Hingis split up a earlier this season, after their roaring partnership went off course following the Australian Open. Having teamed up with different partners, the extremely popular pair are together again and ready to gun for glory once more.
"I think we just have to go positive into the tournament," Hingis said. "Every match will be a tough one. No round robin this year, it's a knockout, so you have to be 100 per cent from the start."
But then, how will Sania and Hingis, seeded second for this WTA Finals, be at a 100 per cent, considering they haven't played together for nearly three months? Sania is not too concerned. "We literally played five tournaments without each other," the Indian and women's world number one doubles player said. "It's not like we split in January and we're just coming back now.
"So I think it's pretty easy for us to find each other on court, so to say."
However, the Chinese Taipei pair will know that there will be some rustiness with the two players; and the fact that they decided to split up means there are more issues burning behind the scenes than just the struggles on court. So if Hao-ching and Yung-jan can take advantage of that, the Sania-Hingis reunion will end in just one match.
Having said that, though, if Sania and Hingis find anywhere close to the form that saw them win Grand Slam title after Grand Slam title, including Wimbledon in 2015, their opponents will find it difficult to stay with them.
Sania will again bank on her power from the back court while Hingis will use her technique and skills to manoeuvre and outfox the opponents at the net. The No.2 seeds will hope they get into their rhythm from point one and find their way into the semifinals, where they will play the winner of the match between Andrea Hlavackova/Lucie Hradecka and Ekaterina Makarova/Elena Vesnina.
Where to Watch Live
The Sania and Hingis match is scheduled for a 1.30pm local time (11am IST, 6.30am BST, 1.30am ET) start. Live coverage in India is on Ten 3 and Ten 1 HD (singles matches, the doubles might not be shown live). ESPN3 will broadcast the match live in the US, with the live streaming option on Watch ESPN.
International viewers, including India, can live stream the action on the WTA website and Tennis TV.
Get the live scores HERE