Serena Williams shows support as good friend Caroline Wozniacki reaches third round of US Open 2023 after coming out of retirement

Serena Williams took to social media earlier on Thursday (31 August) to express her happiness as good friend Caroline Wozniacki continued her dream run at the 2023 US Open.

Caroline Wozniacki made a successful return to Grand Slam tennis in New York this week. The former World No. 1 had initially retired at the 2020 Australian Open following a long battle with multiple injuries and rheumatoid arthritis.

More than three years after her retirement, however, the 33-year-old Dane shocked the entire tennis community when she announced in June that she was making her return to competitive tennis. Her subsequent comeback has been more than fruitful, going by her results at Flushing Meadows.

Wozniacki defeated Russia's Tatiana Prozorova in her first Grand Slam match since 2020. The former World No. 1, however, saved her best for her second-round defeat of 11th-seeded Petra Kvitova, overcoming her higher-ranked opponent 7-5, 7-6(5) to reach the third round. She will next face Jennifer Brady for a place in the fourth round of the US Open.

The Instagram handle of the US Open subsequently lauded the Dane for her win over Kvitova on her comeback trail. Their post was eventually amplified by the 23-time Major winner on her Instagram stories.

"Yessssss," the 41-year-old wrote, along with a series of emojis to show her love for Wozniacki.

A screen capture of Serena Williams' story

Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki have met 11 times on the WTA Tour. The American leads their head-to-head record by a whopping margin of 10-1. Most notably, they faced off in the final of the 2014 US Open, which Williams won in straight sets.

The former World No. 1's only victory over the 23-time Major winner came in the quarterfinals of the 2012 Miami Open.

The two players also partnered up in doubles at the 2020 ASB Classic, where they finished as the runners-up to the pair of Asia Muhammad and Taylor Townsend

Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki have been buddies for years despite their on-court rivalry

Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki at the 2020 ASB Classic

Although Caroline Wozniacki was subjugated to multiple beatdowns by Serena Williams, she didn't let their encounters on the women's tour sully their personal relationship.

Williams even proclaimed the Dane to be "one of her true friends" during an interview with CNN in 2016.

“Caroline is really honest, she’s really real. She’s one of my true friends that will tell me the truth no matter what because she doesn’t have anything to gain or to lose, and that’s what I love about her,” Williams said in 2016

Wozniacki, on her part, admitted a few years ago that Williams was the first friend that she had called following a tough break-up with Rory McIlroy, whom she dated for three years.