Graf Will Make a Cameo in Team Tennis

Steffi Graf will be back on the tennis court again in public view.

Briefly.

If you blink, you could very well miss her “season” for Houston of World Team Tennis. It was announced Tuesday that Graf had been selected by Houston. Her season apparently will consist of one appearance in July.

Graf, 35, retired from pro tennis in 1999. She played an exhibition in September against Gabriela Sabatini in Berlin. Graf’s husband, Andre Agassi, said that she played almost every day during the Indian Wells tournament this month with Agassi or his coach, Darren Cahill, or Cahill’s wife.

“She’ll go hit balls,” Agassi said. “Still has better footwork than me and better legs.”

Apparently his efforts to persuade her to play mixed doubles with him have been futile.

“She has a very quiet way of communicating,” Agassi said. “She says a lot without saying much at all.”

Agassi, who has played Team Tennis, was not listed among the players in Tuesday’s “draft.” Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova will be returning to play for the Newport Beach team. Former No. 1 Martina Hingis will be playing for New York, and Boris Becker (Hartford) and Patrick Rafter (Philadelphia) are among the other former Grand Slam champions signing on with the league. The season runs from July 4 to July 24.