Angelique Kerber has confirmed that she is pregnant with just a week to go until the US Open. The 2016 champion in New York has withdrawn from the upcoming Grand Slam and announced that she will be out of the game for the “next few months” during her pregnancy. While she has not confirmed a comeback, there are reports she will return for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Kerber confirmed her pregnancy on social media a week before the start of the US Open following reports from Bild that she was pregnant and set to pull out of the final Major of the year. The three-time Grand Slam champion joked that it would be “unfair” to play two-against-one as she announced an upcoming hiatus from the tour during her pregnancy and birth.
“I really wanted to play the @usopen but eventually I decided that two against one just isn‘t a fair competition,” the 2016 champion in Flushing Meadows tweeted on Monday. “For the next months, I will take a break from traveling the globe as a tennis player but then again, I believe it’s for the best possible reason! I will miss all of you.”
Kerber – also a champion at Wimbledon and the Australian Open – paid tribute to the tournament after announcing the news just a week before the start of the US Open, branding it the site of many a “turning point” in her glittering career. She continued: “New York has often been a turning point in my career and it feels like this year will be no different in some way!
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“From restarting my career in 2011 to winning the title in 2016 and becoming #1 in the world… the @usopen have a special place in my heart and I wish I could have said goodbye to all of you on court before not being around on tour for a while.” As well as her title win in 2016, Kerber dethroned Serena Williams as the world No 1 after winning her semi-final while the American lost the other last-four clash to Karolina Pliskova.
The 34-year-old had not played since Wimbledon, where she lost in the third round, and currently sits at world No 52. Kerber shared her nerves ahead of her upcoming journey and thanked her fans as she added: “Being a professional athlete means everything to me but I’m grateful for the new path I’m heading to. To be honest, I’m nervous and excited at the same time. Thanks for your continued support – it means everything to me.”
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