Anna Chakvetadze, the former world No.5 who retired in 2013, has been seen listed as an alternate at three ITF tournaments this August in Belgium. Is the Russian making a comeback at 36 years old?
Chakvetadze has been spotted on the list of alternates for the August 7-13 Flanders Ladies Trophy Koksijde, an ITF W25 tournament in Belgium. Moreover, her name is listed as an alternate at W15 Duffel, a clay-court event taking place the following week, and at the August 21-27 W15 Wanfercee-Baulet.
During her successful career, Chakvetadze won eight WTA titles, from 2006 to 2010. In 2007, she played the semifinals of the US Open, in addition to quarterfinals at the Australian Open and Roland Garros. At the end of the peak year of her career, she was tied up and robbed in her Moscow house, which greatly impacted her future. When she retired in September 2013, she noted that the robbery happened at the worst moment and it resulted in her absolutely disastrous 2008 tennis season.
The last tournament Chakvetadze played was the 2012 Tashkent Open, where she came through qualifying and lost in the second round to Galina Voskoboeva. In 2014, she got married to a Swiss businessman with Ukrainian citizenship and gave birth to a baby girl Kira four years later.
It’s truly astonishing to hear that Chakvetadze is building her return to competitive tennis. Her journey back to the sport is both surprising and inspiring. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)
Love this! Imagine if JJ, Ivanovic, Kirilenko, Aga and Hantuchova also returned. That would be a revival of a tennis era I would be thrilled to see again. Chakvetadze’s and Wozniacki’s return makes me believe it is possible.