Caroline Wozniacki is back.
Wozniacki, who retired following the 2020 Australian Open, announced her intentions to return to tennis in an essay for Vogue on Thursday morning. The 32-year-old Dane will begin her comeback this summer in Montreal before playing the U.S. Open, and she is also eyeing the Australian Open and the Paris Olympics in 2024.
In her essay, Wozniacki reflected on hits with husband David Lee–also a former professional athlete in the NBA.
“‘I’ve been hitting it well,'” she said around Christmas of last year.
“‘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.”
Wozniacki peaked at No. 1 in the world, where she stayed for 71 weeks between 2010 and 2011. Her first Grand Slam title came at the Aussie Open in 2018. She had previously finished runner-up at the U.S. Open twice, in 2009 and 2014.
Does Wozniacki have another big run at a major left in her? She isn’t counting herself out.
“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.”
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I’m not sure what I think about it. Have to see her playing to believe it. If she can reach her level before the diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis, it sounds good. Maybe she is taking something that decreases or puts the flare-ups in remission. It’s not my specialty. I don’t know what remedies are out there at this point.