Caroline Wozniacki’s retirement U-turn delights tennis world: ‘Go and show them what a mommy can do!’

Caroline Wozniacki aims to join the esteemed list of women who have made successful comebacks in tennis after starting a family

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI (AP)

Former world No. 1 and grand slam champion, Caroline Wozniacki, has announced her return to professional tennis after retiring in January of 2020.

Wozniacki is aiming to make her comeback at the Canada Masters in Montreal, with her sights set on a successful return to the US Open, where she has reached the final twice before.

With the 2024 Olympics rapidly approaching, Wozniacki also hopes to seize the opportunity to represent her country one more time, with the world’s tennis media warmly welcoming Wozniacki back and noting the Paris Games playing a significant role in her plans.

In an interview with Vogue, Wozniacki shared her intentions and provided insights into what her return to the court might entail, “I’ll start out playing in Montreal just to get back into the groove, and then we’ll all head to New York. After that, I’ll have a couple of months to prepare for Australia, and we’ll take it from there. The Paris Olympics are definitely a goal too.”

The return of Wozniacki is significant at this point in time for women’s tennis, as the current tour is experiencing a shortage of prominent names compared to the previous decade.

Fans on Twitter enthusiastically expressed their excitement about Wozniacki’s return to the WTA and spoke of their belief in Wozniacki to reclaim her position at the top of the tennis world.

The 2013 Wimbledon champion, Marion Bartoli, expressed her support and reached out in the comments to ensure that Wozniacki understands how proud many mothers are of her return.

Fellow Dane, Holger Rune, currently ranked as the sixth men’s player in the world, took to Twitter to extend a warm welcome to Wozniacki upon her return.

Many fans are eagerly anticipating the possibility of Wozniacki and Rune playing mixed doubles together, and Rune only added fuel to these rumors by retweeting a post that asked who wanted to see the pair share the same court in the future.

The US Open announced via Twitter its intention to grant a wild card to the former world No. 1, Caroline Wozniacki, allowing her to compete at Flushing Meadows in August. This will mark her first return to Flushing Meadows since 2019.

Wozniacki originally retired due to her struggles with Rheumatoid Arthritis, a debilitating inflammatory disease that severely impacted her day-to-day life. The disease had a profound effect on her daily activities, and the constant documentation of her experiences with food and water along with the negative side-effects of the disease became overwhelming. As a result, she made the decision to retire, which she announced shortly before the Australian Open in 2020.

Women’s sports have witnessed numerous female athletes retiring to start families, and tennis is no exception to this trend. Wozniacki aims to join a growing list of women, including Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, and Kim Clijsters, who have demonstrated that it is indeed possible for a woman to have a family and make a successful comeback on the professional tour.

The WTA and tennis fans everywhere eagerly await Wozniacki’s return and hope to see her return to cracking form to which she believes can be a return to Grand Slam glory.