display

At the end of a strange tennis year with few tournaments, Angelique Kerber is preparing for a new, uncertain season.

However, she will skip the start of the WTA tour in Abu Dhabi at the beginning of January.

“My new season starts in Australia.

I will definitely play the Australian Open and the tournament before that in Melbourne, ”she said.

The former number one in the world played her last match so far at the French Open at the end of September when she was eliminated in the first round.

Afterwards, almost no tournaments had taken place due to the Corona crisis.

The start of the first Grand Slam tournament of the season in Melbourne has now been postponed from January 18 to February 8 in the wake of the pandemic.

Also in Melbourne from January 31st to February 6th, two tournaments will be held at the same time.

Here you will find content from Instagram

In order to interact with or display content from Instagram and other social networks, we need your consent.

Activate social networks

I consent to content from social networks being displayed to me.

This allows personal data to be transmitted to third party providers.

This may require the storage of cookies on your device.

More information can be found here.

In the Corona crisis, the 32-year-old also dealt with when the right time for the end of her career could be.

"I feel like all of my friends are retired," she said.

“Of course I also thought about it during the Corona period and learned to appreciate life outside of the tour.

The thoughts are there, of course.

But I fully trust my heart and my feelings. "

display

The three-time Grand Slam winner left open the question of whether 2021 would be her last season on the WTA Tour.

“I don't want to be so specific just yet.

I pushed the thought away for now, ”replied the Kiel woman who lives in Puszczykowo, Poland.

“But if you've already thought of it, you can't delete it.

I will feel it at some point. "

Kerber only German in the top 50

Perhaps this moment will “come soon - or not - I don't know,” said the number 25 in the world: “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. "

At the moment the WTA calendar is only available for the first seven weeks.

“You train, train and at the end of the day it is often not clear what you are actually training for,” describes Kerber.

It is an “art” to keep motivation high, she admits and looks at games without spectators with skepticism, without the usual emotions: “With all my gratitude to be able to play again, I can of course feel that it is not what I know and what I actually miss. "

display

Julia Görges, as the second best German tennis player behind Kerber, surprisingly resigned in October.

In addition to Kerber, only Laura Siegemund of the German tennis ladies is currently 51st in the top 100. Andrea Petkovic is 102nd.

"Anyone who knows me," said Kerber, "knows that when I make such a decision, it is carefully considered."