When the dust had settled after Caroline Wozniacki’s final match of her professional career, the tears flowed. But these were happy tears for the former World No.1 and Grand Slam champion. Wozniacki has lived her dream and is aware of just how special that is.
“I've learnt so much,” she said when asked what she felt she had learned from her playing days. “I wouldn't be the person I am today without all those experiences.
Wozniacki, who is just 29 years old, says that having the courage to dream big and to follow those dreams made all the difference from her.
“I think the main thing I've learned is no matter where you're from, no matter what color of your skin, no matter if you're tall or short, big or small, doesn't matter,” she said. “If you have a dream and you go for it and work hard, anything is possible. I had a dream when I was a kid. I wanted to win a Grand Slam. I wanted to be No. 1 in the world. People thought that I was crazy being from a small country. But I made it happen. I worked so hard for it every single day. I'm very, very proud of that.”
As Denmark’s first Grand Slam champion Wozniacki hopes that her pioneering legacy will live on in players in similar situations. And she hopes they’ll remember her legendary work ethic and unquenchable competitive fire.
“I hope that people will think of me as a hard worker, someone that gave it everything every single day,” she said. “I hope that I'll give inspiration even to the players from small countries that may have never had a world No. 1 or a Grand Slam champion, someone in the top 10, that they can do it.”
Photo credit: Mark Peterson / Corleve