Angelique Kerber opens up on almost quitting tennis in 2011

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• WTA Tennis

Three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber, 34, revealed she contemplated retirement amid a rough 2011 season. In 2011, Kerber was struggling with her game and for months was losing in the early stages of the main-level events.

Then during the North American hard court swing, Kerber made back-to-back semifinals in Dallas and the US Open. The rest is history as Kerber went on to win three Grand Slams and reach the No 1 ranking. "Not at all. That wasn't typically me.

I'm someone who sees things through to the end, even at school, where I didn't enjoy everything either. I've always been a perfectionist. If I didn't like my writing, I just wrote it again. But 2011 was a tough period. I had been knocked out on the first lap 11 times in a row, threatening to drop out of the top 100.

That's when I felt it didn't make sense anymore. I didn't pick up a racket for weeks, but then my character came through again and it was in my head: I want it. Almost a question of will. And here we are at the title of the book.

So at some point I came to and then had my breakthrough with the semi-finals of the US Open in 2011,” Kerber told BILD.

Kerber: I wasn't depressed

When asked if she felt depressed during her struggling period in 2011, Kerber answered with a no.

"No, absolutely not [fall into depression]. It never went that way. It is very important to me to emphasize that,” Kerber noted. Meanwhile, Kerber is currently sidelined as she is pregnant with her first child. Kerber, who will be turning 35 in January, has confirmed that she plans to return to tennis next year. Kerber's return will likely come at some point during the second half of the 2023 season.