Aryna Sabalenka hailed the returning Caroline Wozniacki as an inspiration and even spoke about her own dreams of motherhood at the 2023 US Open.
In recent years in modern tennis, we are seeing more and more players look to start families and even return to the sport a short while later. Wozniacki retired from tennis back in 2020 and later decided to start a family, giving birth to daughter Olivia in 2021, and most recently, son James last year.
Wozniacki has since made a remarkable return to the sport, making up for lost time and very much easing into match tightness even with just a handful of matches under her belt.
Sabalenka competed in a memorable Eastbourne final against Wozniacki back in 2018, and the Belarusian was asked in her most recent post-match press conference as to what she felt about Wozniacki's return, and what it really means to her.
"Yeah I think that it is amazing. That's just something amazing. She was out for three-and-a-half years, having two kids and came back in tennis and still plays her best. I feel like if you have this level you will never lose it, it feels like when you watch them."
More recent examples of WTA players making that call to momentarily depart the sport to raise a family includes the likes of Victoria Azarenka, Serena Williams, and Naomi Osaka. The list continues to grow, and Sabalenka even expressed her desire to maybe follow the footsteps of Wozniacki someday.
"It gives me so much belief to me if one day I would like to go for a baby. I'll have some chances to come back. So thank you for that. And yeah, she's just such an inspiration. I'm really happy for."
Just like the Belarusian indicates, there was once a time where a female tennis player maybe felt like they needed to choose between family or competing at the highest level. But now that door looks fully open, with so many examples of modern tennis players showing combining the two pathways is entirely possible.
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