Cancer-battler Kleybanova returns to tour

Former world number 20 Alisa Kleybanova, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2011, will return to action at the Miami WTA tournament, the Russian player announced on Thursday. The 22-year-old was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphona in May last year and was forced to withdraw from the season's remaining tournaments to undergo treatment. But with her treatment judged to be a success, Kleybanova will resume her career on a wildcard into the main draw at Miami. "I finished my treatments in December and a couple of weeks ago I did my last tests in Italy. The treatments were successful, my doctors are happy with my health and I'm feeling great," Kleybanova wrote on her WTA blog. "I have started to train and right now I'm in Florida playing tennis again. It was physically really hard in the beginning, but it was so emotional that I didn't want to get off the court. "More than anything, I've missed the competition. For me tennis is not just going on the court and hitting the ball - it's testing yourself, seeing how good you are, trying new things, trying to improve, trying to win. "For me the best part of tennis is the competition and I'm really looking forward to my comeback." Before her illness, Kleybanova had collected two career singles titles and had risen to number 20 in the world.