Caroline Wozniacki, once the most dominant force in women’s tennis, is making headlines again, though this time it has nothing to do with a Grand Slam trophy. The 35-year-old Danish superstar recently turned heads on social media after sharing photos of herself vacationing on a luxury yacht in the crystal-clear waters off St. Barts in the Caribbean. Dressed in a tiny red bikini on the deck of the boat, Wozniacki looked every bit as athletic and stunning as she did during her peak playing years. Fans and followers flooded the comments with admiration, marveling at just how incredible she looks as a mother of three.
The getaway was a celebratory one, as Wozniacki and her husband, former NBA star David Lee, were there to mark the 40th birthday of designer Evelyn Meni. The couple, who tied the knot in June 2019, were joined by a group of close friends and influencers for the occasion. Lee, who played in the NBA for twelve years and earned an All-Star selection during his career, has been by Wozniacki’s side as she stepped away from professional tennis to focus on family life. The two make for one of sport’s most admired power couples.
Despite her remarkable physical shape, Wozniacki has been increasingly candid about the likelihood of a permanent retirement from the sport. She has not competed on the WTA Tour since the 2024 US Open, and last year she and Lee welcomed their third child, a baby boy named Max. The couple already had a four-year-old daughter named Olivia and a three-year-old son named James, making their household a lively and full one. Balancing motherhood on that scale with a professional tennis comeback would be no small feat.
Speaking on the podcast Nothing Major, Wozniacki was refreshingly honest about where her head is at when it comes to returning to the court. “No. I think that’s it,” she said when asked about a potential comeback. She did leave a small window open by adding that she still has time to decide and that she would never say never if she felt she could get back into shape. However, her words painted a clear picture of someone who has found contentment far beyond the baseline: “With three young kids, that’s already a full-time job. I want to travel, and it was fun doing TV work, I really enjoy that. I think that’s my next step. I love working a few weeks a year and then focusing on family. That’s the perfect balance.”
Before her life as a wife and mother, Wozniacki went through one of the most publicized heartbreaks in sports. From 2011 to 2014, she dated golfing superstar Rory McIlroy, and the pair even got engaged after a New Year’s trip to Sydney, going so far as to send out wedding invitations to guests. A few months later, however, McIlroy called off the wedding in a dramatic fashion that left Wozniacki blindsided. In a public statement, McIlroy said, “There is no right way to end a relationship that has been so important to two people. The problem is mine. When the wedding invitations were sent out over the weekend, I realized that I simply wasn’t ready for everything that marriage entails.”
Wozniacki later opened up about just how painful the experience was, particularly the cold way it was handled. “I was in shock. I thought we would at least talk face to face, but there was nothing. It was just a phone call and after that I never heard from him again,” she recalled. She also expressed frustration at how the breakup was immediately made public: “It was very hard because he put everything out in public immediately. He issued a press release and all that, so I had no choice.” Despite the emotional toll, she ultimately moved forward and found lasting happiness with Lee.
Caroline Wozniacki was born on July 11, 1990, in Odense, Denmark, to a Polish father who was a professional soccer player and a Danish mother who was a professional handball player, making her athletic pedigree essentially inescapable. She turned professional in 2005 at just 15 years of age and rose through the ranks at a remarkable pace. In 2010, she became the first Scandinavian woman and the first Danish player of any gender to reach the world No. 1 ranking in tennis. She held that top spot for a total of 71 weeks across her career. Her biggest Grand Slam victory came at the 2018 Australian Open, where she defeated Simona Halep in an electrifying three-set final after Halep had been ranked No. 1 in the world at the time. Wozniacki is also well known for her charitable efforts, particularly around raising awareness for rheumatoid arthritis, a condition she was diagnosed with in 2018. She first announced her retirement from tennis in 2020 before making a comeback in 2023, ultimately stepping away again after the 2024 season.
David Lee, her husband, had his own decorated NBA career, playing for teams including the New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors, and Boston Celtics, among others, from 2005 to 2017. He was selected as an NBA All-Star in 2013 and won an NBA Championship ring with the Warriors in 2015, though he spent that postseason recovering from injury.
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