Caroline Wozniacki is one of the most famous names in women’s tennis. The Danish tennis star created history during her playing days by becoming the first Scandinavian women’s player to become the World No.1 in the WTA rankings. She remained at the top for an impressive 71 weeks between the years 2010 and 2011, despite the dominance of the likes of Serena Williams and Venus Williams. The pinnacle of her career was arguably the Australian Open 2018 win, as she beat Simona Halep in the final in what remains her only Grand Slam win till date.
However, Wozniacki retired from the game in 2020 in a bid to prioritize her personal life. Three years later, as she turns 33 in July, she has announced her comeback to the WTA Tour. The Dane, who has 30 WTA titles to her name, will be seen at the Canadian Open in Montreal with her first major target being the US Open Championships. In a recent blog with Vogue, Caroline Wozniacki made a bold claim that she sees herself winning the US Open and the Australian Open titles, while the Paris Olympics 2024 is not far away from her grasp too.
Will Caroline Wozniacki go the Bjorn Borg way?
Wozniacki has a firm belief that she can get back to her best fairly quickly and has given herself a good chance of fighting for the title in New York. Confidence, of course, is very much a factor in any player going all the way at any Major; however, fans are skeptical about her declaration, keeping the likes of Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina in mind.
Caroline Wozniacki will return to tennis in Montreal, where she won the title 13 years ago.
“Can I win the US Open? I think so. Can I win the Australian Open? I think so.”
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) June 29, 2023
Taking to Twitter, many tennis enthusiasts expressed their fair share of doubts, however. A comeback after the age of 30 has usually been tough for any player playing singles tennis, with Belgium’s Kim Clijsters being the only notable exception to this. Infamously, Bjorn Borg, the 11-time Men’s Singles Grand Slam champion, decided to return to the ATP Tour in 1991. However, he once again retired from the game in 1993 as he failed to win a single match across the 2 years, largely thanks to his wooden racquet, which was outdated by then.
Here are some public reactions to Caroline Wozniacki’s latest update –
Sabalenka and Rybakina will sent her back to Copenhagen
— Shakti (@supershakti) June 29, 2023
Well i don`t think so.
— Krypton Pro Betting (@kryptonprobett) June 29, 2023
Anything that gets her out of the commentator box. 🙉😓
— IIIIIIIIII (@JackStratiff) June 30, 2023
Wait she’s back? What? Someone fill me in 😂😂😭
— Matthew__Tabet (@tabet_matthew) June 29, 2023
I wish her all the best,but she can’t and she won’t
— Anna Zofia 💛💙 (@Anna_Niezgodzka) June 29, 2023
I don’t think so
— Carol Penny (@Carol_Ann_Penny) June 29, 2023
Had to do a double take to make sure this wasn’t the fake account, genuinely in shock rn
— Eric (@EJforseen) June 29, 2023
I don’t expect her to have much more success than Kim Clijsters did
— john kwiatkowski (@jfkwia) June 30, 2023
As much as I like her, I think this will be closer to a fiasco. Her playing style is a bit “outdated” compared to the top 20 ladies, who have much more agressive tennis now than when she managed to be no.1
— Wrath of Beethoven (@Elfo1976) June 30, 2023
71 weeks at number 1 and just could won ONE…
Win a GS now? Yeah, sure. 🙄— Nicolás Briozzo (@Nico_Briozzo) June 30, 2023
Quickly analyzing Caroline Wozniacki’s chances of winning
Caroline Wozniacki may fancy her chances on her beloved hard courts and she may not be totally unrealistic about it. This is because no women’s singles player has been able to back up her US Open win with an Australian Open after that, in the last 3 years. Naomi Osaka is the last one to do so, achieving this feat twice in her career so far (2018-2019, 2020-2021). With Serena Williams retired, it could probably a level playing field in New York and Melbourne.
However, Wozniacki is set to face 2 major challenges – 1) Playing competitive tennis for the first time since 3 years at the age of 33, 2) Iga Swiatek has won the last 3 out of the 5 Grand Slams played in women’s tennis, which includes the US Open title in 2022.
The Dane superstar is giving herself 3 years for her comeback, knowing that within the next 5, she will turn 38 and then definitely not young and competitive enough to play professional tennis. However, she is banking on, in what are her own words, ‘a renewed sense of purpose’ and a stable family life to inspire people to follow their dreams. As Wozniacki has already received a wildcard entry at the US Open, we wish her all the best to achieve a career renaissance..
