Former world No.1 Ana Ivanovic will treat her fans with a nice surprise next month — she’ll visit the Upper Austria Ladies Linz tournament as a guest of honor during the women’s final.
“The amazing Ana returns to Upper Austria!” the WTA 500 event announced. “Our two-time champion Ana Ivanovic will be our guest of honor for this year’s final’s weekend!” Tennis fans will have an opportunity to get an autograph from the 2008 Roland Garros champion. The Upper Austria Ladies Linz is scheduled for January 29 – February 4, 2024.
Ivanovic’s illustrious career boasts an impressive tally of 15 titles, with two noteworthy triumphs in Linz. In 2008, she dominated the Linz final against Vera Zvonareva with a commanding 6-2 6-1 victory. Two years later, in 2010, she continued her Linz success by defeating Switzerland’s Patty Schnyder in the title match with an equally impressive score of 6-1 6-2. Although her quest for a third Linz title faced a setback in 2013, when Angelique Kerber emerged victorious in a closely contested final, securing the win with a scoreline of 6-4 7-6(6).
Mentioning Kerber, the German champion will play the 2024 Upper Austria Ladies Linz, having recently returned to the Hologic WTA Tour after giving birth to her first child in February last year. Ivanovic, mother of three boys, has no intention of resuming her tennis career, as she revealed in the most recent interview:
To be honest, I can’t imagine a comeback at the moment. Life with three children is very demanding and busy, but it’s really nice to see other moms coming back. It’s great because it shows what women are capable of. The life of a professional athlete is so demanding with all the travelling and training, it’s amazing to see how women manage it all alongside motherhood. When you become a mom, you see things from a different perspective and become calmer and more mature, and that benefits the moms on tour!
Ivanovic’s connection with Austria goes beyond her Linz titles. The Serbian tennis star has a house in a picturesque Austrian village of Westendorf and her family loves spending time there. Skiing is their favorite activity in Austria and they are all big fans of kaiserschmarrn, a traditional Austrian dessert, a type of shredded pancake.
I wish she can play Legends matches in Grand Slams! That would be nice. Maybe a doubles with Andrea Petkovic?
Emman Damian, Ana seems to be too busy with three very young kids and the development of her beauty industry business. It would be lovely to see her back on the court, at least for a legends match. I’m sure she’ll play one at some point.