Former world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki announces tennis comeback

Dane, who has won 30 singles titles including the 2018 Australian Open, retired from the sport in 2020

Caroline Wozniacki, who spent 71 weeks at top of world rankings, is returning to tennis after a three-year absence. AP

Former world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki is set to make a tennis comeback three years after retiring from the sport.

The Dane, who spent 71 weeks at top of world rankings and won 30 singles titles, announced her retirement before the 2020 Australian Open at the age of 29, saying she wanted to start a family with her husband, former NBA player David Lee.

She has since had a daughter Olivia and son James and on Thursday the 32-year-old announced she was making a comeback.

Wozniacki, who turns 33 in July, has not played an official match since losing to Ons Jabeur in the third round of the Australian Open in January 2020.

“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,” Wozniaki wrote on Twitter

“But I still have goals I want to accomplish. I want to show my kids that you can pursue your dreams no matter your age or role. We decided as a family it’s time. I’m coming back to play and I can’t wait!”

Wozniaki said in an interview with Vogue she wants to play at the Canadian Open in Montreal in August.

She has also targeted the US Open later that month, the Australian Open next January and then the Olympics in Paris next summer.

“Am I nervous? Not really,” she said. “I'm coming back to something I love.

“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.

“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.”

The United States Tennis Association later announced that Wozniacki, a two-time finalist at Flushing Meadows, had been awarded a wildcard for the Grand Slam that begins on August 28.

Caroline Wozniacki after winning the 2018 Australian Open. Reuters

“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 added.

The Dane, who turns 33 next month, said she was inspired by 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams after the American returned to the sport following the birth of her daughter Olympia.

“I think that Serena doesn't get nearly enough credit for getting to so many Grand Slam finals after having Olympia,” said Wozniaki, who won the Australian Open in 2018 and lost in the US Open final in both 2009 and 2014.

“Her retirement will always be bittersweet, both for me and for so many other players, because she's meant so much to women's tennis. She paved the way for so many of us, she showed us that anything is possible.”