Caroline Wozniacki has put in the hard yards ahead of her return to tennis, but she is not “stressing” or “worried” before finally stepping onto the court at the Canadian Open.
More than three years after “retiring” following her exit from the 2020 Australian Open, Wozniacki will make her comeback at the WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal on Tuesday when she takes on Kimberly Birrell of Australian in the first round.
Since announcing in June that she is to return to the Tour, the former world No 1 has been getting in a lot of practice sessions to make sure she is ready – even playing against fellow Dane and world No 6 Holger Rune.
Although she is ready for the big match, Wozniacki refuses to put too much pressure on herself.
“Tennis-wise, I feel like I’m doing great in practice and it’s going to be just fine when I’m out there,” the 2018 Australian Open champion said. “So I’m not stressing. I’m not worried. It’s just about getting more and more matches in and the more I play the better I’m going to play. I hope that I’m going to be at my peak for the US Open.
“Realistically when you haven’t been on tour and haven’t played a match in so long, no matter how much you practice, how many practice sets you’ve done, you can never replicate being on a match court.”
During the past 43 months on the sidelines, the 33-year-old became a mother of two as she gave birth to her daughter Olivia in June 2021 before her son James joined the family in October the following year.
Travelling with young children is never easy, but Wozniacki and her husband David Lee are enjoying the challenge.
“It’s not easy logistically with having children and travelling with them and doing all of that, but it’s so worth it,” she said
“Olivia has had a blast so far, these last four or five days we’ve been here. I’ve experienced more of Montreal in these last five days than I have in the many times I’ve been here before. So it’s exciting for me too.”
As a former world No 1 and a Grand Slam champion, Wozniacki has already achieved a lot in tennis and her return is not too much about goals, but more about her love for the sport.
“At this point in my career and a lot of the players’ careers that have been on tour for a long time, you know how to play your game,” she said.
“You know what you need to improve on or what you’re doing great. But at the end of the day, a lot of it is mental and in important moments you need to be able to step up and play your best and not fear failure. You’ve got to want to take your opportunity to take your chances.
“I’m here. I’ve got nothing to lose. I have already done so much in my career and basically ticked off most of the goals that I had set. But I’m here because I love to compete. I love the sport, and I feel like I still have a lot to give to the sport. And doing it with the family just makes it so much more enjoyable.”
