Former World no. 1 and Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki will be hanging her boots following next year's Australian Open. The 29-year old Danish star posted this announcement on her Instagram page.
"I've accomplished everything I could ever dream of on the court. I've always told myself, when the time comes, that there are things away from tennis that I want to do more, then it's time to be done. In recent months, I've realized that there is a lot more in life that I'd like to accomplish off the court.
"Getting married to David was one of those goals and starting a family with him while continuing to travel the world and helping raise awareness about rheumatoid arthritis (project upcoming) are all passions of mine moving forward," Wozniacki wrote in her post.
She further continued: "So with that, today I am announcing that I will be retiring from professional tennis after the Australian Open in January. This has nothing to do with my health and this isn't a goodbye, I look forward to sharing my exciting journey ahead with all of you!
"Finally, I want to thank with all my heart, the fans, my friends, my sponsors, my team, especially my father as my coach, my husband, and my family for decades of support! Without all of you I could have never have done this!"
Wozniacki contested in three Grand Slam finals. The first one came in 2009 US Open where she lost to Kim Clijsters. Five years later, she was back in the final of the same event but again finished second to Serena Williams. Her wait for a Grand Slam title ended in 2018 when she won the other hard-court Grand Slam – Australian Open – by defeating Simona Halep.
But those are not the only accomplishments of Wozniacki. She also spent 71 weeks atop WTA rankings – putting together all her separate reigns. She also won the 2017 World Tour finals by defeating Venus Williams in Singapore, also on hard court.
It was clear that hard court was the surface where she was at her best. She never made the semi-finals of either the French Open or the Wimbledon. In the former, she had two appearances in the quarter-final stage. In the US Open, she got to semis on four occasions while in Australian Open. Interestingly, in the Australian Open, apart from her victory, she made the semis just once.
So, it would be apt that she would be ending her career on her favourite surface and the Grand Slam where she triumphed a year ago. Hopefully, she will go out all guns blazing.
