Caroline Wozniacki has spoken with Danish media about the upcoming WTA Elite Trophy In china which begins on November 2nd.
The $2,150,000 event will consist of 12 participants, players ranked 9-20 and one wild card entrant. The event is seen as a consolation event to the WTA Finals in Singapore, which gets underway a week before the event. The new event will be held in Zhuhai until 2019 and replaces the Tournament of champions, which was held between 2009-2014.
Wozniacki has already qualified for the tournament, however, the two-time Grand Slam champion admitted to Ekstrabladet.dk that she did consider risking a fine and skipping the tournament after a lengthy season.
“I took a day where I thought, ‘Can I motivate myself enough to play the tournament and can I work through in these weeks leading up to it”. The former world No.1 said.
“IfI felt that I was too tired, I would skip. But I would like to give it one last try”.
Wozniacki said that she thinks that everybody in the top 20 would like to not be committed to the event as the season approaches its end. Recently there have been discussions regarding the length of the WTA Tour, which last eleven months, and how it is affecting the players. During the Asian swing there was a high amount of withdrawals due to injury which included Victoria Azarenka, Sabine Lisicki and Maria Sharapova.
Wozniacki is currently ranked 11th in the world and has won one title this year in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Looking ahead to 2016, the former world No.1 is on the hunt for her first Grand Slam title as well as Olympic glory. Wozniacki’s best Grand Slam performances was at the US Open where she reached the final in 2009 and 2014. Speaking with dr.dk, the 25-year-old said that she ‘wants to take the final step’ as she prepares for the five key tournaments of next year.
“I have won virtually every other tournament, I have been in Grand Slam finals twice and semifinals many times, so I want to take the final step. Then there is the Olympics next year, and I’ll try to get a medal. It is the goal and this is what I will train for”. She said.
Wozniacki also spoke about playing the Olympics in 2020. Wozniacki said that she still has ‘many years’ on the tour, however she remained coy about playing in Tokyo where she will be 31-years-old.
“I would not say it is completely excluded, but I do not see myself playing in Tokyo 2020. But you never know. Right now, I take it one season at a time and brands, according to how I feel in the body and in the head”. Wozniacki said.
Wozniacki is currently back in Europe, where she will be training before heading back to China for the tournament in November.
