Caroline Wozniacki’s comeback event and date of her first match confirmed
More than three years after she last played a competitive match on the WTA Tour, Caroline Wozniacki will return to action at the Canadian Open after being handed a wildcard.
Former world No 1 Wozniacki retired from tennis in January 2020 on the back of her exit from the Australian Open with her last match a three-set defeat to Ons Jabeur, but she announced in June this year that she would return to the professional tour this year.
Not long after it was confirmed that she will be handed a wildcard for the US Open, but that meant she needed to play in warm-up events ahead of her Grand Slam comeback at the end of August.
And those warm-up tournaments have now been confirmed as the 2019 Australian Open champion has received wildcards for both the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open.
The Canadian event takes place first as the WTA 1000 tournament will run from August 7 to 13 with the Cincinnati Open taking place the following week in Ohio.
Wozniacki will be in action in Montreal and the date of her comeback match was also confirmed as she will play on August 8 during the day session.
The match will come 1,292 days after last appearance at the 2020 Australian Open.
The Dane wasn’t the only major champion to receive a wildcard as seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams and Canadian hope Biancai Andreescu, who won the 2019 US Open, have also been given direct entries into the main draw.
Andreescu will also feature on August 8, but their opponents and the starting time of their matches will only be revealed after the draw is made.
“It’s not always easy to confirm part of the schedule this early because there are several factors that influence scheduling, including rankings, the draw, and participation in doubles,” Valérie Tétreault, tournament director, said.
“The schedule can even change at the last minute for multiple reasons, such as rain delays that disrupt the order of play. However, we know that this information is very important to our fans, and this is why we have worked hard to confirm certain matches.”
The tournament will also feature the top three players in the world rankings: Iga Swiatek Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina as well as newly-crowned Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova. However, Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur won’t feature as she has pulled out of the WTA 1000 event due to a knee injury.
READ MORE: Caroline Wozniacki happy she won’t face Serena Williams on return
