Caroline Wozniacki’s retirement U-turn delights tennis world: ‘Go and show them what a mommy can do!’
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.
Who is a lovely person and wants to represent Denmark in the 2024 Olympics?…”The USTA today announced that it will award former world No. 1 and two-time US Open women’s singles finalist Caroline Wozniacki a wild card into the women’s singles main draw of the 2023 US Open.”
— Jon Wertheim (@jon_wertheim) June 29, 2023
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.
No matter how Wozniacki's comeback goes (and no reason to think she can't be competitive), this could be a big boost for tennis in what is still a largely transitional era.
The more familiar names are competing, the more viewers will be tuning in.— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) June 29, 2023
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.
You've always been in spectacular physical shape, so for me a return to the top is realistic! Great news! 🥳🥳🥳
— Maciej Trąbski (@MTrabski) June 29, 2023
Caro, Very happy for you and for the sake of the game.
— ebergan (@EberganEpbjr) June 29, 2023
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.
Best of luck @CaroWozniacki
Go and show them what a mommy can do 👏👍🎉😉
PS : I always enjoyed so much our past battles and will so looking forward to commentate your matches now 😃— MARION BARTOLI (@bartoli_marion) June 29, 2023
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.
This is amazing news 🇩🇰 welcome back
— Holger Rune (@holgerrune2003) June 29, 2023
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.
Who wants to Denmark's best female player pair up with Denmark's best male player in Mixed Doubles? 😍#CarolineWozniacki #HolgerRune #Tennis pic.twitter.com/r4EvgENSj4
— Sportskeeda Tennis (@SK__Tennis) June 29, 2023
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.
Caroline Wozniacki is making her return to tennis!
She’s been awarded a US Open wild card. pic.twitter.com/RkFkK5kuZK— US Open Tennis (@usopen) June 29, 2023
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.