By Chris Oddo | Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Caroline Wozniacki lost to Serena Williams all four times she faced her in 2014, but that's not why the Dane has nominated the 18-time Grand Slam champion for Sportswoman of the year.
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Caroline Wozniacki took her friendship with Serena Williams to another level this week when she nominated her on-court rival and off-court confidante and mischief maker for Sportswoman of the Year for 2014.
Read the Full Letter Here
Wozniacki, who dropped four matches to Williams this season, including the US Open final and a riveting three-set battle in the semifinals of the WTA Championships this October, writes that Serena is deserving of the accolade not only for her tennis but also for her persona.
“It’s just so impressive that she has been so good for as long as she has,” Wozniacki writes. “This is her 18th year on the Tour, and she’s averaged 3.6 tournament wins each year, for a total of 64. But it’s not just her athletic accomplishments that are admirable. She inspires me as a person as well, and that’s why I’m choosing Serena as my Sportswoman of the Year.”
Wozniacki, who credits Williams for helping her through difficult times this season, says that the 18-time Grand Slam champion is both unselfish and genuine, something that can’t be said for a lot of sports’ megastars these days.
“When you go through hard times, you find out who your true friends are, and Serena Williams was one of the first people to be there for me when my engagement unraveled last spring,” Wozniacki writes. “She didn’t have to support me—she has her own life, her own problems and her own career to worry about—but she was there when I needed someone to lean on the most. We talked on the phone, and she told me that it was going to be hard to recover, but that when I did get to the other side, I was going to be a stronger person. And now I am.”
Whether or not Williams, who had an off year on the court by her own lofty standards, is worthy of winning the award this year, Wozniacki’s tribute, and insistence on considering her off-court humanity as much as her on-court heroics, paints a great picture for the camaraderie of women’s tennis, and gives flattering perspective into what makes the oft-misunderstood and polarizing Williams tick.
But there was one thing that Wozniacki took issue with when it comes to Williams: "My only problem with Serena is that I’m tired of losing to her. So I told her, Watch out, I’m coming for you in 2015.