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Stuttgart (dpa) - At the end of a strange tennis year with few tournaments, Angelique Kerber is preparing for the new season.
Shortly before the Australian Open, which was moved to February, the three-time Grand Slam winner wants to compete again for the first time since the end of September.
In an interview with the German Press Agency, the 32-year-old from Kiel, who lives and trains in Puszczykowo, Poland, talks about Christmas, her plans and her thoughts about the right time to resign.
Q: First things first, how are you and your family?
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Answer: Fortunately, we are all fine, we are all healthy.
I'm fine too, but I'm also extremely careful.
I've minimized all the contacts that I can minimize.
Question: Christmas is just around the corner.
What was the last Christmas errand you did?
Answer: I got some more scented candles.
You can't go big and with that you can at least make yourself comfortable at home (smiles).
I really have to say, 99 percent of the time I ordered my gifts online this year.
We're celebrating a little differently this year too, we're going to celebrate in a small group with my grandparents and my mother.
We're not all going to run off aunts or cousins or meet friends.
The most important thing is simply that everyone stays healthy.
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Question: You normally sit on a plane to Australia on Boxing Day.
This time the Australian Open has been postponed to February 8, the season starts in Abu Dhabi at the beginning of January.
When will you start the season?
Answer: My new season starts in Australia.
I will definitely play the Australian Open and the tournament before that in Melbourne.
Question: Do you accept the two-week quarantine in Melbourne?
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Answer: yes.
At the moment it looks like you have to be in quarantine for two weeks and only allowed to go out for five hours a day.
That we can do our tennis and gym units during the lessons and then have to go back to quarantine.
I am curious how all of this can be implemented.
It will certainly not be like usual, that I am going to Australia and being free from day one.
Question: How can an athlete adjust to this?
Answer: It can be endured for a short time, but I find it difficult for longer.
I couldn't travel from one bubble to another.
Because I just got to know it differently, with the emotions and above all with the fans.
I particularly miss that.
Now the carefree is completely gone and with it the spontaneity.
I will try to adjust myself to it mentally.
Australia is always a special country for me, and the Australian Open has always been a big part of my career.
With all the gratitude to be able to play again, of course I feel that it's not what I know and what I actually miss.
Question: If it's going to be a reasonably normal year, do you play the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, US Open and Olympia.
Fourth Grand Slam title or Olympic gold - which would you prefer?
Answer: If I could choose, I would definitely take the fourth Grand Slam title in Paris.
To have won all four Grand Slams would of course be the icing on the cake.
But no matter which of the two - I would take it (smiles).
Although you have to say - Paris, Olympia - that is still so far away that nobody thinks about it yet.
Now it's about how we get to Australia.
Question: How difficult is it to build up the mold right now, if you don't even know what the coming year will look like?
Answer: It's about training continuously and making steady progress without exhausting yourself completely.
You have to stretch the training phase.
It's difficult and a challenge for me too.
On the other hand, you can plan the training weeks in a way that suits you best and use days to regenerate in between.
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Question: Is it more difficult than usual to keep motivation?
Answer: yes and no.
Of course it is more difficult because a lot is uncertain.
You train, train and at the end of the day it is often not clear what you are training for.
Like last time the discussion about the Australian Open, which is now taking place, but has to be postponed.
It is still unclear what the next months and the tournament calendar will look like.
Keeping motivation high is an art.
When the time comes, you have to switch to tournament mode, and I think you'll be experienced enough to get that done.
It's my luck that I have a good team and that we're having a good time.
We are, so to speak, the Corona team.
It is clear to everyone that we cannot meet other people left and right.
Question: Julia Görges surprisingly ended her career in the Corona crisis.
She doesn't miss tennis, she says.
How close have you been to such a step in the past few months?
Answer: Of course it's a shame that Jule made the move after Anna-Lena Grönefeld.
I have the feeling that all my friends are already retired, including Ana (note: Ivanovic) and Aga (Radwanska).
Of course, I also gave my thoughts to myself during the Corona period and learned to appreciate life apart from the tour.
The thoughts are there, of course.
But I fully trust my heart and my feelings.
As long as I enjoy tennis and am physically able to perform, that's what I love and what belongs to me.
I've decided to do the best I can and I'm looking forward to Australia.
The moment will come at some point - it may come soon - or not - I don't know.
I have to see how it goes on.
The restrictions of playing without fans - that's extreme and takes away a lot of what I enjoy about my job.
I can feel that too.
Question: Will 2021 be your last season?
Answer: I don't want to be so specific just yet.
I pushed the thought away for now.
But once you've thought of it, you can't delete it either.
I will feel it at some point.
I will make the decision all by myself.
Anyone who knows me knows that when I make such a decision, it has been carefully considered.
About the person: Angelique Kerber (32) became the first German Grand Slam winner since Steffi Graf when she won the Australian Open in 2016.
The same year she won the US Open, and in 2018 she won Wimbledon.
The woman from Kiel, who lives in Puszczykowo, Poland, is currently 25th in the world rankings.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201222-99-788840 / 2
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World ranking
Kerber profile on WTA homepage
WTA calendar
WTA announcement for the start of the season
Fed Cup Finals