Away from the hurly-burly of Novak Djokovic’s record-breaking run and Carlos Alcaraz’s title defence, this year’s US Open has emerged as a stage for a host of players to make their comebacks. From Caroline Wozniacki and Elina Svitolina to Milos Raonic, the list of returning players is quite long and illustrious. While some of them have already appeared at Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York City on Monday night, a number of other big names await their first-round match at the Flushing Meadows.
After remaining out of action for almost two years, Jennifer Brady completed her return to competitive tennis at the US Open. Playing in front of her home crowd, the 28-year-old came up with a clinical display to breeze past Australian Kimberly Birrell 6-3, 7-6 (4) at Court 5. The fixture against Birrell marked Brady’s first WTA tour match since 2021.
“I feel like people just don’t know what to do with their lives. Maybe they see prize money going up and think they can get back to where they were. Because of where I left off — semifinals of a Grand Slam; final of a Grand Slam — there’s expectations and goals. But I don’t want to really put pressure on myself to get back there right away,” the 2020 US Open semi-finalist was quoted as saying by news agency AP.
Former number one-ranked player Caroline Wozniacki also scripted a winning comeback in the first round of the US Open. Wozniacki had announced her retirement following the Australian Open in 2020. The Danish player decided to reverse her retirement decision just less than two months back and made a winning comeback to competitive tennis in Montreal. The 33-year-old earned a comfortable 6-3, 6-2 win against Russia’s Tatiana Prozorova in the first round of the US Open. Wozniacki, a mother of two and a two-time runner-up at the U.S. Open, appeared in her first Grand Slam match since 2020 on Monday.
Ajla Tomljanovic is another big name who recorded a remarkable return to competitive tennis. Having been out of action for 10 months due to a left knee injury, Tomljanovic started her US Open campaign with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 win against Hungary’s Panna Udvardy at Court 4.
“It was a high emotionally but I’m very realistic. … I know this was a moment that, yeah it was great, but I’m very realistic with where my body and my knee is at. I’m still happy that I managed to get through a match like today, to get the win and feel the emotions that you do, those 10 seconds, 20 seconds after. It’s what we play for,” the 30-year-old said.
The second day of the US Open will see players like Elina Svitolina and Barbora Strycova start their journey. While three-time major semifinalist Svitolina will face Germany’s Anna-Lena Friedsam, Strycova will be up against Estonian Kaia Kanepi in the first round of the US Open.
