Australian Open champion and former world number one Caroline Wozniacki has announced that she will make a return to competitive tennis this summer, over three years after initially calling it quits.
The 32-year-old retired in early 2020 after losing her Australian Open third-round contest to Ons Jabeur, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd as she bid an emotional farewell.
Since first bringing the curtain down on her illustrious career, Wozniacki has become a mother to two children with former NBA player David Lee, giving birth to daughter Olivia in June 2021 and son James in October 2022.
The latter stages of the Dane's career were also hampered by a rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis in late 2018 - nine months after she won her maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.
However, Wozniacki - who also spent 18 weeks as world number one between October 2010 and February 2011 - has revealed to Vogue that she plans to make her comeback at the Canadian Open before returning to Grand Slam territory at the US Open.
Wozniacki is also hopeful of turning out at the 2024 Australian Open and Paris Olympics, having found a new enjoyment to her training after resuming practice following the birth of her son.
"I didn't hit a tennis ball until after James was born, more than two years after my last match. It's hard to say why, or what changed, but when my dad saw me practice that day, and said, "It looks like you're enjoying it more"—that was exactly how I felt: I was relaxed and having fun, and somehow that let me see everything more clearly," Wozniacki said.
Over these past three years away from the game I got to make up for lost time with my family, I became a mother and now have two beautiful children I am so grateful for. But I still have goals I want to accomplish. I want to show my kids that you can pursue your dreams no matter... pic.twitter.com/OQatFWxQGK
— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) June 29, 2023
"So I'm going to play the US Open. There's just an electric atmosphere in New York that I can't get enough of, and I've played so well there for years and years.
"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.
"How long will I be able to play at my highest level—a year, two years, three years? I don't know. But I know that five years from now, when the kids are in school, it will be too late.
"I'm not going to make any bold predictions—but if I didn't believe in myself, I wouldn't be doing this: I'm too competitive to just show up and not feel like I'm going to be one of the best players out there.
"Of course, with my RA, I've been paying careful attention to how my body is reacting. And, honestly? So far, so good. The long break seems to have done wonders in terms of recovery, and mentally, I'm fresh. I'm not putting as much pressure on myself, but at the same time I know when I'm out there, I'm going to be fighting.
"Am I nervous? Not really. I'm coming back to something I love. Yes, I'll be nervous before a match; I'm okay with that. I'm great with that. Can I win the US Open? I think so. Can I win the Australian Open? I think so. That's why I'm doing this. And I guess we'll see what happens."
The 2018 Australian Open was one of 30 WTA Tour singles titles Wozniacki won from 55 finals, having also come out on top in the 2017 WTA Finals and winning her most recent crown at the 2018 China Open, while she also claimed two doubles titles.
The Dane reached the final of the US Open in 2009 and 2014 - losing to Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams respectively - and she partnered with the latter during their run to the 2020 Auckland Open doubles final.
