She is a winner of 30 WTA titles, including the Australian Open crown that she won last year by defeating Simona Halep in the final to claim her maiden Gland Slam crown. Caroline Wozniacki’s career up until this point is Hall of Fame-worthy.
Currently ranked outside the top 10, Wozniacki shocked the tennis world last summer when she announced that she had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Currently out of action due to a viral illness, the Dane was forced to pull out of consecutive tournaments in Doha and Dubai last month. So could be reaching a critical stage in the career of the former world No 1?
Speaking to sport.pl last month, father and coach Pitor Wozniacki revealed that his daughter’s outstanding career may be on borrowed time. Pitor’s admission came before Wozniacki was struck down with her latest setback that has since seen the 28-year-old travel to the US in search of a cure to her sickness, which she revealed in a press conference in Dubai that she has be battling with since last December.
Although she was able to put up a valiant effort in her attempt to defend her Australian Open title in January, she crashed out of the championships in the third round to Maria Sharapova. Trying to find a way to manage her recently diagnosed arthritis condition plus a viral illness in Australia, it is remarkable but also not surprising given Wozniacki’s fighting and courageous spirit that she was able to reach the third round in Melbourne and push Sharapova so close.
You don’t win 30 career singles titles, including a Grand Slam title, without having something ingrained in you called a will to win. A never say die attitude is a phrase renowned to describe Wozniacki and very few would argue against it.
After all, this is a woman who was ranked outside of the world’s top 70 in 2012 and managed to fight her way back to the summit of the women’s game. A world class competitor that has battled injuries in the past and still managed to claw her way from obscurity – albeit nothing to the extent of rheumatoid arthritis.
Count Wozniacki out at your peril – it would take a brave individual to bet against Wozniacki somehow finding her way back into the world’s top 10 and challenging for the major titles come the end of 2019. At this moment Wozniacki’s main focus is finding the right balanced and methods of how to manage her ongoing conditions.
Wozniacki hopes to play Indian Wells and Miami this month. She has had great success in the past at both Premier Mandatory events, most notably by winning the title at Indian Wells back in 2011.
