Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is a former world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. Wozniacki is the first Scandinavian woman to hold the top ranking position and 20th overall.
Background
Ethnicity:
Wozniacki is the daughter of Polish Roman Catholic immigrants, Piotr and Anna Wozniacki.
Caroline Wozniacki was born in Odense, Denmark on July 11, 1990. She is the daughter of Anna Wozniacki, who played on the Polish women's national volleyball team, and Piotr Wozniacki, a professional footballer. Wozniacki's older brother, Patrik Wozniacki, is a former professional footballer in Denmark.
Career
Wozniacki made the debut on the ITF Junior Circuit in October 2003. She started her career by entering two Grade 5 events in Denmark. It was the lowest-level tournament on the tour. Wozniacki reached the final at both singles events, winning the second over compatriot Hanne Skak Jensen. Later, she won her first four singles events of 2004 in Grade 3 and Grade 4 tournaments.
After Wozniacki won a streak of five tournaments, 27 matches, and lost to Latisha Chan at the International Juniors Championships in Manila, she competed only in Grade A and Grade 1 events. In 2005, Caroline won several junior tournaments. She lost to Patty Schnyder in the first round of the WTA Tour at Cincinnati's Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open on 19 July 2005. In the Nordea Nordic Light Open, she lost to Martina Suchá in the first round.
In 2006, Wozniacki took first place at the Australian Open. In February, she reached her first WTA Tour quarterfinal. She beat Kristina Brandi and Ashley Harkleroad but later lost to Sofia Arvidsson. Caroline also won the Liverpool International Tennis Tournament, beating Ashley Harkleroad in the final, and the Wimbledon girls' singles tournament. In August, Wozniacki reached the WTA Tour quarterfinal at the Nordea Nordic Light Open.
Caroline Wozniacki participated in the United States Open girls' singles. In the first round, she won the first set against Russian Alexandra Panova but was disqualified in the second set.
In the Osaka Mayor's Cup, Caroline won singles and doubles. In October, she won the $25,000 tournament in Istanbul by beating Tatjana Malek in the final. Wozniacki faced Venus Williams in the Memphis WTA Tier III event on 20 February, where was beaten. In February 2007, she won a singles title in Ortisei, beating Italian Alberta Brianti. On 4 March, Caroline won the tournament in Las Vegas, where she beat top-seed Akiko Morigami in the final. Wozniacki also made the semifinals of the AIG Open in Tokyo in October, her first career WTA Tour semifinal.
At 2008 Australian Open, Wozniacki defeated Gisela Dulko and Alona Bondarenko, and then lost to Ana Ivanovic. At Wimbledon, she reached the third round but lost to Jelena Janković.
Caroline Wozniacki won her first WTA Tour title at the Nordic Light Open in Stockholm. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, she beat Daniela Hantuchová in the second round and then lost to Elena Dementieva. Wozniacki also won her second WTA Tour title at the Pilot Pen Tennis in New Haven. She defeated Dominika Cibulková, Marion Bartoli and Alizé Cornet.
At the United States Open Wozniacki was the 21st. She defeated Victoria Azarenka in the third round, but lost to Jelena Janković in the fourth round.
Wozniacki started the 2009 season by losing to Elena Vesnina in the quarterfinals in Auckland. She reached the quarterfinals in Sydney but lost to Serena Williams. At the Australian Open, Caroline lost in the third round to Jelena Dokic.
In the same year, Wozniacki won her first title of the year at the MPS Group Championships on green clay in Ponte Vedra Beac, where she defeated Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak. In Charleston, she defeated top seed Elena Dementieva in the semifinals, and then lost the final to Sabine Lisicki. Caroline also reached the final of the inaugural Premier Mandatory Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open.
Wozniacki won her second 2009 title in Eastbourne. She defeated Virginie Razzano in the final.
Caroline became the first Danish woman to reach a Grand Slam final. She won in three sets against reigning French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth round and defeated Melanie Oudin in the quarterfinals and Yanina Wickmayer in the semifinals. In the final, Caroline was defeated by Kim Clijsters.
Due to results, Wozniacki was qualified for the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha for the first time, where she advanced to the semifinals.
In the 2010 WTA tournament of the year, Wozniacki lost in an opening-round to Li Na of China. She was seeded fourth at the Australian Open. Wozniacki competed at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, where she advanced to the semifinals. She also became third at the French Open and advanced to the fourth round at Roland Garros. Caroline was seeded third at Wimbledon, where she defeated Tathiana Garbin, Chang Kai-chen, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova but in the fourth round, she was defeated by Petra Kvitová.
In Cincinnati, Caroline Wozniacki won her third singles title of the year. In New Haven, she defeated Nadia Petrova in the final for her third consecutive title. As a result of this, Caroline also won the United States Open Series.
Wozniacki was the top seed at the United States Open because of the withdrawal of Serena Williams. She advanced to the semifinals but lost to Vera Zvonareva.
In the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo Caroline won back-to-back three-setters against Victoria Azarenka and Elena Dementieva. She ended the season with six WTA singles titles.
At the 2011 Australian Open, Caroline Wozniacki made it to the semi-finals, losing to Li Na, and then winning tournaments in Dubai and Indian Wells. Wozniacki also played in the title match in Doha. Caroline won several matches in each competition and rarely lost before the semifinals. At the French Open, she lost in the third round and at Wimbledon in the fourth.
At Wimbledon, for the first time in five years, Carolina lost in the first round of the Grand Slam tournament. She was unable to cope with Tamira Paszek. In the summer, Wozniacki reached the quarterfinals of the Olympic tournament, played in the semifinals of two major WTA tournaments, but the slight injury received in New Haven did not allow her to be in satisfactory shape for the United States Open. This led to a second consecutive first-round defeat in the series.
In the same year, with the participation of the Danish and Australian federations, Wozniacki made her debut in the Hopman Cup. Together with Frederik Nielsen, they played the group round of the tournament, marking a victory over the United States national team, but then lost to world No. 2 Petra Kvitová.
At the start of the 2013 season, Carolina reached the final in Indian Wells. In June, she reached the semifinals of the competition in Eastbourne, and in August played in the quarterfinals in Cincinnati and the semifinals in New Haven. In the fall, Caroline competed in the semi-finals at the Tokyo tournament, the quarterfinals in Beijing, and won the title at the Luxembourg competition.
In 2014, Wozniacki participated in the fourth round in Indian Wells, the quarterfinals in Miami and the semi-finals in Monterrey. On the grass, however, everything went well again. The tournaments in Eastbourne and Wimbledon began a successful part of the season, which continued in the second half of the summer with a title at a tournament in Istanbul, a quarterfinal in Montreal, a semi-final in Cincinnati and the first final in five years at the Grand Slam competition - at the United States Open.
At her first tournament in the fall of 2014, Wozniacki was able to reach the final, in which she lost to Serbian Ana Ivanovic with a score of 2-6, 6-7. A week later, she was able to reach the semifinals at the premier tournament in Wuhan. At the end of the season, Caroline qualified for the WTA Finals for the first time since 2011. In her group, she was able to defeat all rivals - Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova and Agnieszka Radwanska. In the semifinals, she could not beat Serena Williams, ending the season in 8th place in the ranking.
At the beginning of the 2015 season, Wozniacki played in the final of the tournament in Oakland, where he lost to American Venus Williams - 6-2, 3-6, 3-6. In February, Caroline reached the semi-finals in Dubai and the quarterfinals in Doha. In early March, she won the tournament in Kuala Lumpur, beating Alexandra Dulgheru from Romania in the decisive match - 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. She also reached the final of the tournament in Stuttgart, managing to win Carla Suarez Navarro and Simona Halep. In the title match, she lost to Angelique Kerber - 6-3, 1-6, 5-7. In Madrid, she was able to reach the quarterfinals, where she lost to Maria Sharapova. At Roland Garros, Wozniacki lost in the second round.
In June 2015, Wozniacki reached the semifinals of the Eastbourne tournament. At the Wimbledon tournament, she advanced to the fourth round. On the American Grand Slam, she lost in the second round to Petra Kvitová. In September, she reached the semifinals of the tournament in Tokyo and this result was the best in the fall of the season for Wozniacki.
Carolina started 2016 with the semifinals of the tournament in Auckland. At the Australian Championships, she was defeated in the first round. At Wimbledon, she lost the first round match to Svetlana Kuznetsova. In August, Wozniacki took part in the Olympic tournament in Rio de Janeiro, where she met Petra Kvitová in the second round and eventually lost. At the United States Open, she was able to reach the semifinals.
In September 2016, Wozniacki won her first title of the season in a tournament in Tokyo. In the final, she defeated the young representative of Japan Naomi Osaka with a score of 7-5, 6-3. Another title in the season Carolina took in October at the tournament in Hong Kong.
Wozniacki began the 2017 season at the Auckland Open. She breezed past Nicole Gibbs and Varvara Lepchenko but then lost in the quarterfinals to Julia Görges in three sets. At the Apia International Sydney, Wozniacki placed tenth. At the 2016 Australian Open first-round clash, she defeated Yulia Putintseva in straight sets and was defeated by Barbora Strycova in three close sets in the quarterfinals.
Caroline Wozniacki was seeded 17th at the Australian Open. She reached the third round, defeating Arina Rodionova and Donna Vekic, but lost to Johanna Konta.
Caroline participated at the BNP Paribas Open, where she beat Magda Linette, Kateřina Siniaková and Madison Keys, not losing a set, to advance to the quarterfinals where she lost to Kristina Mladenovic. At the Miami Open, Wozniacki defeated Varvara Lepchenko and Sorana Cîrstea in straight sets. She advanced to the quarterfinals with a retirement from Garbiñe Muguruza, where she beat Lucie Šafářová in straight sets. In the semifinals, Caroline beat Karolína Plíšková in three sets to advance.
At the Volvo Car Open, Wozniacki made it to the quarterfinals won Annika Beck and Anastasia Rodionova in straight-set, but lost to Jeļena Ostapenko.
Caroline Wozniacki also played at the French Open as the 11th seed. She beat Jaimee Fourlis, Françoise Abanda, CiCi Bellis and Svetlana Kuznetsova, but lost to Jeļena Ostapenko for the third time in three sets. She then played at Wimbledon as the fifth seed, where she beat Timea Babos in three sets, and Tsvetana Pironkova in straight sets. She also beat Anett Kontaveit, but lost to Coco Vandeweghe in straight sets.
Wozniacki competed in the Swedish Open, where she made her fifth final of the year, beating Pauline Parmentier, Viktorija Golubic, Kateryna Kozlova and Elise Mertens. She was beaten by Katerina Siniakova in the final. Later, she participated in the Cincinnati Open defeating Elena Vesnina and Ashleigh Barty before falling in the quarterfinals to Karolina Plíšková. At the United States Open, Caroline defeated Mihaela Buzărnescu but lost to Ekaterina Makarova in the second round.
At the Pan Pacific Open, Wozniacki defeated Shelby Rogers, Dominika Cibulkova, Garbiñe Muguruza and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. At the Hong Kong Open, she won her first-round match against Eugenie Bouchard but withdrew from her next match.
At the WTA Finals, Caroline Wozniacki beat Elina Svitolina and Simona Halep. But in her third match, she was defeated by Caroline Garcia in three sets. Nonetheless, she made the semifinals, where she beat Karolina Pliskova in straight sets to advance to the final, where she finished runner-up. In the final, she beat Venus Williams for the first time to win the biggest title of her career.
Wozniacki began her 2019 season at the Auckland Open, but she was beaten in the second round by Bianca Andreescu. In Melbourne, she made to the third round but lost to Maria Sharapova in three sets.
In Indian Wells, she lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova in three sets. In Miami, she made it to the fourth round by beating Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Monica Niculescu, but lost to Hsieh Su-wei. Wozniacki ended her season without winning a title for the first time since 2007. In December, Wozniacki announced that she was going to retire from tennis after the 2020 Australian Open.
Wozniacki reached the semifinals of the ASB Classic beating Paige Hourigan, Lauren Davis and Julia Görges, before losing to Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals. Her last tournament was the Australian Open. In the third round, she lost to Ons Jabeur.
Views
Caroline Wozniacki endorses initiatives that support and empower youth, with an emphasis on young girls. She is an ambassador to the Oriflame Charity, whose mission is to empower children through education. Other charities Caroline supports include the Tohoku Charity, UNICEF Spain Committee, FERO Foundation and Champ'Seed Foundation, which serve purposes ranging from assisting those affected by natural disasters to helping young tennis talents who lack the financial resources necessary to reach international levels.
Quotations:
"Whether you're tall or shorter, or a little bigger, more curves, skinny - you just have to be proud of what you have, and everyone is beautiful."
"Very few women get asked to be in the swimsuit issue, and I'm really proud to be one of so many beautiful and empowering women."
"I like to be with my friends and my family, listen to music and read books. Things like that relax me."
"You feel better about yourself when you do something with yourself. You also feel more confident."
"It's always been a thing. Like, I don't touch my belly button. That's something nobody knows about me."
"Pretty hard to sweep me off my feet. It would have to take someone very special. You never know. I guess when you least expect it, it's going to come."
"The rankings show the players playing the best and most consistent for 12 months."
"I think that's my personality, to have a good laugh and not to take myself too seriously. And of course I have my things on the court but when I'm off the court I just like to have fun."
"Young players are more hungry because they have not achieved what some of the older players have."
"My mom was a volleyball player, and my dad was a soccer player. I never thought about it, but they always served healthy food at home, and I love it, and it kind of was a regular part of my day."
"I think America is a great place to grow up. It's a good lifestyle."
"I had a fan go down on one knee with a ring and ask me to marry him."
"Every time I go out onto a tennis court, I know what to expect."
"I think you just have to take life as it goes, and I believe you never get things put on you that you can't handle."
"Sometimes I need a boost, and I go for something that's a little bit more intense and a bigger beat."
"I have a really wide range of interests and I've still got time to work out my exact direction."
Personality
Caroline speaks Danish, Polish, English, and Russian.
Physical Characteristics:
Caroline Wozniacki is 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) and weighs 63 kg (139 lbs).
In 2018, Wozniacki announced that she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.