Caroline Wozniacki didn't qualify thanks to her ranking for the upcoming Paris Olympics, but she will play after getting an ITG wild card.
Players need to be eligible to compete at the Olympic Games. That criteria isn't too hard to accomplish for most players, but some may struggle to fulfill representation duties. The ranking is the most important factor because that directly determines 56 players who get to qualify, thanks to their ranking.
As a WTA veteran who came back to the sport, Wozniacki hasn't been able to have a sufficient ranking. She has performed reasonably when she did play, but she's not playing nearly enough to really move the needle on the rankings.
Due to that, her participation at the upcoming Olympics would have to come down to her getting one of two ITF wild cards. The former world number one got one, as she announced on social media.
"Today I officially qualified for my 4th Olympics!!! Paris 2024, see you there!!!"
Paris will be her fourth Olympics after Beijing, London, and Rio. Wozniacki didn't play in Tokyo because she was retired at the time. The ITF handed out two wild cards, one to Wozniacki, with the other one yet to be decided.
Some have suggested that Emma Raducanu might get that one, as she's a former Grand Slam champion, which is one of the two qualifying criteria. It will be great to see the former flagbearer back at the Olympics, though she hasn't had a really good year so far.
On clay, in particular, the Danish player looked all sorts of out of place, going 1-2 so far. Still, the Olympics are the Olympics, and she didn't want to miss them, especially not if they are played in Paris, at the famed Roland Garros courts, where many players love to compete.
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