My December

Hello Everyone,

First of all, I wish all of you a very happy and successful new year! I have not written anything in a while now but I hope you are not too mad at me for this. I actually have been pretty busy, as usual, but at the same time had a wonderful Christmas and am excited about the upcoming season.

In my last entry, I mentioned that I was scheduled to fly to Herzo, Germany, the Adidas Headquarters to meet the wonderful designers of Stella McCartney and discuss the new 2010 collection. It is such an honor to work with these truly creative people. I have always liked fashion, and being involved in designing some of my on-court gear is exciting. The experience has been good, and I think that the 2010 Adidas by Stella McCartney line is simply amazing. I tried on several dresses, shirts, and the colors and fit is awesome. I cant actually wait to show all of you because it is the best line yet.   

After returning from Herzo, I continued my off season practice. I worked very hard on some of my weaknesses, and I really think that all the hard work that I have done will pay off very soon. I spent several hours everyday on court, but we also made sure that I spent some quality time in the gym. I did some long distance running trainings, lifted some weights, and as my crosstraining, I did boxing. Some people despise running, I actually came to be okay with it by now. The most exciting thing to do was naturally boxing. I have done it a couple of times before but never this much. I had no idea it was this tiring. After each crosstraining, I felt exhausted. Funny thing is, I got hit on the nose once by a fellow boxer. It hurt a little but I thought it was hilarious. My partner was freaking out a little, but I was just laughing because I found it so funny.

I had a wonderful Christmas; in those three days, we cut back a tiny bit from training. Christmas is one of my favorite holidays because I get to spend time with my family and closest friends. This was not different this time either; we had a couple of friends over, and had tons of food. I love Polish food, and my Mom cooked one of the best dinners ever. It was very traditional: it is usually meatless, and we had tons of carp. We had dried fruits, and kutia (a dessert made from wheat, poppy sees, honey and almonds) as dessert. It is also a tradition that before the first star enters the sky, one has to fill her heart with all good wishes and thoughts to have a wonderful time. Anyhow, me and my family had a great time.

After Christmas, I was back to my hard core training, but I made some time to attend the pre-opening premiere of the new Spielberg movie, Avatar. I thought it was very good, I saw it in 3D of course, and I can only recommend it to everyone. It is a bit too long, but the experience is priceless.

Right now, I am in Hong Kong. I arrived a couple of days ago to participate at the 2010 Hong Kong Tennis Classic. It is an honor to be invited. Myself, my good friend Victoria Azarenka and Swedish tennis legend Stefan Edberg are representing Team Europe. We already played Team Americas yesterday, I actually played Venus. It is such a wonderful experience to be in the same team with Vika and Stefan. Stefan is one of the greatest players of male tennis, and I am honored to be able to play with him. We played a mixed doubles match yesterday against Venus and Michael Chang. The crowd loved every minute of our match, and I think all of us had tons of fun.

I always like being in Hong Kong; the people and the city are great. I like their food as well, it is healthy yet tasty. The exhibition is organized great, and I always like playing this exceptional event. I had some light practices, I ususally hit with my friend Vika Azarenka. We have been good friends since the juniors, and are also being represented by the same agent, John Tobias.  I also went to the player’s party with her on Tuesday, and wore the most gorgeous Stella McCartney dress that I got for Christmas. Yesterday, Vika and I participated in a children’s clinic, and we played with some kids. I had fun, and I felt that the kids appreciated it very much. They were so thankful and cute. I am glad I did the clinic.  

I will not play today, so I will have some time to practice very lightly. I was planning to go shopping for a couple of hours but I was not feeling 100% in the past couple of days. Therefore, I think I will just try to rest. I am a little sick and very tired from all my hard practicing, so it might be better if I just tried to get perfectly healthy before the Aussie Open.

I have to go now, but I will try to keep in touch. Once again, I wish everyone a wonderful new year!

Love,

Caroline

 

January 8, 2010 at 6:20 am | Caroline's Blog | No comment

My Days in Barbados

Hi Everyone,

 

Now that I am back from Barbados, I thought you might like to hear about my trip. I spent 10 days there with my parents and my brother Patrick. We stayed at one of the most exclusive and beautiful resorts of the world, the Sandy Lane Hotel. We had the owner’s 5-bedroom penthouse suite with a butler and full time security. The suite was over 3000 square-feet, with a big jacuzzi in the living room. It was nothing short of amazing. The Sandy Lane Hotel has to be the nicest, most excusive hotel I have ever stayed at.

 

As I have mentioned in my last blog entry, I was in Barbados to play a one-weekend exhibition with my friend, Serena Williams. I have to admit, it went incredibly well; I was impressed with the job the promoter, Kodi Lewis and his team has done. They organized the exhibition for the 1^st time, and I think this was the best 1^st exhibition I ever participated in.

 

Serena and I had a great time; we played in front of 4000 people in the main gym in Bridgetown on Saturday. The crowd was loud and I could tell that they were really excited to have Serena and myself there, which I am grateful for.

 

I am glad I got to spend some time with Serena not only this past weekend, but over the past few years; and might add that we became pretty close friends. I have so much respect for her and what she has accomplished in her already legendary career. All young tennis players, including myself, owe a great deal to Venus and Serena for doing such a wonderful job promoting not only women’s tennis but women’s sports in general.

 

On Sunday, I joined Serena, Jeff Tarango and the #1 player from Barbados, Hayden Lewis in playing the 2^nd exhibition in the Sugar Hill Tennis Village. This absolutely spectacular tennis-only club is owned by John and David Lloyd. We played mixed doubles in front of 400 VIP guests; I partnered with Hayden to beat Serena and Jeff in a very fun pro-set.

 

Other than that, I spent my time mostly on court training. I would like to send a special thanks to Hayden, who has been my hitting partner in Barbados; I appreciate your help. When I didn’t practice, me and my family were just hanging out on the beach. Patrick and I went out sailing on a boat but what I enjoyed the most is riding the jet-ski. Altogether, it was a great trip, and I miss Barbados already.

 

I’m now in Copenhagen, staying with my brother in his new apartment. I will be training and spending time with some of my girlfriends in town. Next Tuesday, I am flying to Herzo, Germany for a day to meet some of the Stella McCartney designers in the Adidas Headquarters. The new Stella McCartney tennis clothing line is coming out soon, and I am very excited to be able to offer some input regarding the new line. I love fashion, and meeting the fabulous designers of Stella McCartney and Adidas is something to look forward to.

 

I will update you soon on my week in Copenhagen and I will offer you some details regarding my day in the Adidas Headquarters as well.

 

Thanks for all your support,

 

Caroline

 

December 3, 2009 at 6:12 pm | Caroline's Blog | No comment

My Vacation in Mauritius

Hello Everyone,

 

Now that I am back from my vacation, I thought I would share my recent experiences with you all. I spent 10 amazing days in Mauritius with my close friends Urszula and Agnieszka Radwanska and Angelique Kerber. We had two oceanfront suites in the beautiful Le Saint Gerant Resort. I enjoyed lying in the sun, snorkeling, yachting, receiving spa treatments and having dinners on the beach. I am actually hoping that we could make this an annual trip for us. On this note, thank you for the staff for all their work and kindness, I hope to see you again soon.

 

Following my vacation, I stayed with my brother Patrick at his new apartment in Copenhagen. I actually haven’t seen him for over a month now, so I was very excited to spend some time with him. Patrick is a professional football player, and has always been the one I look up to the most. He is a huge supporter of me, and I always cheer him on with his football career as well.

 

This past Tuesday (November 17) my family and I went to a party in Copenhagen to celebrate the conclusion of a very demanding yet successful 2009 tennis season. It was an elegant, black-tie event with over 200 of my closest friends, sponsors and supporters there. We partied until 3 in the morning, so I think everyone had a great time.

 

However, as usual, I did not get a whole lot of sleep while in Copenhagen. The morning after the party, I had to get up at 7 o’clock already for a Sony Ericsson photo shoot. The shoot took about 6 hours, so I think it’s safe to say that I was exhausted by the end of the day. The rest if the week I was busy with sponsor and media appearances, and catching up with my girlfriends. I went to the movies a couple times, but my trip to Copenhagen mostly seemed like work.

 

 

Today, I actually spent most of my day flying from Copenhagen to Barbados. My parents and brother are with me as well, and we are staying at one of the most exclusive and beautiful resorts of the world, the Sandy Lane Hotel. We have a 5-bedroom penthouse apartment with a butler and full time security. I will be in Barbados until December 2, just working out and training and preparing for the 2010 season. Actually, on Saturday, November 28, my friend Serena Williams will join me here for an exhibition to promote tourism in Barbados. We already played 4 exhibitions last year together, and we got along well and always had fun.

 

After my Barbados trip, I will return home to Monaco to continue my off-season training. I will write you later to update you all on how my trip is going.

 

Thanks for all your support; I appreciate it a lot,

 

Caroline

 

November 24, 2009 at 10:56 am | Caroline's Blog | No comment

My experience in Doha

Hi Everyone,

 

I’m sorry it has been long since my last entry. As many of you may know, I have been really busy these past couple of weeks. Let me now update you what I have been up to lately.

 

After my Asian trip, I flew back to Europe to play my favorite event, the BGL Luxemburg Open. I was excited because I really like this tournament. However, I unfortunately pulled my hamstring during my first match. My injury forced me to retire in the second set against Anne Kremer. Even though I pulled out of the event, I still stayed in Luxemburg for a few more days to treat my injury. I never truly recovered from it though as it still bothered me three days later when I flew to Doha for the WTA Championships.

 

Doha was absolutely wonderful, both the WTA and the organizers did a great job. We got treated like royalties; the hotel, transportation and hospitality were all first class. I think all players enjoyed themselves. This was actually my first time in Doha. It was fun to share this new experience with my parents, my lawyer, Mikkel Nissen, and my two agents from BEST, John Tobias and Sam Duvall. We had an amazing week together. The hotel (The Ritz Carlton) we stayed at was probably the nicest hotels I have stayed in all year. I had a huge suite, and the gym and pool were just breathtaking.

 

This was however not only my first time in Doha but also my first time playing the WTA Championships. Unfortunately though, I never felt I was 100% fit physically following my recent injury. I was still able to fight thru my first two matches against Vika Azarenka and Vera Zvonareva. It took me over 6 hours to pull out those matches. Undoubtedly, the time I spent on court took a great toll on my body. By my 3^rd match against Jelena Jankovic, I had nothing left. I tried my best but Jelena played great and beat me easily. Despite my last round robin loss, I still qualified to play in the semifinals against world #1 Serena Williams. Serena was killing everybody during the week, and due to my injury, I was physically not able to compete on the level one must compete to beat a player like Serena. I really tried everything but had to stop after I lost the 1^st set 6:4.

Serena is a great champion; I always enjoy playing against her. I think she deserves to be #1 in the world. Congrats for winning the WTA Championships, Serena!

 

Now that the year is finally over, I have decided that I will take a 10-day vacation with 3 of my girlfriends to Mauritius. We are super-excited for all the things we will do: hanging at the beach, snorkeling, receiving spa treatments. Basically, I am excited to think about anything but tennis during my holiday. This will be great for me to recover and recharge, both mentally and physically.

 

Following my vacation, I will visit my brother for a few days in Copenhagen, and then head back home to Monte Carlo to start my off-season training plan with my Dad.

 

Thanks for all your support this entire year; I even exceeded my own expectations. I could not have done it without your support and encouragement. Thanks again, guys!

 

I am looking forward to an even better 2010 season, in which I hope to establish myself as one of the top 3 players in the world.

 

I promise I will post entries about my vacation, till then,

 

Take care,

 

Caroline

 

 

 

November 9, 2009 at 11:35 am | Caroline's Blog | No comment

My Trip to Asia

Hello Everyone,

Sorry it has been a few weeks since I have put up a new blog update, but I am in Beijing now and have some free time so I wanted to let everyone know what I have been doing.  After my great US Open, and trip to New York, I went home to Copenhagen for a few days where I spent some time with my friends and family, and also went to Monaco where I have a home now too. On one of my days off, my brother Patrick and I took a short trip to Paris to attend Eva Longoria and Tony Parker’s charity event with some other tennis players – David Ferrer and Fernando Verdasco. It was so much fun, and I had a good time getting all dressed up for the charity every which was very, very nice.

 

After about ten days off (which was much shorter than I expected after the US Open because I didn’t expect to get to the finals), I had to head to Tokyo for the first of three events in Asia.  I don’t know if it was because the flight was so long, or I was enjoying myself too much at home, but I ended up getting sick with some sort of virus the past six or seven days which has been very unfortunate.  In Tokyo, I drew Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada in my first round, and I knew I shouldn’t have played at all, but I was hoping the adrenaline of the match would carry me through it.  However, I ended up having to stop at the end of the first set and retire which I was disappointed about.  After my match, I ended up staying in Tokyo for a few days to get some rest before I hopped on a flight to Beijing for my next event – the China Open.   

 

In Beijing, I still was not feeling close to 100%, so I asked the tournament director and WTA for a Monday start (instead of playing my first round on Sunday), but it was very frustrating to learn on Saturday that I was scheduled to play my first match on Sunday.  I really needed every hour of rest to get over this virus and ready for my first match, but the WTA or tournament director did not seem to care at all and take this into consideration.  The WTA Tour is supposed to be a players union, but I certainly don’t think they represented my best interest this week in Beijing and it was very disappointing. In my first round, I ended up playing Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez, and I played a good first set which I won close 7-5.  In the second set, it was really close again but I lost it in a tiebreaker and then in the third set I just completely ran out of energy and ended up losing the match.

 

Losing my first round in is Beijing was exactly what I was worried about since I have not practiced for more than one hour in the past week.  I was hopeful that if th WTA were to give me a first round start on Monday that I could’ve had a much better chance of winning and feeling better as I were to advance through the tournament.  I am never one to make excuses because Martinez-Sanchez did play a good match, but I really feel the WTA and tournament director could’ve helped me and they chose not to.

 

So far my trip to Asia has been disappointing to say the least because I have only played one match and a set in the past two weeks, but I am really looking forward to going to Osaka for my last event in Asia. I have a lot of good memories of Osaka from back in the juniors because it is where I won my first big junior tournament.  This is the first time since I have been on the Tour that there has been an event in Osaka, and I am really exited to be playing in it.  My goal is of course to win the event, however at this point I would just be happy getting some good matches to prepare for the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha in three weeks.

 

After the Sony Ericsson Championships, I am planning to go on a ten day holiday with some of my girlfriends and it has been fun the past few days trying to figure out where we will go to rest and have some fun.  I will be sure to announce my holiday plans when I know more, and in the meantime I hope all of my fans are doing well and thank you for all your tremendous support – it means so much to me!

 

Best Wishes,

Caroline

 

October 6, 2009 at 8:36 am | Caroline's Blog | No comment

Next Page »

• Archives