Do we like Caroline Wozniacki?
Our score: 7 out of 10. Nothing harmful of her own turned up and there's some real good, but the record on LGBTQ+ and climate issues is thin and one 2012 stunt copped criticism.
Wozniacki is a Danish tennis player who made it to world number one, and she's one of those athletes who stays in the news long after the serving stops. Even in 2026 she's turning up in headlines for a courtside chat, which says plenty about how much goodwill she's got in the bank.
The most recent fuss was a bit of tennis-world bickering. In October 2025 Danish commentator Peter Bastiansen told a newspaper she would never return to top tennis, and she hit back on Instagram, writing “Peter, you are a clown” and accusing him of bullying her for over 20 years. It was a public spat over her career, not a scandal, and her side is that he's been needling her for two decades.
The old stains are small. In 2009 she retired from a Luxembourg match while ahead, and betting on her opponent surged after the opponent's father was overheard telling her to quit; she denied any wrongdoing, and the AP report says she didn't expect to be disciplined. In 2018 she complained of abuse from the Miami crowd aimed at her, while the tournament director said no one had told security about any threats.
On the harm test, the one real mark is from 2012, when she stuffed towels into her clothes to mimic Serena Williams in an exhibition, and some online called it racist. Williams herself said she didn't think Wozniacki meant anything racist, while adding she should be more sensitive next time. Beyond that, nothing harmful turned up in what she's said, and that includes nothing either way on trans rights or climate, so the record there is honestly thin.
The good stuff is quieter. In 2018 she told Refinery29 that women and girls have just as much right as boys to “have a voice”, and she's backed girls in sport as a cause. In 2017 she served lunch to elderly people and helped in the kitchen of Hong Kong's Food Angel food-rescue program with the WTA Foundation.
So: a decent sportswoman with a sharp tongue when she's cornered, one cringey exhibition, and a record of backing girls in sport. We'd happily cheer her on, with a note that we'd like to hear more from her on the issues that matter to us.