Caroline Wozniacki Finishes New York City Marathon

Many in the tennis community thought it was crazy when Caroline Wozniacki announced that she would be training for the New York City Marathon, which directly followed the end of the WTA season. Here’s a great piece from SI.com on the balance she needed to strike in training for tennis matches and a marathon at the same time:

Piotrowicz’s “balancing act” of tennis and marathon training for Wozniacki consisted of body-weight exercises in the gym, at least four to six miles a day and, of course, her daily schedule of tennis matches and practice. Cardio was always built in to Wozniacki’s regimen and pre-marathon she was running three to five days a week. But Piotrowicz decreased the amount of on-court endurance workouts and added in more short sprints, speed work and agility exercises using ladders and cones to her sessions to keep her tennis form sharp.

And while some people in the tennis community questioned the Dane’s commitment to the marathon and expressed concern about its impact on her on-court performance, Wozniacki says running has actually helped her game and perhaps more important, her disposition.

“I’ve just been able to clear my mind and enjoy it and I feel so strong when I’m out on the court,” says Wozniacki, who defeated the No. 2-, 4- and 6-ranked players before losing to Serena Williams in the semifinals of the year-end championships just six days ago. “I see the opponent get tired and start making mistakes, and I can be out there for so much longer and that definitely gives you a mental edge.”

As her season progressed, she ended up reaching the US Open final and qualifying for the WTA Finals, going undefeated in the round robin before falling to Serena Williams in the semifinals. Today, she finished the New York Marathon in an incredible 3:26:33. Her tennis colleagues (and some other random famous people) were rooting for her:

Also running the marathon from the tennis community, former-ATPer and current Bosnian Davis Cup captain Amer Delic finished in 3:58:02.


Amy can be spotted on a tennis court in the Philadelphia area, shanking backhand volleys.

2 Responses

  1. JlindyNYC
    JlindyNYC November 2, 2014 at 7:25 pm |

    Can’t recall if a Pro athlete in prime of his/her career has done a marathon. And 3:26? Are you kidding? That’s incredible ! 2014 a banner year for Caro. And regardless of winning some big Golf titles, Rory missed out on the Prize of a lifetime. Dope.

  2. Nicole
    Nicole November 3, 2014 at 2:46 pm |

    I have to say that reading this article made me a little teary. Even for a professional athlete, the NYMarathon is an amazing achievement. So happy for Caro!

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