7-5, 7-6 (7/5). In 2 h 8 intense, Caroline Wozniacki lit up the New York night. The unexpected star dominated the Czech Petra Kvitova (seeded n ° 11) to climb to the 3rd round of the US Open. Forced to pinch herself to believe it, she summed up: “To be here on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court, at night, in a packed stadium, it’s a dream come true. If you had asked me the question three years ago, I would have said that I would never return to play on this court. But to be back and beating No. 11 in the world is very, very special…”
At the beginning of August in Montreal, Caroline Wozniacki (33 years old; 623rd in the world) had returned to competition. Excited, impatient to dive without bearings into a crazy adventure three years after retiring. With, to start, a victory full of promise against the modest Australian Kimberly Birrell. She then took her place in the table of the US Open with only 3 matches in her pocket (and only 1 victory). In New York, where she was a finalist in 2009 and 2014 (semi-finalist in 2010, 2011 and 2016), the former world No. 1 (for 71 weeks), taking advantage of an invitation, advanced with the strength of envy, the pursuit of pleasure, without the burden of the obligation of result or the fear of points to defend: “I have nothing to lose. I have already accomplished so much in my career and ticked off just about every goal I set for myself. But I’m here because I love competition. I love sports, and I feel like I still have a lot to give to the sport. And doing it with my family makes it even more fun. »
Flashback. In 2020, the Dane had decided to turn the page. She had learned that she had rheumatoid arthritis and explained that she wanted “to do other things. “She had played a last Australian Open (eliminated in the 3rd round by Ons Jabeur), had let a few tears flow in Melbourne (where she had won her only Grand Slam title in 2018) then had changed her life, had enrolled at Harvard Business School, was married to David Lee, former NBA player (New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors), with a bridesmaid named Serena Williams. And had given birth to two children were born, Olivia and James.
Tennis, which seemed far from Caroline Wozniacki’s life, gradually returned to infuse her thoughts. Before pushing her to resume training. And having fun with it. In June, on X, she wrote: “I was able to make up for lost time with my family but there are still goals that I want to achieve. I want to show my kids that you can chase your dreams, no matter your age or role. »
Before explaining: “I will always love this sport, whether I am 33 or 80 years old. I happened to feel like I was hitting the ball very well and was still young enough to try my luck again. You only live once, so why not? When you feel like you still have a chance to do something really cool and really good, then you have to take that chance. You never know if you don’t try. »
The Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, quarter-finalist at Roland-Garros, then semi-finalist at Wimbledon in recent months, Serena Williams or Kim Clijsters (who won the US Open 2009 after… a two-year break to give birth to the first of her three children) have shown in recent years that a player who has become a mother can find her place on the circuit with ambition.
In the 3rd round, Caroline Wozniacki has an appointment with the American Jennifer Brady (368th) who is also trying to come back to the fore. Caroline Wozniacki is back. Holger Rune has already indicated that he would like to compete with her in the mixed doubles event at the Paris Olympics…
