"Well, there was no Iga": Wozniacki jokes about what has changed since retirement, not stressing over Canadian Open comeback

Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki believes that the biggest change since her retirement is the arrival of the current world number one Iga Swiatek.

The 33-year-old announced retirement from the sport back in January 2020 but announced a surprising return at the Canadian Open.

While talking about how much has changed since she last played the sport at the highest level, Wozniacki believes the challenge will be greater as the women players have become more powerful.

“Well, there was no Iga [back then]," she said while laughing. "I feel players are more powerful - even more than it used to be -- and more consistent. Athleticism is improving every single time. And bigger serves. So it's a good challenge. Let's see what she does. If she has the motivation to come back and she has the feeling inside her, I think it's great that she's following her gut."

"I have to get into the match rhythm myself, but at least I know where I am, where I feel like I am doing very well, where I can improve," Wozniacki said. "It's a much clearer picture that you have when you've seen it from the outside."

Talking about her own preparations before the tournament, Wozniacki believes that she is well-prepared and also expressed optimism that she will be at her best come the US Open.

"Tennis-wise, I feel like I'm doing great in practice and it's going to be just fine when I'm out there,” she said. “So I'm not stressing. I'm not worried. It's just about getting more and more matches in and the more I play the better I'm going to play. I hope that I'm going to be at my peak for the US Open.

"Realistically when you haven't been on tour and haven't played a match in so long, no matter how much you practice, how many practice sets you've done, you can never replicate being on a match court."