Caroline Wozniacki sat in her US Open sideline chair, leaned forward, and covered her face with both hands as she completed the biggest triumph of her still-young comeback after 312 years away from tennis. She then reclined, cast a smile in the direction of her father and husband who were watching from the stands.

Her neck hung from two gold chains, each bearing a name in cursive, Olivia for her daughter, age two, and James for her boy, age ten months.

Wozniacki defeated two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 7-5, 7-6 (5) on Wednesday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium, demonstrating that she made the right decision to come out of retirement and give tennis another go. Wozniacki has already advanced to the third round at Flushing Meadows.

Caroline Wozniacki

Three years ago, if you had asked, I would have responded, “I won’t be back here, playing on this court.”

During her maiden season on the tour, the 33-year-old Danish player won the 2018 Australian Open and climbed to the top of the rankings. To conceive a family with her husband, former NBA player David Lee, Wozniacki departed the sport in early 2020. Afterwards worked as a Tv Analyst

She is currently rank No. 623 in the world and made a comeback this month. She is now returning to Flushing Meadows for the first time since 2019.

In 2009, when she fell to Kim Clijsters in the US Open championship match, and in 2014, when she lost to her close friend Serena Williams, Wozniacki finished second.

I cherish New York. My favorite court. On Thursday, I’m going to hang out with my kids. Absolutely, as soon as I arrived here more than a week ago, I felt so at ease on these courts and knew that I could play some amazing tennis and that I would be dangerous in the draw.

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