Caroline Wozniacki: Her best WTA achievements after retirement decision

Caroline Wozniacki will end her tennis career after the Australian Open. Here, we look at her biggest accomplishments on the WTA Tour circuit.

It was a big decision that took some by surprise when Caroline Wozniacki announced she would be retiring after the Australian Open.

Wozniacki, 29, endured a difficult 2019 and will only play one month of the new WTA Tour season after opting to bring an end to her impressive tennis career.

The Dane announced on Friday that she wants to pursue some of her goals off the court having battled as a professional since she was a 15-year-old.

Wozniacki stressed her decision was not related to being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2018, though she would be raising awareness about the condition after her retirement, along with travelling the world and hoping to start a family.

While the last 12 months have not gone the way Wozniacki wanted with her year-end ranking dropping from 3 to 38, that does not take away from what she previously achieved.

Here, we look back at some of her key accomplishments:

Australian Open champion

Wozniacki won her first, and as things stand only, Grand Slam trophy by beating Simona Halep amid sweltering conditions in the Australian Open final of 2018.

The first Dane to win a singles tennis major, she topped Halep 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-4 in a thrilling fight lasting just short of three hours as both players battled to open their Grand Slam accounts.

It all could have been so much different, as earlier in the tournament Wozniacki had to save two match points when playing Jana Fett in the second round.

Two-time US Open finalist

Wozniacki is a three-time finalist at major level, having twice made the showpiece of the US Open in addition to her Australian Open win.

She lost on both occasions in New York finals against formidable opposition, Kim Clijsters winning in 2009 and Serena Williams coming out on top in 2014.

Wozniacki liked Flushing Meadows, making the semifinals on three occasions in addition to her two finals, so it is something of a surprise she never lifted the trophy.

Those final defeats, bear in mind the one to Clijsters came more than eight years before her Australian Open title, made the eventual major success in Melbourne all the sweeter.

WTA Finals winner

The biggest event outside of the Grand Slams, the WTA Finals, went the way of Wozniacki in 2017, as she beat Venus Williams in the final.

Wozniacki’s win in Singapore came after she had lost all seven of her previous meetings against Venus. They have not played again since.

Caroline Wozniacki has 30 WTA Tour titles

Wozniacki has won 30 WTA Tour titles and among active players there are only three, Serena, Venus and Maria Sharapova, who have won more.

Wozniacki won at least one WTA Tour event for 11 consecutive seasons from 2008 until 2018, with this year being the first time since her early days on the Tour that she did not lift a trophy.

The Dane has reached a total of 55 WTA Tour finals, making her record in showpiece matches 30-25.

World number 1 in 2010, 2011… and again in 2018

Caroline Wozniacki first became world number one in October 2010, holding the position for four months, including the year-end top spot. She then reclaimed it from Clijsters, who kept it for only a week in February 2011.

From there, Wozniacki remained in first place for just under a year, Victoria Azarenka eventually dethroning her only after she had had become a back-to-back year-end number one.

That she would return to the top spot in 2018 after her Australian Open win, more than seven years after first reaching the summit in the WTA rankings, was a superb achievement.

She spent a total of 71 weeks at world number one, a record second only to Serena when it comes to active WTA players.

Her return to the top in 2018 was more remarkable because she had previously dropped as low as number 74 in 2016 as she struggled with form and injuries, before managing to bounce back emphatically.