Schnyder returns after five year break at Gstaad
Former Top 10 regular Patty Schnyder has no idea what she will face on her return to the WTA after five years away.
The Swiss 37-year-old mother of one plays on a wild card at the Ladies Championships in Gstaad this week.
Schnyder last figured at the elite level at the 2011 French Open, where she stepped away from the game after a first-round loss following months of poor results and frustration.
But after a few years out, the 11-time tournament winner whose past career comprised a mash-up of personal and coaching problems, said she had begun to feel the pangs of competition.
She eventually made the move to pick up 2015, virtually starting her career all over again at the Futures and Challenger levels.
She won minor titles in Prague and Bangkok last season and added Bastad last May.
"It's hard to tell what will happen," Schnyder said on a rainy Tuesday in the Alps with matches washed out.
"You can only judge once you've played the girls.
"It is hard to say what would be a good week here. If I play a great first match and my opponent plays a better one, well, would that be a good week?
"I just feel ready to try and win any match every time I step onto the court. it would be the same in any round."
It's all new to the 2004 Roland Garros semi-finalist in a locker room populated mainly by faces of youngsters whom she has never met and certainly has not played.
The field is headed by Serb Jelena Jankovic, who stands 3-3 with Schnyder.
Second is Swiss sweetheart Timea Bacsinszky, who reached the French Open final four in 2015 and whose image is holding the event together as it returns to the circuit after a three-decade absence.
Schnyder is due to test herself in the first round against Czech Katerina Sinakova, a 20-year-old ranked 93rd.
Schnyder believes she will be ready: "I played in the German league against Top 100 players, who were really physical.
"There are challenges everywhere, every week," Schnyder said.
"I'm not watching the rankings too much - most of these girls I don't even know. I'm just trying to feel good about my tennis.
"It's hard for me to say if things have changed so much behind the scenes, I've only been here for a few days."
Schnyder said that her decision in 2015 to make another run at her sport slowly grew on her. "It did not happen at any particular moment, I just wanted to play and compete again.
"I've always had that desire, that passion."