As a mother, Angelique Kerber is returning to the tennis court. The 36-year-old just wants to play well without setting herself specific goals
Tennis player Angelique Kerber is heading into her favorite grass court season without any specific goals.
“I’m not putting any pressure on myself. I just want to play a lot of matches and get fit and I’m not looking at the ranking,” said the 36-year-old ahead of her start at the tennis tournament in Berlin. It will be her first appearance on grass after her maternity leave.
It had taken her “a few months” to get back into the rhythm, said the 2018 Wimbledon winner. Kerber, who lives in Poland, had prepared on carpet and trained twice on grass in Berlin before her start on Tuesday against 19-year-old Linda Noskova from the Czech Republic.
The tournament, which is scheduled between the French Open in Paris and Wimbledon, will serve as a test for Kerber. Eight top ten players will be competing in the tournament, which has prize money of 922,573 US dollars, until next Sunday. “There will be very exciting matches, no matter which day. It’s difficult to say who the top favorite is,” said Kerber, who, after the Grand Slam tournament in Wimbledon, also expects to start at the Olympic Games in Paris thanks to her ranking: “Things didn’t go as I expected at the French Open. There’s still a chance for Paris this year. “