Caroline Wozniacki felt ‘disrespected’ by Roland Garros officials over wildcard snub
The French Tennis Federation has come under fire over their treatment of Caroline Wozniacki with the former world No 1’s father and coach saying she will skip Roland Garros next year after organisers failed to give her a wildcard for the 2024 tournament.
Wozniacki was one of a host of big-name players who missed out on wildcards with former Roland Garros champion Simona Halep as well as 2021 US Open winner Emma Raducanu, and two-time French Open runner-up Dominic Thiem all ignored.
Instead, 12 of the wildcards went to French players with two going to players from the United States and two to Australians due to the reciprocal system with Tennis Australia and the United States Tennis Association.
Wozniacki, who came out of retirement last year and received wildcards for the 2023 US Open and the 2024 Australian Open, was eligible to enter qualifiers for the French Open as she is just outside the top 100 in the WTA Rankings, but her father and coach Piotr Wozniacki says they felt disrespected so opted not to enter.
“Sure we could [enter qualifiers], because we have the ranking that allows it. We could have signed up in advance for the qualifiers. But Caroline said that she didn’t work hard all her life and didn’t achieve so much to start like a junior now,” he told Poland’s Gazeta.
“At some point in life, however, there should be respect in a sport where a person has meant something. There is no information from the WTA or the ITF, the organiser of Grand Slam tournaments. Caroline told me that it was difficult – if she didn’t get a wildcard to Roland Garros – at most she wouldn’t play in it.
“She preferred to wait to see how they would respond to her application rather than apply for a qualifier. I support her. And I will tell you that Caroline will definitely not play next year either. We have already decided that. Because there is no point in going into something like this. They don’t take us seriously, so it’s a waste of our efforts.”
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But there is better news for Wimbledon as the 2018 Australian Open winner has indicated that she will be happy to enter qualifiers should the All England Club fail to give her a wildcard.
Piotr added: “Caroline is not the type of person who considers the qualifiers a dishonour. She can play in the qualifiers. But in the case of Roland, she simply wanted to see if she was respected.
“That’s why she didn’t enter the qualifying rounds, risking losing the tournament at most. She told me so: ‘Dad, I’m not going to enter because I’m curious how they will treat me’.
“And by the time she got the answer, it was too late to apply for the qualifiers. With Wimbledon, on the other hand, the thing is that we are waiting, but we already know what to expect.”
