Catching up with Danish tennis star and Godiva global ambassador, Caroline Wozniacki
Last week, Caroline Wozniacki, currently ranked number five among the world’s women’s singles players in tennis, was in New York City prior to the U.S. Open to meet with the press to discuss her role as Godiva Chocolatier’s global ambassador. Wozniacki spoke with reporters at the Godiva boutique in the MetLife building about her love of the brand’s Soft Serve and signature Belgian chocolate.
Godiva is paying tribute to Wozniacki’s role at the U.S. Open by creating a “tennis-themed” chocolate, appropriately named the “Caroline.” The tennis racquet shaped, limited edition piece is made of Belgian chocolate wrapped around a strawberry filling. The “Caroline” will only be available to shoppers in select New York City Godiva boutiques as a complementary sweet treat when they purchase any Soft Serve from August 31, 2015 through September 13, 2015.
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| Caroline playing in her Adidas by Stella McCartney outfit |
Wozniacki is known for being fit and fashionable both on and off the court (her Adidas by Stella McCartney tennis outfits garner a lot of attention). As a world-class athlete, Caroline may not fit your idea of a stereotypical chocolate fan. She explains how she balances this sweet indulgence as well as other aspects of her busy life with her hectic pro tournament schedule…
You are frequently in the news for non-tennis related events like the Godiva partnership or your participation in the New York City Marathon. Is it hard to find time for all of your interests given the demands of your sport?
I think, first of all I am a tennis player and I always know that’s my priority. I want to be the best player that I can be, and then I try to fit all the other things around that. I always make it work so that I can do my training and everything and then do all the things on the side which I love and it’s my passion. I always think it’s important to keep it fun and to keep it interesting because going to and from the tennis courts all the time would also be hard mentally to do that for years and years.
So it helps you to handle the pressure when you have variety?
Yes, this way it keeps it fun, it keeps me doing different things; it keeps everything light.
How many marathons did you run in the past year?
I only did one proper marathon, but I do a lot of running and I do a lot of long runs just to keep fit and all that. I am probably going to do another competitive marathon in a few years but I am going to wait for a little bit. One was good for me for now. It was an amazing experience and an amazing accomplishment. Once I crossed the finish line it was amazing; I felt so good.
Even for an athlete at your level?
Exactly, it was totally different and a huge challenge.
Let’s talk about your involvement with Godiva. It might come as a surprise to some people that someone who has to watch her diet loves chocolate and you have also said that you love to bake.
Well it’s amazing, you know I have had a sweet tooth for so long and when I started playing tennis my dad would put up targets on court and when I hit them he would buy me ice cream. So since I was a little girl that has always been an incentive for me. I think as an athlete that we have to eat healthy and make sure that we do the right things for our body, but at the same time you know we burn so many calories every day and we need the sugar sometimes. For me to have some chocolates at night, it’s perfect. It’s a good way to recover as well and it ‘s good for your mental state as well. So, for me to work with Godiva is wonderful.
Do you indulge every day?
(Laughs) almost, yes, I do. I mean I have chocolates at home and I’ll have a chocolate truffle here, one there, I mean it’s just a part of who I am. My friends laugh at me and they say, “you’re supposed to be an athlete”, but you know what? It’s good for me, it’s good for my mental state of mind and it tastes so good. It’s all about balance in life.
Turning to tennis, you and Serena Williams are reportedly very good friends. How do you prepare yourself mentally to face someone as an opponent that you have a close relationship with off the court?
I think that once you are prepared for a match you are so focused and just in your own world, you just do your own thing. You’re out there to do a job, you’re out there to win and that’s all that matters. Once we are off the court and you can kind of just enjoy your time, it’s completely different and you can just hang out and do normal stuff; go for dinners, I mean everyone has to eat, right? It’s all about again the balance between being one hundred percent focused on the court and being able to relax and enjoy your time off the court.
Do you socialize with other tennis players when you are in a tournament?
I do, I mean we’re all friendly with each other, but most of the time when you’re in a big tournament, you go about your own things, you do your own stuff and try to prepare as best you can. Because everyone has different schedules, some people play at night, some people play in the morning, some people don’t play the same day as you so everyone is on their own routine or schedule.
Do you have a preference between the night matches and the day matches?
I love the night matches here at the Open. Arthur Ashe at seven o’clock is like, the best.
In addition to tennis and running what other sports do you enjoy?
I ‘m just a big sports fan in general. I ‘m a sporty person so I love to play different kinds of sports as well and I think for me it’s interesting to see how other athletes work and how they play and how their mental focus is and, you know, it’s so different from sport to sport and I find that very fascinating. I think it’s fun and it’s fun to see the crowd, as well, they are totally different in basketball than they are in tennis and they’re totally different in American football than they are in golf and it’s just fun to see that transition.
Since you travel all the time on the tennis circuit you must have some tips that you’ve learned to make traveling easier. Can you share any of your travel secrets?
I used to bring 10 pairs of jeans, well now I am exaggerating, five pairs of jeans in different colors and different tops and hot and cold — at the end of the day, you figure out that when you go somewhere for two weeks, what do you really need? You need a dark pair of jeans and a light pair of jeans and with that you can pair anything; maybe a skirt as well, and you can just mix it up. It’s all about trying to keep the same colors and then you can pair different things and make different outfits out of it and that way you don’t over pack. I think that’s one of the best tips I can give.
You’re known for your fashionable outfits on the court. How much time do you spend focusing on what you are going to wear in a tournament?
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| Adidas by Stella McCartney US Open Series Kit for Caroline Wozniacki |
I know what I am going to wear already awhile in advance. I know that for this tournament I’m going to wear this, for this tournament I’m going to wear that, so for me, it’s pretty simple. I know okay, for this week, these are the outfits I’m going to wear and it’s all set.
A few more things you may not know about Caroline Wozniacki:
She roots for Liverpool in Soccer.
If she could play any past tennis champion, it would be Steffi Graf.
Her favorite types of chocolate are milk chocolate, white chocolate with caramel and dark chocolate with strawberry ganache.
– Rhonda Erb
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