So much of Caroline Wozniacki’s first tennis career was defined by her precocity. The Dane had burst out of the blocks far quicker than her peers, becoming a top-20 player at 18. By the age of 20 she was ranked No 1, a status she consolidated thoroughly by occupying the spot for 71 weeks. Having rounded off her storied career by winning a long-awaited first grand slam at the 2018 Australian Open, content with all that she had achieved in the sport, Wozniacki retired at 29 in 2020.

Yet after a three-year retirement, during which she gave birth to two children, Wozniacki is back. In these early days of her unexpected return to professional tennis, the 33‑year‑old has been charged with drawing on her experience as she tries to recover her former level of play.

“With the experience that I have, I don’t panic,” Wozniacki said on Sunday. “I think when you’re a young player you want to win everything immediately. And if you don’t, you start questioning everything else.

“But in my head, I know where I am. I know where I want to be, I know kind of what I need to do to get there. I know the end goal and I know where I need to be [in order] to be beating any player and it’s not easy. But I also think the fact that I’m not that young any more, I have the patience to see everything through and see the progression that I’m making every match, every tournament.”

In her second tournament back, Wozniacki will face Elina Svitolina in a blockbuster first-round match at the Cincinnati WTA 1000 tournament. The Ukrainian has been one of the sporting stories of the year herself, also returning to the sport after giving birth to her daughter, Skai, in October and doing so at a time when her country is at war.

While Wozniacki prepared for her comeback by competing in the women’s invitational doubles at Wimbledon, Svitolina made a remarkable run to the semi-finals in SW19 shortly after reaching the French Open quarter-finals.

Caroline Wozniacki plays Elina Svitolina in the first round in Cincinnati. Photograph: Robert Prange/Getty Images

Wozniacki said: “She came back really quickly after having kids, she had a year off and then was back immediately, basically three months later and she’s been playing well. It took her a couple of tournaments to get into the rhythm but then she’s been playing really well obviously, winning Strasbourg, and then quarters and then semis of the grand slams.

“It’s nice to see a lot of mums on tour now and that they’re doing well, playing well and that you can do both.”

Wozniacki marked her return to professional tennis last week in Montreal, another WTA 1000 event, by comprehensively winning her first-round match against Kimberly Birrell 6-2, 6-2 before losing 6-2, 7-5 to the Wimbledon champion, Marketa Vondrousova. While Wozniacki fought hard, her 41 unforced errors underlined the work ahead. “I feel like I could have played a little better,” she said. “But at the end of the day, I’m very proud of just how far and how I kept playing and I think as we progress it’s just gonna get better and better.”

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Although there are some significant differences in their comebacks, the speed with which Svitolina has found her feet should be inspirational for Wozniacki. But while the Ukrainian has experienced such great highs so soon into her return, it still took her time to find her feet, her comeback including early defeats at lowly ITF events. For Wozniacki, the challenge has just begun.

Novak Djokovic will compete in the United States for the first time since 2021 after he was not allowed to enter the country due to his decision to decline vaccinations from Covid. It will also be the first time the Serb has competed since his loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final.

“Throughout my life I’ve really developed this kind of mindset that I don’t look back with regret and things,” Djokovic said. “The reason why I was not here for two years, I have zero regrets on that. So I’m just glad to be back.”

In Toronto, the 21-year-old Jannik Sinner of Italy became a Masters 1000 champion for the first time by defeating Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-1.