Caroline Wozniacki has shockingly announced today that she will be returning to tennis in Montreal later this summer.
The former Australian Open champion hasn’t played tennis since 2020 where she played her last tournament at the Australian Open, losing to Ons Jabeur.
Since her initial retirement, Wozniacki has had two children and took on some of her own personal projects.
However in an essay with Vogue, Wozniacki has announced she will be returning in Montreal later this year.
The Dane revealed the idea started after she had her second child and cited a conversation with her husband and former NBA star David Lee at Christmas, “I didn’t hit a tennis ball until after James was born, more than two years after my last match,” Wozniacki told Vogue.
“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.
“A few weeks later, between Christmas and New Year’s, David and the children and my dad and my mom were on a beach. Olivia was running around, having a blast, and as I sat there looking out across the water, I just kind of blurted out to David:
“I’ve been hitting it well.”
“Yeah,” he said. “I’ve been watching.”
“Should I come back?” I asked, more rhetorically than anything.
“Honestly, why not?” David said, after a moment. “We only live once.”
“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. Also, David was a New York Knick for five seasons—we both love it there. 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.”
Wozniacki is a former world number one and will return as one of the more experienced players on the tour.
The Dane spoke about setting an example to her children and showing her kids that no obstacle can stand in the way of loving out your dreams, “I’ve talked with a lot of women who gave up on their own dreams because they wanted to be with their families, but somewhere deep down they have this yearning to do something they’re passionate about,” Wozniacki claimed.
“I want to show those women that maybe there’s a way. It’s certainly not easy to find the right balance—and I’m so lucky to have a supportive husband and supportive parents, and the help of a nanny—but I think it’s possible. 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.”
The Dane spent 71 weeks at world number one and was a winner of 30 career singles titles.
None of that would have happened without a bit of self-belief and Wozniacki ended her essay by saying that she believes she can win Grand Slam titles in her comeback, “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,” Wozniacki said.
“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. I think it’s a great story. I think it’s awesome.”
Wozniacki will make her return in Montreal when the tournament kicks off on the seventh of August before the US Open takes place on the 28th of August.