32-year-old former World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki has revealed her intention to return to professional tennis after more than three years away from the sport. The Dane explained her decision and thought process in a Vogue article, having ended her career after the 2020 Australian Open due to struggles with rheumatoid arthritis. Wozniacki’s first tournament back will be the WTA 1000 in Montreal on August 7 with a focus on the US Open, then taking a few months to prepare for the Australian Open before setting her sights on the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Time Off
After marrying former NBA player David Lee in 2019, the pair welcomed first their daughter Olivia in June 2021 and then their son James in October 2022. The pair also traveled extensively beforehand, through Australia, New Zealand, and even climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Wozniacki did not hit a tennis ball for more than two years until after her son was born, rediscovering her passion for the sport. The Dane says she felt she was hitting better than ever and after conversations with her father and husband, knew that she wanted to dive back into professional tennis.
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Comeback
What level Wozniacki comes back with is yet to be seen, but as she wrote for Vogue, she would not be coming back if she didn’t believe that she could compete with the very best. As for her rheumatoid arthritis, Wozniacki says that her body feels good, largely due to the extended break from professional sports. As fans, we can only hope that this continues and that Dane will not be held back by physical issues during this comeback. “I want to prove that to myself and to those women. You can have both: You can be thrilled with your family and with everything at home and still have a career– and be great at it.”
