Australian Open 2012: Why Caroline Wozniacki Will Fail on Another Big Stage

The struggles of Caroline Wozniacki are no secret in the world of tennis.  Unfortunately for the young woman from Denmark, it doesn’t appear that her struggles are going to end anytime soon.

Hopes were high as she began to make her way into the tournament, but only yesterday, those hopes took a massive hit.  In the quarterfinal round of the Sydney International on Wednesday, Wozniacki was eliminated from the tournament by seventh-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska in three sets. 

Furthermore, she was bothered by a wrist injury in the match, which has, at the moment, jeopardized the possibility of her playing in the Aussie Open.

These are just a couple of reasons why, yet again, young Wozniacki is doomed to fail on another big stage. 

This is not to say that I’m cheering for her to fail—a simple fact is that Wozniacki is only a month older than myself, so I’d love to see her finally win.  Maybe that’s just a personal thing.

Still, that is one of her biggest flaws—her youth.  I understand that this is something she can’t just magically improve with practice, but she seems to get very flustered in big-time matchups.  The pressure gets even stronger when you consider that you’ve got the top ranking.

Maria Sharapova did win Wimbledon when she was 17—I know that.  I also know that many young ladies below 21 years old have had success.  However, this presents a different situation in Wozniacki’s case.

At age 20, she was moved up to being the top-ranked player in the world.  Since then, she’s begun to play worse in high-pressure situations, which is something she will get over in time.

It’s not that so many of the female tennis players are better than her (although, some are) that dooms Wozniacki.  Her downfall has been the pressure that was placed upon her.

She was given the top seed entirely too soon.  If I made the rules, you wouldn’t even have a shot at the top seed until you win at least one Grand Slam tournament, which Wozniacki has not done. 

That all being said, you can blame the recent injury or loss of momentum if you wish.  You may even say she’s not that good if that’s what you believe. 

However, the blame lies on her youth and early rise to the top.  Wozniacki is a good player and will eventually be a great one—for now, she’s been put in a situation where she was doomed to fail from the beginning.