26th October, 2022
Former world number one player Angelique Kerber said she will return to tennis at next year’s US Open at the latest, after giving birth to her first child.
The three-time grand slam winner has not played since summer due to her pregnancy.
The baby is expected in March and the 34-year-old German said on Wednesday that she plans a swift return but without rushing back into action.
“I believe I will return towards the end of the year. Rather New York than Wimbledon. But if Wimbledon works out, then I will happily take that as well,” Kerber said.
“I will take my time because when I come back I want to do it properly. I will attack from the outset and not play tournaments for training purposes.”
Wimbledon, where she won in 2018, starts on July 3, and the US Open, where she lifted the trophy in 2016, almost two months later on Aug. 28.
The 2016 Rio Olympics silver medallist Kerber has also said in the past she wants to play at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Kerber said she would take her child along when she starts travelling again on the tennis tour, saying: “I won’t leave the child at home. There will be a nanny.”
She said she is doing fine during her pregnancy, keeping fit with swimming and cycling and other sports, and has started yoga.
The German also plays tennis, but only with the children at her academy.
“I don’t want to get out of practice completely. Now I have more time and can enjoy everything and approach it more relaxed,” she said.
dpa/NAN