Tennis star Caroline Wozniacki announced she was retiring from the game after her third-round loss to Ons Jabeur in the Australian Open.
The former world number one tennis star paid tribute to her coach and father, Piotr, after the loss, according to a report published Friday by ABC News International.
“I usually don’t cry, so sorry, but these are the special memories that I will always cherish,” Wozniacki said.
“It’s been a great ride,” she added. “I’m ready for the next chapter. I’m really excited about what’s next to come.”
Wozniacki shared a video of the moment after the loss on her Instagram. The crowd can be heard singing along to “Sweet Caroline.”
“From a little girl with a big dream, to this moment, standing on the court today living out my tennis dream one last time, in front of the world,” Wozniacki captioned the video. “It has been everything I could ever have hoped for!”
“The farewell I got today was absolutely incredible!” she added. “Watching this video still gives me goose bumps. Thank you everyone for all the love and support over the years!” (RELATED: Caroline Wozniacki And David Lee Get Married In Italy)
Wozniacki spent a total of 71 weeks at the top of the world rankings and finished her career with 30 singles titles, including a grand slam in 2018, Reuters reported.
“I had a dream when I was a kid. I wanted to win a Grand Slam. I wanted to be number one in the world,” she told reporters at the Open.
“People thought that I was crazy being from a small country,” she continued. “But I made it happen. I worked so hard for it every single day.”
The tennis star from Denmark said she hopes to be remembered as an inspiration to aspiring tennis players from countries outside of the tennis elite.
“I hope that I’ll give inspiration even to the players from small countries that may have never had a world number one or a Grand Slam champion … that they can do it,” she said.