Competing as a mother, and making a comeback to tennis, are two things not uncommon in professional tennis.
But Caroline Wozniacki has taken this scenario to another level with her comeback announcement on Thursday.
The former world No.1 and Australian Open champion surprised the sporting world with the news, revealed in a first-person piece published in Vogue.
Wozniacki is soon to turn 33 and has two children. She has not played in more than three years; her last official match was a third-round loss to Ons Jabeur at Australian Open 2020.
She will return to the sport during the North American hard-court season in Montreal, before her Grand Slam comeback at the US Open. Tournament organisers have already announced Wozniacki will receive a main-draw wildcard to compete at Flushing Meadows.
Then she has Australian Open 2024, and the Paris 2024 Olympics, in her sights.
Several prominent women’s tennis stars have in recent seasons become mothers.
There was Victoria Azarenka and Serena Williams in 2016 and 2017 respectively, and since then, Elina Svitolina, Angelique Kerber and Naomi Osaka have followed suit.
But there was always the assumption these players would return to tennis following childbirth. And that was always with one child, not two.
Wozniacki – much like the recently-retired Maria Sharapova and Ash Barty – became pregnant after ending her career. There was no indication she was planning a comeback.
The Vogue piece confirmed this belief, with introductory paragraphs explaining: “When Caroline Wozniacki retired from tennis in 2020 … she wasn't ‘taking a break’ or considering her options: She was done.”
And this made sense, given Wozniacki had already achieved long-held professional goals to become world No.1 and win a Grand Slam title.
She achieved the first in October 2010, and held the No.1 ranking for every week in 2011.
She surrendered it after falling in the quarterfinals of Australian Open 2012, and dropped out of the top 10 later that season. But she worked her way back, reaching the 2014 US Open final and winning the WTA Finals in 2017.
At Australian Open 2018, Wozniacki achieved the second goal – her first Grand Slam singles trophy.
She did so after winning a colossal, three-set final over Simona Halep. And that victory saw her reclaim the world No.1 ranking exactly six years after she lost it – the longest span between stints at No.1 in tennis history.
In subsequent years, Wozniacki developed rheumatoid arthritis. The battle to manage this, while simultaneously competing at the top level, ground her down.
And so she ended her career at AO 2020.
“In the third round there, I lost in three sets to Ons Jabeur, and everyone in the stadium sang ‘Sweet Caroline.’ It was emotional. It was bittersweet,” Wozniacki recalled.
“But at the same time, I knew it was the right thing for me.”
In the intervening years, she and husband David Lee – a former NBA player – travelled, went hiking, and retreated during the COVID pandemic.
She gave birth to daughter Olivia in June 2021; last October, along came her second child, James.
But she started hitting again – and hitting well – and thoughts of a comeback materialised. In the last week of 2022, she floated the idea to her husband, who replied: “You only live once.”
So, what exactly is motivating Wozniacki now?
The Dane knows it’s now or never, saying a professional tennis career “will be too late” in a few years’ time when her children begin school.
She feels physically reinvigorated, and mentally fresh, determined to put less pressure on herself and enjoy the experience.
Perhaps most significantly, Wozniacki wants to prove – to herself, and other women – that they can have a family while achieving professional success at the same time.
So, how might she fare?
Wozniacki cited the examples of Williams, Azarenka and Kim Clijsters, who all returned to the sport as mothers and reached major finals.
Clijsters, incredibly, won three Grand Slam titles in this second phase of her career. The first of those came at the US Open in 2009, against Wozniacki.
Wozniacki has always been extremely fit – she famously ran the 2014 New York City Marathon in under three-and-a-half hours, just two months after reaching the US Open final – and there have been clues, through her social media posts, that she has remained so.
“I’m not going to make any bold predictions,” Wozniacki wrote of her prospects.
“But 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.
“Am I nervous? Not really. I’m coming back to something I love. Yes, I’ll be nervous before a match; I’m okay with that. I’m great with that.
“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.”