Yanina Wickmayer will return to competition in February and in Porto

Belgian tennis player Yanina Wickmayer has announced her return to competition. After a pregnancy and 16 months of absence, ‘Maman Yanina’ will, in a way, start her second career. First tournament, early February on the side of Porto.

In October 2020, yanina wickmayer had announced expecting her first child. His last official tennis match remains a doubles match, on October 1, 2020, at the Roland-Garros. Since, Yanina gave birth to his daughter Luana Daniëlla on April 15, 2021. 16 months after the announcement of her break, she chose to return to competition. This is what she announced this Thursday, January 27, 2022 at a press conference in Wilrijk.

“For the second time in my life as a tennis player, I’m starting from nowhere. It’s exciting because it’s a new adventure that’s starting, a new challenge, and I like it. Coming back to play as a mom, I think it’s a great story.”, told yanina wickmayer at our microphone.

“As I always left an open door to a comeback, I always took good care of my body. I continued to exercise and stayed active. It definitely helped me after giving birth. But I also have to admit that it’s been a long road to being competitive again. There’s a gap between ‘being fit’ and ‘being able to play competitively.’ Physically, I took my time and followed the steps well to ensure my return. I listened to my body. I can say that physically, I am 100% ready. At the tennis level, in relation to my game, we will see after the first weeks how I manage all that. At the beginning, we will have to search a bit, that’s for sure”.

“I will now fight on the pitch for additional reasons, for my daughter and for my family. It will be different. Organizationally, it will change too. I want my daughter to accompany us and travel with us often I wanted to return to the circuit on condition that I could share my emotions with my daughter.When I lived through more complicated moments during my preparation, I motivated myself with this image of being able to lift a trophy with my daughter in my arms, with me. I’m going to give the maximum and we’ll see where this maximum will take me”, recount yanina wickmayer.

The 32-year-old Antwerp player has disappeared from the WTA shelves, but she will benefit from a protected ranking to enter tournaments. His first appointment will be an ITF of $25,000 on the side of Porto (from February 7 to 13), in Portugal.

Since the start of his career, yanina wickmayer won five tournaments. Her best year remains the 2009 season, when she reached the semi-finals at theUS Open. His best ranking is 12th place, in April 2010.