Tennis player Angelique Kerber (35) gave birth to her first child in February. In an interview with “Bild am Sonntag”, the former world number one, whose tennis career is currently on hold after the birth of little Liana, raved about her new mom role. “Being a mother is simply the best feeling,” reveals Kerber. “It’s so many positive emotions and feelings, every day.” It is also “fascinating to see how quickly everything is changing”.

But the former Wimbledon and US Open winner also spoke about her return to the tennis courts. She is currently training again, “especially a lot of fitness in the initial phase to get my body used to the training load again”. In her tennis academy in Poland she had “already hit a few balls”.

However, Kerber does not want to rush her comeback because she “does not want to make any compromises”. The first German women’s number one in the world rankings since Steffi Graf (54) plans to get fit enough to get through “a three-hour match” – and then be back on the field for the next game the following day can.

“I will return at the beginning of the new season with the clear goal of playing the Australian Open in 2024,” said Kerber about the schedule of her intended return. She won the tennis tournament Down Under in 2016. “I want to go back to my sport, my job, and do what I love. Other mothers will certainly be able to understand that in their jobs.”

In August 2022, Kerber surprisingly canceled her participation in the US Open due to her pregnancy. At the time, she spoke of “the best possible reason” for canceling the tournament, jokingly adding that she had come to the conclusion “that two against one was just unfair”.