Caroline Wozniacki was left in tears after the Dane’s glittering tennis career ended in a third-round defeat at the Australian Open on Friday. The former world No 1, who announced in December that this would be her final tournament, lost 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 to lower-ranked Ons Jabeur of Tunisia.
The unseeded 29-year-old Wozniacki brings the curtain down on a career that saw her win 30 WTA titles, with her sole Grand Slam triumph coming in 2018 at Melbourne Park. She was in tears when the end came at the hands of 78th-ranked Jabeur and just under two hours later, her eyes were still red and puffy as she arrived at her post-match press conference.
“I was told there are tissues here. I see the tissues in case I need them, I think I’m cried out,” said Wozniacki, who was given a round of applause by reporters.
She was also given a generous reception by Melbourne Arena crowd after hitting her last shot in tennis – “I finished my career with a forehand error. Those are the things I’ve been working on my whole career,” she joked to the crowd. Choking back tears, Wozniacki, now ranked 36, added: “Guess this is just how it was meant to be.”
Here’s how Twitter reacted to Wozniacki’s farewell:
🏆 2018 Australian Open champion
— bet365_aus (@bet365_aus) January 24, 2020
🇺🇸 2 x US Open finalist
🙌 30 x WTA titles
💪Longest time span for a female player to return to no. 1 (2012-2018)
Caroline Wozniacki, thanks for the memories. #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/IAiSpri2MG
Draped in Danish flag with Sweet Caroline blasting from the speakers & tears pouring from not only her face but her fans, Caroline Wozniacki walks off the court for the final time in her career. @1116sen pic.twitter.com/7BJY9jL6Fb
— Meredith Gibbs (@meredith_gibbs) January 24, 2020
71 weeks at number one. As a kid, that felt like a LONG time. She fought as hard as you could ask for tonight. Unfortunately, you see that even tonight she wasn’t acknowledged as as great as she was. Thank god she got a slam. Too bad she didn’t get to see Serena here. #Wozniacki pic.twitter.com/k4PBW1aHA7
— Down The Line (@Downtheline___) January 24, 2020
Wozniacki: I hope that I'll give inspiration even to the players from small countries that may have never had a world #1 or a Slam champion, someone in the top 10, that they can do it. I hope that I'll leave some happiness around the locker room. It's a very tough environment.
— Reem Abulleil (@ReemAbulleil) January 24, 2020
Caroline Wozniacki "Won at least one singles title 11 years straight from 2008 through 2018, a streak only bettered by Graf, Navratilova, Evert and Sharapova (tied with Goolagong Cawley, Wade and S.Williams)"
— Mark Nixon (@markalannixon) January 24, 2020
Lots of emotions all around Melbourne Park at the moment. Ash Barty sought out Caroline Wozniacki and her family, giving a hug to each and congratulating them all on a wonderful career.
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) January 24, 2020
Wozniacki sought out Serena in the locker room after loss to comfort her friend. #AusOpen
"Caro, I don’t know how to say goodbye to you.“
— WTA (@WTA) January 24, 2020
“Thank you for everything you’ve done for tennis.”
"I wish you all the best in your personal life. Happiness. Health.”@atptour players @rogerfederer, @DjokerNole & @RafaelNadal send messages of ❤️ to @CaroWozniacki.#CongratsCaro pic.twitter.com/JkHBtBV43n
Papa Wozniacki presenting his daughter for the last time 😂 pic.twitter.com/B3H5BgzdXH
— LorenaPopa 🕵️♀️🎾 (@popalorena) January 24, 2020
The Melbourne Arena crowd seranades former AO champ Caroline Wozniacki with ‘Sweet Caroline’ as she exits after her last ever match. 🎾🇦🇺 #ausopen pic.twitter.com/EHCnjLqFad
— Tony Penny (@antoin_og) January 24, 2020
What a great career Caroline Wozniacki had #AustralianOpen #AO2020 pic.twitter.com/CM3SWdwoDC
— SportsTalk with Kash (@lazysportsdude) January 24, 2020
Caroline Wozniacki had an incredible career and overcame years of basically being called a fraudulent # 1 because she was Slamless. She gave me and our faves countless headaches, and there will be a real void in the WTA without her. Congrats to her battered fans most of all ❤️❤️
— Matthew 🐨🧽 (@MRisingStar18) January 24, 2020
Sharapova with some nice words for Wozniacki. pic.twitter.com/nbvOrR9wpj
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) January 21, 2020