Participating in the Olympic Games is something that is planned – and dreamed of – long in advance. An example of this is a world sports star like Caroline Wozniacki, Danish tennis player and former world No. 1 who longs to attend the sporting event par excellence. To do so, before setting foot in Paris 2024, she has had to suffer and plan her return to the courts.
The Dane returned to the circuit in August last year after having two children in three and a half years, which has kept her away from top-level sport. Once back, the Olympic Games are one of the incentives to return, “one of the reasons why I came back was to play in the Olympics”.
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That return has not been easy: she lost in the fourth round of the U.S. Open in September, in the quarterfinals of Indian Wells and in Denmark she has lost her last seven matches before retiring against Sinja Kraus in Denmark’s Billie Jean King Cup loss to Austria.
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The tennis player, who will turn 35 this July, suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and must measure her tournament schedule more to take care of her fitness. In the clay court season, she has just played in Madrid, losing in the second round against Errari, although as Caroline herself says: “Clay is different”. Now comes Roland Garros and Wokniacki has work to do on clay dust to be able to compete in the world’s biggest sporting event.
She is currently ranked No. 118 in the world and is hoping to qualify for Paris 2024 as one of the 56 direct acceptances in the women’s singles draw. Right now, Angelique Kerber and Naomi Osaka top the list for that qualification should they not qualify by ranking, plus Emma Raducanu and Bianca Andreescu who, like Wozniacki, are Grand Slam champions and outside the top 100 ranking.
The Dane has competed in three Olympic Games, reaching the third round at Beijing 2008, quarterfinals at London 2021 and second round at Rio 2016. Asked if she would prefer another Grand Slam or an Olympic medal, the tennis player replies that she would choose either, “but I personally would love to get an Olympic medal.” A gold, silver or bronze weighs as much as a ‘Musketeers’ Cup’. That’s the Olympic magic.
