Updated on 11/04/2022 13:37
- At the age of 34 and expecting her first child, Angelique Kerber presents her autobiography.
- In “A Question of Will” the former world number one describes her way to the top of tennis.
- But since she is also a big soccer fan, she is also busy with the major sporting event in 2022: the soccer World Cup in Qatar.
Angelique Kerber is on the way to perhaps the most exciting phase of her life. In 2023, the former world number one would like to combine being a mother with success in competitive sports.
The pregnant 34-year-old used the time before that to write down her life so far, at least parts of it. “A question of will” outlines Kerber’s roller coaster ride towards the top of the world in tennis.
“The future can come, because I know who I am and the path I have taken to get here”: This is what it says in the blurb of the book and on a poster in the background when she presents her transcript in the Schwabinger Café Reitschule in Munich.
© action press/Henryk B. Bilski
Born in Bremen, she seems in the best of moods when she chats with tennis commentator Matthias Stach about the contents of the book and thus her career so far: “I’m fine.”
Angie Kerber is expecting her first child in 2023
In the spring of 2023, the 2016 Wimbledon champion is expecting her first child with her boyfriend Franco Bianco. But she still hits balls on the tennis court, because this sport is her “absolute passion. Tennis is my life and will always remain so. I also miss playing properly,” she says. She still has her “touch”, i.e. the feeling for the ball. “I think it stays that way.” And she has her running shoes with her in Munich, because it is important to keep fit.
For the moment when she intervenes again in an event that Kerber can currently only follow on television. The big football fan also wants to follow the broadcast of the controversial World Cup games from Qatar there.
Like every observer and fan, she too is curious to see how the World Cup is going, she told our editorial team. “I’ll follow it and take a look. I was in Qatar myself because of our tournament. But the World Cup is a completely different league than our tennis tournaments.” The time was “difficult” and above all the situation in the country itself. “But during a tennis tournament you are in your own rhythm, in the stadium, you know where you have to go. But I’m curious about what’s happening in Qatar now , how the World Cup will go, what will be said urgently.”
Also read: World Cup host Qatar has been spying on FIFA officials for years
But Kerber is even more excited about his own future: with tennis and a child. “When I come back, I really want to come back,” emphasizes Kerber. Of course, she exchanged ideas with tour colleagues like Serena Williams, who lost to Kerber in the final in Wimbledon after her baby break in 2018, Victoria Asarenka or Kim Clijsters. You are one of the top athletes who have successfully played professional tennis again in the past after having children.
Olympia 2024 in Paris is still a big goal for Kerber
The three-time Grand Slam tournament winner recently described the 2024 Olympics as a big goal. But Paris doesn’t have to be the end of it. “It’s not like the 2024 Olympics should be my last tournament,” she says.
Kerber reached the quarterfinals in London in 2012 and the final in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. There she was defeated by Mónica Puig from Puerto Rico. Tokyo 2021 she canceled injured. “Being a mom is the best thing in the world, so it’s something super nice for her, and I think she’s super happy about it, too,” said mother-of-two Tatjana Maria during the US Open in Kerber’s direction.
© dpa / Frank Molter
In 2011, Kerber was at the end and flipped the switch with “Petko’s” help
Kerber is familiar with comebacks. In 2011 she even wanted to end her career after being knocked out eleven times in a row in the first round. Her problem was her laziness. “Before 2011, I was a completely different player and a completely different person,” she admits. You didn’t train particularly hard before this turning point. Her focus was on playing tennis and enjoying it. “At some point I realized: That’s not enough to get where I want to be.” Although she had been on the tour for eight years at the time, Kerber noticed that her colleagues like Andrea Petkovic had rushed her. Training together with “Petko” and their tips helped Kerber get back on his feet both physically and mentally.
The hard work paid off. But it took time. In 2016, Kerber won the Australian Open and the US Open. In the same year she also became the first German number one in the world since Steffi Graf. “I know how to keep coming back. I know it can be a long and intense journey. I’m trying to get it done as quickly as possible,” says Kerber about her comeback plans.
Angie Kerber is excited about her new life
“I don’t know how it will change. You need a different routine and you have to organize it differently. But I know myself: it will work if you want it and have the right people around you. But it will probably be a bit It takes time. But it should also be a positive feeling. But it’s a time that I’m looking forward to and that I don’t know yet,” said Kerber when asked by our editors.
If the desired successes are no longer achieved after her return to the tennis circus, then the question of when she will finally say goodbye to professional sport arises for the future mother. “At some point the moment will come when I realize it’s time to take a different path,” says Kerber, looking at this unforeseeable moment. “But I trust my feelings one hundred percent.”
With material from the dpa
An unusual duo: Angelique Kerber and Manuel Neuer are both founders of the company. The former number one in the world tennis rankings, who is currently on break while pregnant, and the DFB captain will be bringing care and sun protection products onto the market from November, especially for active people.
