They beat Nicole Arendt and Manon Bollegraf 6-3, 6-2 in the first round of the $535,000 WTA Grand Prix on Monday, and announced themselves delighted that they had combined so well again so quickly.
"For our first match it was not bad," said Hingis.
"We played very well together before so we had no fear to go into it again. We know each other well and just had to find the feel again. Sometimes it freshens you up as a team when you haven't played for a while."
Neither Hingis or Kournikova harbored any regrets about their decision not to play in the Olympics. Kournikova spent a few days in Moscow, and then played in Luxembourg. Hingis relaxed and became a tourist in the Czech Republic.
"I was tired after the U.S. Open and needed that break," said Hingis.
"It was a very good decision not to play. I spent a few days in the Czech Republic and was like a tourist in Prague for a couple of days. I also went to some soccer games and saw Arsenal against Sparta, and back home I saw Chelsea."
In singles play, fifth seed Amanda Coetzer was the only seed in action on the opening day.
She breezed past Croatia's Silvija Talaja 6-4, 6-0, and Patty Schnyder of Switzerland defeated Romania's Ruxandra Dragomir 6-3, 6-4. In the only other match, Zimbabwe's Cara Black claimed a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Barbara Schett of Austria.
Black made a good start, breaking Schett to love in the opening game and then racing to a 5-2 lead. But she allowed the Austrian into the match and to level at 5-5. Black, though, reasserted herself and broke to lead 6-5 and then served out for the set.
In the second set, Black swept the first four games and this time stayed on top of her discouraged opponent.
"I was playing really well up until 5-2, but then I think I started hanging back a bit and didn't go for it as much as I had been," the 21-year old said.
"But I was happy with my groundstrokes today. They really felt solid. I think I could have got to the net a little more, but I was just feeling so good at the back. It was a good match to win confidence-wise because I'm a little tired now at the end of the year."