Caroline Wozniacki and her husband David Lee. Photo/USA Today FTW
The former world No. 1 retired after the 2020 Australian Open match
She had just wedded her husband David Lee who is an ex-NBA player
She will now stage her grand return at the 2023 US Open
Why did Caroline Wozniacki retire from tennis after the 2020 Australian Open match?
This is a big puzzle that many people are interested in following news that she is returning to the court after a three-year hiatus. She will grace the Flushing Meadows tennis courts in New York during the US Open in August 2023.
She is lucky that the tournament officials granted her the chance to go back to what she loves and treasures most. At 32, she is optimistic about getting back to the top and reclaiming her lost glory. The US Open also sets her up for the Paris Olympics in 2024.
IS CAROLINE WOZNIACKI COMING BACK?
The former world No. 1 is staging a powerful comeback at the last Grand Slam of the year. But, why did Caroline Wozniacki retire? Here is the truth. At 29, she could no longer deal with the pain in her feet due to rheumatoid arthritis. Her doctors had diagnosed her earlier and she hoped her physical condition would get better but it didn’t eventually push her out of tennis.
Caroline Wozniacki. Photo/CNN
Besides, she also cited her desire to start a family as part of the reason why she chose to retire in January 2020. Rheumatoid arthritis was problematic for Wozniacki for several years, and it got worse in the months leading to the 2020 Australian Open. She struggled to train and perform at her peak because of the pain and exhaustion brought on by the disease.
Then, she was dating former NBA player David Lee and eventually got married. She felt the time was right to shelve her tennis ambition and focus on raising a family. The couple now has two kids.
WHAT IS CAROLINE WOZNIACKI DOING NOW?
With the information above on why did Caroline Wozniacki retire, it is clear she has made progress in her rheumatoid arthritis treatment. She is currently focused on her comeback at the US Open. However, it suffices to say that she is currently doing great as a mother and wife – she switched off tennis to focus on raising a family.
Her retirement elicited a lot of sadness from her fans but they understood that her illness left her with no much of a choice. The Dutch had given her all to tennis and she equally got so much in return including the world No.1 ranking. However, in June 2023, Wozniacki announced that she would be coming out of retirement to play at the US Open.
She has been training for several months now and she feels confident that she can play again. Her return is a testament to her love for tennis and her competitive spirit and she serves as an inspiration to many athletes plagued by challenging situations never to give up.
WHAT WAS CAROLINE WOZNIACKI DIAGNOSED WITH?
Rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis tells you why did Caroline Wozniacki retire. She was diagnosed in 2018 and she couldn’t believe it.
Caroline Wozniacki returns to tennis. Photo/ WTA.
“I was diagnosed in 2018 (which was a total shock to me)….After Wimbledon in the summer of 2018, I felt like I had been hit by a bad case of the flu. I even pulled out of playing matches because of it. My knuckles were sore, and I just felt lousy,” Wozniacki writes in Blog.Athritis.org.
So bad was it that she barely moved and her husband David had to carry help her get out of bed. Most people, her family included, couldn’t tell what she was going through. She is glad that she made her diagnosis public because her fans and strangers supported her in a big way.
“After going public with my diagnosis, the best thing that could have happened was the online support with women who are going through something similar. I don’t know what I would have done without that support. A lot of people in my world didn’t really understand what I was going through; so, to have women reach out and relate to it was so great,” she adds.
While this is a chronic condition, the tennis star gladly takes a day at a time to manage it. The fact that she will live with it for a lifetime pushed her to remain strong, intentional and decisiveness.
Teresa is a journalist with years of experience in creating web content. She is a wanderlust at heart, but an outgoing sports writer with focus on tennis, athletics, football, motorsports and NBA.
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