Three years after retiring from professional tennis and now a mother of two, Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki announced on Thursday that she wants to return to the sport that propelled her to No. 1 in the WTA rankings.
She will play her first game during the National Bank Open in Montreal, which takes place from August 5th to 13th. Wozniacki will also be in action at the US Open in September.
In a letter published on website vogue.com on Thursday, the Dane pointed out that the trigger came during a trip to the beach between Christmas and New Year, a few weeks after the birth of her second child.
“To live a life”
Her husband, former NBA player David Lee, suggested she return to the game, arguing that “we only have one life to live.”
“During those three years without football, I was able to reclaim the time I had spent away from my family,” she also explained. I became a mother, have two beautiful children and I am very grateful for that.”
“But I still have goals that I want to achieve. I want to show my kids that they too can achieve their goals, regardless of their age or role.”
In the last three years without football I have been able to make up for lost time with my family, have become a mother and now have two wonderful children for whom I am so grateful. But I still have goals that I want to achieve. I want to show my kids that you can make your dreams come true, no matter… pic.twitter.com/OQatFWxQGK
— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) June 29, 2023
A year? 2 years? 3 years?
Wozniacki, 2018 Australian Open winner, doesn’t know how long she will stay on the track.
“Will I be able to perform at my peak for a long time? A year? Two three? “I don’t know, but I can say that in five years, when the kids go to school, it will be too late,” she clarified. I won’t make arbitrary predictions, but if I didn’t believe in myself, I wouldn’t do any of this. I’m too competitive to come out on the field and not count myself among the best there.”
“But I’m getting back to the game and I can’t wait!” she added.
One of the most dominant players of the last decade, Wozniacki won 30 WTA titles in her “first” career. The Dane was also number 1 in the world for 71 weeks.