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Caroline Wozniacki is set to start her clay season at a familiar spot as the former world No. 1 accepted a main draw wildcard into Charleston, where she enjoyed big success in the past.
On Wednesday, the organizers of a WTA 500 tournament in Charleston announced its wildcard lineup, which features Wozniacki, 2023 WTA Elite Trophy champion Beatriz Haddad Maia, USA’s Shelby Rogers and 2023 Wimbledon girls’ singles champion Clervie Ngounoue.
When it comes to Wozniacki, her participation is certainly particularly exciting to the tournament organizers as the 33-year-old Dane – who was a finalist in three of her six Charleston appearances – is set to return to the American clay event for the first time since 2019.
Meet the #CharlestonOpen wildcards 🃏
▪️ Former World No. 1 & ’11 #CHS champ Caroline Wozniacki 🏆
▪️ Brazilian trailblazer & World No. 13 Beatriz Haddad Maia 🇧🇷
▪️ #Charleston native Shelby Rogers🌴
▪️ 17-year-old American & ’23 Wimbledon girls’ singles champ Clervie Ngounoue🌱 pic.twitter.com/25rd2LGLvQ— Credit One Charleston Open (@CharlestonOpen) March 27, 2024
Before retiring from pro tennis in 2020, Wozniacki made six appearances in Charleston. In her tournament debut in 2009, Wozniacki instantly enjoyed success on the clay courts of Charleston as she made the final before losing to Sabine Lisicki. In 2011, the Danish former world No. 1 won her first Charleston title while she ended as runner-up at the tournament in her last appearance in 2019.
In the other three Charleston appearances, Wozniacki had one semifinal showing and two quarterfinal exits.
Wozniacki returns to Charleston after unretiring last summer
Since ending her retirement which lasted three and a half years last summer, Wozniacki has returned to some of her favorite tournaments. After returning to the Australian Open in January – the tournament where Wozniacki won her first and lone Grand Slam title in 2018 – the Dane is now also set to play again in Charleston, where she is also a past champion.
“We are excited to have an impressive lineup of wild cards this year, including former World No. 1 and past champion Caroline Wozniacki… Caroline’s return to the courts in Charleston adds a layer of anticipation and nostalgia for our fans,” Charleston tournament director Bob Moran said.
This year’s Charleston player field includes three top-10 players – Jessica Pegula, Ons Jabeur and Maria Sakkari. Among other notable names, there are Elina Svitolina and Daria Kasatkina.
It remains to be seen how far can Wozniacki go in her Charleston return.
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