Caroline Wozniacki has confirmed she feels respected following her return to tennis, but believes more needs to be done to support mothers taking part in WTA tournaments. The former world No 1 returned to the court last summer after a three-and-a-half-year out during which she gave birth to two children.
Caroline Wozniacki’s father and coach Piotr criticized the sport in an interview with Polish media, calling women’s tennis “pathological” after tournament organizers in Italy and Roland Garros refused to give his daughter a wild card.
He suggested that Caroline Wozniacki was so disillusioned that she would quit again before next season, but this was refuted by the Dane.
“I think sometimes my father gets a little ahead of things. It’s definitely not something we’ve talked about”, said Caroline Wozniacki.
The 33-year-old Danish player is one of a growing group of mothers in tennis, but the length of her absence means that, unlike Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber, she does not have a protected ranking and is relying on a wild card to get into the majors.
“Everyone has been very nice to me. Many tournament organizers have given me the opportunity to play. I have expressed my opinion that a bit more should be done for women returning from maternity. This has been discussed because obviously there are more female tennis players who they want to come back, but it’s not the same as coming back after an injury for four years. I think when you give birth the body has to recover, there are a lot of changes that happen after that”, said Caroline Wozniacki.
She has asked for a wild card for Wimbledon and has reason to hope she will get one because the hosts are keen on the presence of the sport’s big names.
The British Open is the only Grand Slam tournament where Caroline Wozniacki has not reached at least the quarterfinals. She played in the Legends race last year, but is now eager to return to the main draw for the first time since 2019.
“We’ll see what happens, I’m hoping for the best. I have so many memories. I won the Wimbledon maiden in 2005, it was a long time ago. There’s something so special about playing on Center Court at Wimbledon that you can’t repeat anywhere else”, said the former Australian Open champion, who lost at the past of the WTA 250 Rothesay Classic Birmingham.
Caroline Wozniacki is also excited to share the experience with her children Olivia, three, and James, one, who travel with her to the tournaments.
“My son is too young, but Olivia understands. She tells everyone when she’s watching tennis on TV, ‘My mom plays tennis and she’s so good”, said the tennis player. “I feel great at the moment and as long as I feel like that I will continue to play. If I start to feel like my body is letting me down and I can’t do it then I will reconsider. But at the moment I feel good and I’m happy to be back part of it all, to play against the best in the world. There’s really no better feeling than that”, concluded Caroline Wozniacki.
