Former Wimbledon semifinalist Tsvetana Pironkova has announced her plans to return to professional tennis after a nearly three-year hiatus.
The 32-year-old Bulgarian played her last match at Wimbledon in 2017, losing to Caroline Wozniacki, and later gave birth to a son in March of 2018.
The highest-ranked Bulgarian and standard-bearer for women's tennis in her country for much of the last decade, Pironkova revealed her intentions in an Instagram post earlier this week, making her the latest mother set for a WTA comeback.
"For the past three months, I have been intensively training in order to compete at a professional level again," the native of Plovdiv wrote.
"It wasn’t an easy decision, considering the extend of the challenge. There are many circumstances that I need to take into account, but what matters the most is that I have the love and full support of my family.
"I would also like to thank everyone who has been supporting me throughout my tennis journey for the past 15 years. It truly means a lot and it is definitely a source of inspiration!"
Pironkova reached a career-high ranking of World No.31 in 2010, the year in which she reached the final four at Wimbledon and became the first woman from Bulgaria to reach a Grand Slam semifinal in nearly 20 years.
Ranked World No.82, Pironkova did not lose a set in five matches - including a stunning, 6-2, 6-3 win over then-World No.2 Venus Williams in the quarterfinals - and won the opening set against eventual runner-up Vera Zvonareva before falling in three sets.
She won her first - and only - WTA title to date at the Premier-level Sydney International in 2014 as a qualifier ranked outside the Top 100 - scoring eight wins overall, and three Top 10 victories, to ultimately hoist the trophy.
Best known for that penchant of beating big names on big stages, particularly on grass, she owns 12 wins over Top 10 players, and also reached the quarterfinals of the 2016 French Open.
Pironkova also owns the current Bulgarian record for singles wins in Fed Cup (22), total ties played (39) and years played (13). She is tied with Katerina Maleeva for most overall wins (29).
