It was only a couple of hours this weekend that were enough to show the whole turmoil of the tennis world once again. Early in the morning on Saturday the organizers of the US Open announced in unadorned words the cancellation of a certain Andrea Petkovic for the ghost tournament in the "Billie Jean King Center". Then on August 22nd it didn't take long for Angelique Kerber to speak up, the German number one, the three-time Grand Slam winner and long-time top ten player - and a close friend of Petkovics. Kerber came to a different, but in truth not entirely surprising, conclusion: she will take part in the first Grand Slam tournament in the middle of the pandemic, the 32-year-old said after “careful consideration and intensive discussions with my team ":" I didn't make this decision easy for myself. "

From the top trio of German women's tennis, Kerber will now be the only representative to face the challenge of the most unusual major in history. Julia Görges had long been out of the circle of US Open participants, she had made her discomfort more than clear with any transcontinental travel. Petkovic had also secretly been joking with the US Open in the Corona era for a long time, at a show tournament in Berlin she recently said that she could "only imagine the trip" with great difficulty: "My parents and some friends are against it anyway." So she will only follow the tournament as an interested observer, maybe also in her beloved supporting role as a part-time journalist at ZDF. Petkovic will still play tennis this season, including the upcoming, relocated French Open, but her real focus is on 2021 - a season that could also be the last in the career of the 32-year-old Darmstadt. “In any case, Corona will not end my career. That's out of the question, ”says Petkovic.

Kerber - anticipation for the restart predominates

At Kerber, you might think that the situation is broadly similar. But in all the uncertainties surrounding Corona and his own sporting future, Kerber definitely wants to start in the Big Apple first - even if this experience will have nothing to do with the intoxicating moments of the past. It is “nice” to start again after the long break in New York, says Kerber, it outweighs “the anticipation of the new start, even if a lot will be different.” Unlike, for example, 2011, when Kerber's career in a dramatic one US Open guest appearance with the semi-finals experienced its first significant acceleration. And all the more different from the magical performance four years ago, which culminated in the tournament victory and the jump to number 1 in the world rankings. "I associate a lot of emotional moments with the US Open," says Kerber, but she currently has no great expectations and is happy "to finally be able to play matches again."

Kerber had experienced an even more emotional moment when, almost two years after the US Open coup, she realized her lifelong dream, triumph on the sacred lawn of Wimbledon. She often had a hard time later, the 2019 season was bumpy, with more lows than heights. At the Grand Slam tournaments, she was more of a supporting actress, far from building on the successes of the past. 2020 should actually bring the turning point, but after just seven games - four wins, three defeats - the German number one came to a complete standstill. And with this standstill, uncertainties, doubts and questions crept in as to how things can go on with their own career. Kerber was one of those players on the home stretch of their tennis life who were less financially than emotionally affected by the pandemic - trapped in a strange limbo, threatened by the danger of not being able to motivate themselves for big and biggest goals.

Kerber's journey into the unknown

Kerber, whose last match was the lost round of 16 at the Australian Open against Anastasia Pawljuschenkowa (Russia) in January, last trained in her own academy in Poland, but then also with the new, old coach Torben Beltz in Mallorca. She disappeared completely from the public, only appeared at the Center Court inauguration in Bad Homburg - where she wants to and will be the boss at the future WTA tournament. When exactly she will enter this new world of work and life is uncertain. Just as uncertain as her personal comeback in professional tennis at the US Open 2020 and beyond. Kerber has big plans, especially at the French Open, she wants to try to make the seemingly impossible possible and to win the last missing Grand Slam cup. Kerber also knows that there can be new setbacks. And also the questions to yourself as to whether the whole drudgery is worth it further and further. For the moment, Kerber is motivated and in good spirits for what's coming in New York. And that's why she now sits on the plane. Because in one year everything can be different.