"It's a long way back and I'm just at the beginning": Angelique Kerber realistic about biggest challenge of her career in returning to tennis

Former world number one Angelique Kerber has admitted that returning after pregnancy is a ‘different kind of challenge’.

The 36-year-old is set to return to professional in 2024 after giving birth to a baby girl earlier this year.

Kerber was recently quoted in a report where she admitted that returning after becoming a mother will be a different kind of challenge.

‟This time it’s definitely a different kind of comeback,” she said. “If you don’t play well, lose matches and as a consequence fall into a big hole, then you continue to practice and know how to get out of the low. These days it’s a completely different and much more difficult task.”

Talking about the reason behind returning to the court, Kerber stated that she could not stay away from the sport she loves.

‟The love for the sport is my biggest motivation,” she said. “It’ll never go away. Added to that is the challenge of returning to the big tennis stage and giving it my all once again.

“I will face the world’s top players and show the fans my best tennis. However, I’m also realistic. It’s a long way back and I’m just at the beginning,"

Kerber is a three-time Grand Slam winner. She won the Australian Open in 2016 by defeating former world number one America’s Serena Williams in the final with a score of 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

In the same year, Kerber went on to win the US Open as well by beating Czech Republic’s Karolína Pliskova in the final with a score of 6–3, 4–6, 6–4.

Her last major triumph came in 2018 when she defeated Williams once again in the final, this time at Wimbledon, in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-3.

French Open remains the only tournament where the German tennis star has never lifted the title.