Caroline Wozniacki has revealed she has taken inspiration and advice from Serena Williams before making her US Open comeback as a mum.
And the Great Dane revealed her two-year-old daughter now wants to follow her into the sport. The former world No.1 retired in January 2020 after suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and has since given birth to two children.
Wozniacki, now 33, announced her return earlier this summer and has played in Montreal and Cincinnati before preparing to play in New York for the first time since 2019.
Her close friend Williams made her farewell here last year after becoming a mother in 2017. And Wozniacki said: “I obviously had this conversation with Serena quite a while back. She’s supporting me whatever I do. She thought that it was really cool that I’m coming back.
“But everyone is just so different. Elia Svitolina, how she does it. How Serena did it. How I’m doing it. We’re all different people. I think it’s so cool that you choose your own path.
“Most of all I’m just proud that we are quite a few mums on tour that have paved the way I think for the future generation that it’s possible to take a break, have a family, then come back. The women have shown that you can still play at a very, very high level.”
The 2018 Australian Open champion, who is married to former NBA star David Lee, also has her two-year-old daughter Olivia and eight-month-old son James with her in New York.
“We were there basically in the hotel room until lunch because she wouldn’t stop playing tennis,” she smiled.
“This morning before I went on site as well, she said: ‘Mummy, mummy, can I go with you to work? I want to be like you. I want to play tennis’.
“Those are cute things. I said: ‘We can play tennis in the afternoon. I already know what my plans are this afternoon: getting my reps in!’
Wozniacki said she did not touch a tennis racquet for “a very long time” but revealed: “I started just missing the cardio aspect.
I’ll always love the game, no matter if I’m 33 or if I’m going to be 80. I’ll always appreciate the game and everything that it’s given me.
It just happened to be that I felt like I was hitting the ball extremely well, that I am still young enough to give it another shot. You only live once, so why not?”
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Asked how long her return will last, the wildcard said: “I can’t predict the future. I don’t know what’s going to happen in a year. But to be here now, “another time” I guess is a better word, it’s great.
“I don’t know how long I’m going to play for. I don’t know if it’s going to be a year, two years, three years. I can’t predict the future.
I also realise that I’m not that young anymore. I’m 33. Obviously you have Venus (43) still playing. She’s older than me. You have older players. At the same time I think what I’ve learned most is that you can’t predict the future.
“I’m just enjoying being here in the moment. I hope for a great tournament. I’m definitely planning on playing a lot more next year, playing more of a full schedule.”
Wozniacki was a commentator for US network ESPN at Wimbledon.
“I think being from the outside, seeing it for a little while, really getting all the stats on everyone, I think it’s just again a different perspective, which I think I can use to my advantage,” she said.
Asked about her rheumatoid arthritis, she said: “I still have my RA. It’s still something that I have to live with for the rest of my life. Obviously when I wasn’t playing, it was much easier to manage.”
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