Caroline Wozniacki entered the Australian Open after a self-proclaimed strong offseason, one without any drama to distract her in 2016.
Maybe she needs some. Or maybe she should do what she was going to do when she was going to marry former fiancé Rory McIlroy: retire.
Caroline Wozniacki Looking Strong Heading Into Australian Open
The Danish star and 18th-ranked player in the world, was bounced from the Australian Open in the first round, losing to world's No. 76 Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 1-6, 7-6, 6-4, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
Wozniacki's 2016 has started the continuation of the unfulfilled promise of 2015 after she finished 2014 as the best female tennis player not named Serena Williams.
Caroline Wozniacki Believing She Can Win A Grand Slam In 2016
Golf star McIlroy broke off their engagement in the spring of 2014 after the wedding invitations had gone out. Before then, Wozniacki had talked about retiring from tennis to raise a family. When they broke up, Wozniacki rededicated herself to her tennis, won a minor tournament (the Istanbul Open) and advanced to the U.S. Open and WTA Finals championship match -- only to lose both to best friend Williams.
But as Wozniacki's heartache went away, so too it seemed, did her tennis game. After finishing 2014 at No. 5, Wozniacki steadily slid down to No. 17 by year's end.
She won't drop too far in the rankings after her first-round upset; Wozniacki made it only to the second round of the Australian Open last year. However, the former No. 1 player in 2010 and 2011 had talked about breaking through and winning a Grand Slam in 2016.
"My goal is for this season to win one or more Grand Slams and get a medal at the Olympics in Rio," Wozniacki said. "There are many good players but I believe in myself and I know I'm one of the best players in the world. I have had a great offseason so I feel I'm on the top of my game.
"In this form I can beat anybody."
And lose to anybody as well, apparently. Wozniacki may not be in Serena's class, but she has shown she can be on that next level with the likes of Simona Halep and Maria Sharapova.
But she's not, and her motivation to get back to near the top doesn't appear to be strong without a personal crisis. She just doesn't seem to be able to must enough inspiration to work herself back near the top, and if that's the case, she should think about what else is out there for her before she drops off the tennis radar.
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