Indian Wells | Osaka, Kerber and Wozniacki already at the top after returning from maternity

(Indian Wells) German Angelique Kerber and Danish Caroline Wozniacki face to face in 8^are in the final, the Japanese Naomi Osaka who hopes to join them: three ex-N. 1 world returning from maternity return to the very high level at the same time in Indian Wells.

The situations of sportswomen/mothers at the top are numerous and old, particularly in tennis, with the eminent example of the American Serena Williams. The WTA 1000 in Indian Wells, sort of 5^e biggest tournament in the world after the Majors, is a new illustration of this, at the crossroads of several trajectories.

Osaka, Kerber, Wozniacki, three champions who have eight Grand Slam titles (four for Osaka, three for Kerber, one for Wozniacki), see their return to form on the circuit coincide, in a tournament where seven players in the singles table have experienced motherhood.

Four are still in the running, including the two friends Kerber and Wozniacki, who will face each other on Tuesday in the round of 16.

“Believe in your dreams,” Kerber said on Friday at the stadium microphone, addressing his daughter born in February 2023.

The German, aged 36, made her return at the beginning of January after a break of a year and a half, for a team competition then two eliminations in the first rounds of the Australian Open and then the WTA 500 in Linz (Austria). . She has just won three victories in California, the last two of which were against members of the top 20the Latvian Jelena Ostapenko (10^e), then the Russian Veronika Kudermetova (N.19) on Sunday.

” Patient ”

“Of course it’s not easy to come back after such a long absence and play at a high level again. It takes time, you have to be patient. I trained tirelessly for four months. I’ve had enough, I’m happy to be back in tournaments,” commented Kerber.

In the eighth, she will therefore find her friend Caroline Wozniacki (33 years old), who lost on Sunday to the American Katie Volynets (131^e), after the Croatian Donna Vekic (36^e).

The Dane had two children in June 2021 then in October 2022, and must overcome an absence of more than three years between January 2020 and August 2023.

“Angie (Kerber) is very close, we talk all the time, she asked me about motherhood when she was pregnant,” Wozniacki said.

“Yesterday (Saturday) I spent the day with my children, I didn’t train. It was fun ! »

“I’m going to play fewer tournaments than before. Traveling with the whole family is not easy, every week, it would not be good for us, although I love doing it,” she explained.

The Svitolina-Monfils example

From another generation than her two competitors, Naomi Osaka (26 years old) had her daughter in July 2023, and missed barely more than a year of competition (September 2022-January 2024).

After an elimination in the first round of the Australian Open in January, she has already reached the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 in Doha in mid-February, and dominated the 15^e Russian world champion Liudmila Samsonova in the second round in Indian Wells, before facing Belgian Elise Mertens (28^e) Monday.

“It’s a pleasure to play again, when I was pregnant, I always wanted to play. But when I come home, I am a mother,” asked the Japanese woman.

The Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, entered in the third round on Monday, is also present with her daughter with the particularity that the father, her French husband Gaël Monfils, is also in the race the same day for a place in 8^are.

Svitolina (29 years old, 17^e) showed the path to follow, she who already has a quarter-final at Roland-Garros and a semi-final at Wimbledon last year, after giving birth in October 2022 and a return in April 2023.