Caroline Wozniacki's father Piotr has beef with tournament wildcards

Piotr Wozniacki is talking and acting more like a father than his daughter Caroline Wozniacki's coach. He recently spoke out about the injustice associated with tournament wildcards, calling the WTA an amateur organization. He hinted that Caroline may not be happy about his public rant but that did not deter him.

His issue is that Caroline did not get tournament wildcards for the Italian Open or the French Open. To be fair, she is among a long and accomplished list of players who did not get a wildcard to the French Open including Simona Halep, Dominic Thiem, and Diego Schwarztman.

Wildcards have been a hot button for players and fans alike. Caroline Wozniacki herself stoked the fire earlier in the spring when she shared her opinion that players guilty of doping, an allegation specifically directed at Simona Halep, should not be afforded tournament wildcards.

So much talk about tournament wildcards

I have been a tennis fan for decades and have not heard as much discussion on tournament wildcards in all those years as I have heard in the past six months. The playing environment has changed with players coming out of retirement as Wozniacki did or coming off an extended time off court due to legal issues (Halep), injury (Emma Raducanu), or maternity leave (Naomi Osaka and Angeliquie Kerber).

Piotr Wozniacki has been around the sport of tennis long enough to know that accusing the WTA of wildcard injustice is foolish. The WTA does not govern the administration of individual tournament wildcards; that is up to the tournament director of each event.

Most players may be disappointed by not getting a wildcard, but they do not talk about it publicly. Piotr's outburst could hurt Caroline Wozniacki's chances of getting future wildcards if tournament directors are angered by his behavior and do not want to deal with him or her at their tournament.

Ironically, Dominic Thiem, who many thought was the most deserving of a French Open wildcard because of his Roland Garros record, is going through the qualifying rounds. He does not think his play in recent years, after dealing with a prolonged wrist injury that has caused him to announce his retirement within the year, is worthy of a wildcard.

Amazing how different the perspective is, Wozniacki and Thiem each have one Grand Slam title (2018 Australian Open and 2020 US Open, respectively). Wozniacki is a two-time French Open quarterfinalist and Thiem is a two-time French Open finalist. One's team is objecting to the wildcard distribution tactics, and the other is on the court trying to earn his spot into the main draw.

What do you think of all of the wildcard chatter we have heard in 2024?

Read more on Lob and Smash