SUTTUGART (GERMANY), December 22 (dpa/EP) –
German tennis player Angelique Kerber is excited and “somewhat nervous” about her imminent return to the courts, after an absence of nearly a year and a half due to the birth of her first daughter, although she is “sufficiently prepared.”
“Of course I’m very excited, although it’s clear that I’m also a little nervous because I can’t know where I am, how everything will be,” Kerber, 35, a three-time Grand Slam winner, explained to the agency. ‘dpa’.
The former world number one reiterated that her return to competition will be “the biggest challenge” of her career as an athlete and admitted to asking herself what her state of fitness is. “I’m prepared and fit enough to give myself the best chance of getting back to the level I left off at, but I haven’t played a game in a long time,” she reflected.
“That will be the most decisive factor and the most difficult to evaluate. That’s why I have to openly admit that first I have to find out where I really am,” added Kerber, who plans to make a comeback in the United Cup, which will be held in Australia at the end of anus.
The German will be part of her country’s team in this mixed competition and in which she will debut on December 30 in Sydney in Italy, in which her compatriot Alexander Zverev also participates. “It will undoubtedly be a little more exhausting with Liana, also because of the long-distance flight and the time change, but I will try to take it easy,” he said regarding that first tournament where he will travel with his daughter Liana.
Angelique Kerber also confirmed her participation in the Adelaide tournament in early January, which will be followed by the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open, which begins on January 14 in Melbourne.
2023-12-22 10:45:41
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