Maria Sharapova returns to a happy hunting ground to defend the star-studded Pan Pacific Open women's tennis tournament starting in Japan on Sunday.
Maria won her first WTA singles and doubles titles at the 2003 Japan Open in Tokyo, and earned her first professional title on the ITF Circuit series in Gunma, north of the capital, a year earlier.
The Russian has won four of her 22 WTA titles in Tokyo, including the Japan Open twice and the Pan Pacific Open in 2005 and 2009.
Last year, Sharapova put an end to a long lay-off caused by a shoulder injury by winning her first title since Amelia Island in April 2008, beating Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in the final.
The former world number one has slipped to 15th and will start her campaign from the first round against wild card entrant Kimiko Date Krumm of Japan, the winner in 1995.
