Caroline Wozniacki made a successful comeback to the WTA tour after her two-set win at the Canadian Open 2023 on Tuesday, August 8. Wozniacki was playing after three years and showed no sign of rust on her comeback. The former No. 1 defeated Australian Kimberly Birrell, 6-2, 6-2, as she gears up for the US Open 2023 which begins on August 28 in New York.
“I’m happy,” Wozniacki said. “A little tired. Just it was fun to be out there again playing on the centre court in front of a big crowd. I’m just thrilled that I could win my first match in 3 1/2 years.”
Wozniacki, the 2018 Australian Open champion, retired after a third-round loss at the 2020 Australian Open. She gave birth to two children and became a television commentator, her WTA playing days seemingly complete.
But Wozniacki announced in June she was making a comeback and received wildcard entries into Montreal and next week’s Cincinnati tournament as stepping-stones to the US Open, where she was runner-up in 2009 and 2014.
Before her retirement, Wozniacki won 30 titles and 635 career matches. She spent 71 weeks atop the rankings.
Now she has her first match victory as a mother, having given birth to son James and daughter Olivia in the 1,293 days since being ousted by Ons Jabeur at Melbourne in 2020.
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“That’s pretty crazy,” she said. “I was just looking at the clock actually. My kids are napping right now which is awesome. So I’m going to catch them after I do a little bit of treatment and food and stuff.
“That’s the good part of playing early. I still have the afternoon with them.”
“I was definitely a little rusty,” Wozniacki said.
“I’m just excited to be back and competing, and I think for me it’s so special having my family here,” Wozniacki said. “As a 33-year-old that has played on tour for many years, and doing it with my kids that now, especially the older one is starting to really understand and gets to really experience the world and different countries, I think it’s so cool.”
Lifting her comeback from practice courts to matches was a major step for Wozniacki.
“I didn’t really know what to expect,” Wozniacki said. “You have all these things in your head that this is how you’re supposed to be playing and you’re supposed to be doing this and that, but to be honest, I had no idea what I was going to come up with when I was out on the court because I just haven’t played a real match in so long.
“It was all about not getting down on myself if I made a mistake and not getting too excited when I hit a good shot. So it was just kind of evening out those emotions. I think everything taken into consideration, I’m very happy with how I played today and how I got through.”
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