Caroline Wozniacki won her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open and returned to the No.1 ranking during 2018, but the Dane has been an elite player for the best part of a decade.
Game Insight Group (GIG) analyses Wozniacki’s Player DNA to discover how she’s been able to perform so well, for so long.
GIG’s Player DNA is a combination of four key areas: Technical, Tactical, Physical and Mental. GIG breaks down the major findings within each metric to illustrate the strength of a player’s attributes relative to their Grand Slam rivals. The data leads to ratings with a maximum score of 100.
Elite backhand the bedrock
The foundation to Wozniacki’s game and one of the main reasons she is among the very best is because she excels at one shot in particular – the backhand. Her forehand is relatively slow, albeit very accurate, but GIG scores Wozniacki’s backhand accuracy and potency at a remarkable 94 and 96 respectively. On that shot she wins a sizeable 6% more points than the average player.
Tied for No.2 in overall Tactical DNA
A player’s ‘Tactical’ DNA is made up of five components: Rally Craft, Attacking Balance, Court Control, Time Control and Wide Defence. It is Rallying Craft and Time Control that Wozniacki excels in. The Dane wins 6% more rally exchanges than the average player against the same opponent, and 5% more points when she has earned herself a time advantage over her opponent.
Top 5 in four of the five Physical dimensions
If her ball-striking is about the backhand, Wozniacki’s other major weapon is her physical prowess. GIG scores Wozniacki’s Repeat Sprint as No.1 in the game and finds that she won 11% more points when performing multiple sprints against top opponents compared to the average Grand Slam player. She also rates No.3 for Match Endurance, prevailing in 63% of matches lasting two or more hours – a figure headlined by her gutsy 2hr 49min victory over Simona Halep in the 2018 Australian Open final.
Ranks No.6 in ‘Killer Instinct’
Wozniacki is 10th overall, and in the top 30 for every dimension of GIG’s ‘Mental’ DNA. Her biggest strengths are a clinical ability to close out matches when she is in control – the Killer Instinct – where she ranks No.6, and a consistent capacity to win more key points than her opponent – the Winning Edge – where she ranks No.14.
With the Australian summer of tennis now under way, stay across Australian Open platforms for the latest updates and player profiles from the Game Insight Group.