By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Friday August 25, 2023

Caroline Wozniacki’s eyes are focused on the spinning yellow Ball rather than the crystal ball, but she can still see her tennis future. 

Former world No. 1 Wozniacki returns to Grand Slam action at next week’s US Open and envisions herself playing a full schedule in 2024.

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“I don’t know how long I am going to play for,” the 33-year-old Wozniacki told the media in her pre-tournament presser today. “I don’t know if it’s going to be a year, two years, three years. I can’t predict the future.

“I also realize that I’m not that young anymore. I’m 33. Obviously you have Venus still playing. She’s older than me. You have older players. At the same time I think what I’ve learned most is that you can’t predict the future.

“I’m just enjoying being here in the moment. I hope for a great tournament. I’m definitely planning on playing a lot more next year, playing more of a full schedule.”

Wild card Wozniacki opens against a qualifier and could face two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in round two if both advance.

This will be Wozniacki’s first Grand Slam main-draw appearance since she lost to Ons Jabeur in the third round of the 2020 Australian Open.

The mom of two said after her 2020 retirement she didn’t play tennis for a while and started hitting again for the exercise rather than the competition before realizing her level was still good enough to compete on the WTA Tour.

“I didn’t even touch my racquets. I didn’t know where they were,” Wozniacki said. “I didn’t miss it. I played since I was obviously very, very young. It’s been part of my life and my lifestyle for so long. I needed a break. Obviously I had two kids in between.

“I started just missing the cardio aspect. I’ll always love the game, no matter if I’m 33 or if I’m going to be 80. I’ll always appreciate the game and everything that it’s given me. I hope I’m always going to be fit enough that if I want to go out there and play some balls, hit some balls, play some doubles or whatever, that would be a possibility with my friends.

“It just happened to be that I felt like I was hitting the ball extremely well, that I still am young enough to give it another shot. You only live once, so why not?”

The woman who famously completed the New York City Marathon in her first attempt won’t be walking into her US Open return completely cold.

Two-time US Open finalist Wozniacki has played three Tour-level singles matches posting a 1-2 record.

The 2018 Australian Open champion also played Wimbledon Legends doubles and faced off against Hall of Famer and buddy Kim Clijsters in an exhibition earlier this week that was a rematch of the 2009 US Open final.

Wozniacki said she’s still battling Rheumatoid Arthritis, which was a contributing factor in her retirement, but believes she’s learned to manage the illness better.

“Well, I still have my RA. It’s still something that I have to live with for the rest of my life,” Wozniacki said. “Obviously when I wasn’t playing, it was much easier to manage. You can kind of control the stress you put on your body, your own schedule, sleep, everything else. Obviously that’s a little more challenging when you’re playing at a very, very high level against the best players in the world.

“I think I’m pretty confident in the fact that I can keep my body in check. I think the more you kind of learn about your body, you know what triggers, what you can do to kind of feel better quickly. So it’s something that I’m dealing with on a daily basis.

“In general I feel pretty good and my body feels pretty good. So far it hasn’t been an issue coming back here with that part of it.”

These days, the singles game is a family affair. Wozniacki travels with her husband, former New York Knicks basketball star David Lee, and the couple’s two children, daughter Olivia, 2, and son James, who celebrates his first birthday next month. Wozniacki said her daughter has recently become obsesses with tennis balls.

While Wozniacki has discussed post-pregnancy competitive comeback with friends and fellow moms Serena Williams, Elina Svitolina and Angelique Kerber, one of her long-time friends she does not anticipate coming back is Agnieszka Radwanska.

“When it comes to Aga, I think I’ll have to disappoint you. I don’t think she’s coming back,” Wozniacki said. “I think she enjoys her freedom. I think she loves the game, but I think she’s mostly going to just play legends.”

Photo credit: Pete Staples/USTA/US Open