SANTA MARGHERITA DI PULA, Italy - Less than a month after capturing the biggest title of her career before a rapturous home crowd last April, disaster struck Laura Siegemund.

The swashbuckling German, fresh off victory at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stüttgart, had to be stretchered off court in Nuremberg in May after suffering a torn cruciate ligament in her knee - an injury that kept Siegemund, then ranked just five spots off her career high at No.32, on the sidelines for ten months.

Read more: Siegemund aiming for spring comeback

This week, now ranked No.72, Siegemund returned to action as the top seed in the ITF $25,000 event in Santa Margherita di Pula, Italy - and kicked off her comeback with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Croatian qualifier Tena Lukas, the World No.318. Another qualifier, Georgia's Ekaterine Gorgodze, awaits in the second round.

Siegemund isn't the only WTA player making a comeback in the Sardinian seaside town. Four-and-a-half months after giving birth to daughter Emma, Mandy Minella scored the best win in the three tournaments since her return, defeating World No.167 Irina Bara, the No.3 seed, 6-2, 6-4.

Read more: Minella joins Serena as a 2017 mom

In an interview with the BBC this month, the former World No.66 has said that her quick return was down to her determination to play again. "I was... concerned that if I waited too long, I would never properly come back," said the 32-year-old.

Now ranked No.277, Minella also discussed the difficulty of getting back into playing shape following childbirth - the first time she trained again, "it felt as though no muscles or nerves were reacting in my hand or my arm" - but also the calming benefits of having her daughter on tour with her.

"I think about Emma all the time when I'm playing, but I like it because it is relaxing," admitted the Luxembourger. "I'm more calm on court now, my expectations are still high but I'm not so nervous about results anymore."

Also returning this week from a six-month hiatus is former World No.60 Zheng Saisai. The Chinese player has scored two three-set victories to make the quarterfinals of the ITF $60,000 event in Shenzhen, defeating compatriot Liu Fangzhou for the fourth time in as many meetings 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 in the first round and Deborah Chiesa 7-6(2), 1-6, 6-3 in the second round. Zheng will now face recent Budapest semifinalist Viktoria Kuzmova.