How strong must this woman be!
More than two and a half years after her retirement from the Australian Open 2020, the tennis star celebrated Caroline Wozniacki (33) made her comeback on August 8th at the Masters in Montreal by beating Kimberly Birrell (25) from Australia.
On Monday, the Dane will appear in a Grand Slam tournament for the first time, hit in the first round of the US Open in New York on a qualifier that has not yet been determined.
Caroline Wozniacki presents herself relaxed and relaxed at the US Open
At the 2018 WTA Finals in Singapore, the former world No. 1 made her terminal illness public, “I have rheumatoid arthritis. I know this is a life-threatening illness, one that will never go away,” she said at the time.
The name means joint inflammation throughout the body. “I woke up one morning and could no longer raise my arms above my head,” said the 2018 Australian Open winner, describing one of the symptoms.
At that time, a doctor told her: “You can do anything you want. You just have to listen to your body and a lot of things are going on in your head. You have to believe in yourself and believe that you can do it.” She does now.
Wozniacki in New York: “I still have the disease that I have to live with for the rest of my life. Of course, when I wasn’t playing, it was much easier to deal with. You can control the stress you put on your body, your sleep, etc. It’s different than playing against the best in the world.”
She does not see a risk that the disease could get worse. “I’m doing well. I’m pretty confident that I can control my body. I think the more you learn about your body, the more you know what triggers it and what you can do to start feeling better quickly,” she says.
She now has two children with her husband, ex-NBA star David Lee (40/New York, Golden State, Boston, Dallas, San Antonio). They’re on tour. This is also new in the second career of what was once the best player in the world.
Caroline Wozniacki beim Training in New York
“My body feels pretty good. So far it hasn’t been a problem coming back here. But every day is different. Every day is new. I can’t predict how my body will react after multiple games,” Wozniacki said.
As early as 2018, she described her everyday life with the disease as follows: “There are days when you just can’t get out of bed and have to get used to the fact that that’s the way it is now. And other days everything is fine. You don’t even feel like you have anything.”
In the meantime, she has even become a real medical expert. This was not the case shortly after the diagnosis. “I didn’t even google the disease. If you do that and read all this, you think you’re going to die soon. But then I did it anyway and read all the symptoms I had too. And then: You live shorter, your heart is not working properly. I thought: oh my god!
in New York, however, you are sitting across from a cheerful blonde with a beaming smile, whose passion for tennis is obvious. And who defies her difficult fate with every ball she hits.