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.
βWell, 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,β she said. βSo 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."