Caroline Wozniacki likes to bake and she travels with a teddy bear and she has revealed that aspects of her professional and private life have taken her by surprise to some degree. She says she did not expect the attention they garner and at times has sort of had to take stock of things; take a deep breath and carry on.
She has opened up to say that her relationship with former world No.1 golfer Rory McIlroy has not been the easiest of paths. It has nothing to do at all with their feelings for one another but everything to do with the public attention that comes with being in a high profile relationship.
“Fame sometimes brings unexpected attention about your private life, especially when my romance with Rory went public,” she said. “Honestly, it’s a challenge to keep the relationship going as we both have busy schedules.
“I don’t really pay attention to what the media says about us. I think it’s just part of the job. If you do well and you are popular, you will be the target of gossip. Despite the scheduling issues, we’ve made our relationship work so far. Hopefully we can keep making it work.”
Certainly golf has become a favourite for her and she is “pretty proud” of the fact that while playing a par-3 course not long ago, she made 6 pars. She doesn’t say if Rory had to shout “foouurr … look out” on the other holes.
Considering the attention the relationship has endured, Caro says that she is not quite sure if she would announce an engagement if they do get engaged, even though it is not something she has been considering.
Her Monte Carlo “neighbour” Novak Djokovic announced his engagement to long-time girlfriend Jelena Ristic recently and Caro says she will be hanging out for an invitation to the wedding, “if his engagement is true”.
“Last year I was told he was engaged as well, but when I went to ask him, he said he was not, so I need to confirm with the right source,” said Wozniacki jokingly.
When she gained the WTA world No.1 ranking on 11 October, 2010, it was a dream coming true for her, but it all happened so fast. That added attention was also new to her and something she had to get used to just as fast. She handled things very well especially in light of the fact that media were constantly banging on about her never having won one of the four majors.
“I learned a positive lesson when (my ranking slipped),” said Caroline. “Being No.1 for 67 weeks, if I lost a match, it seemed like a disaster in the media reports. I think I reached the point where I had to calm down a little bit mentally to make me really hungry again.”
As to the baking she loves to do, it seems like chocolate chip cookies are a big deal for her and as for that teddy bear she travels with in her luggage, she says “sleeping with my teddy bear helps me to relax”. She could probably compare notes with Vika Azarenka who has a collection of teddy bears.
