"Emma Raducanu and Bianca Andreescu catching strays" - Fans react to Caroline Wozniacki's comments about success being measured with Grand Slam titles

Caroline Wozniacki's comments about a player's success being measured with how or when they win Grand Slam titles have left tennis fans in splits.

Wozniacki came out of a three-year retirement this year and took a wild card to compete at the 2023 US Open. She beat Tatiana Prozorova, Petra Kvitova and Jennifer Brady to reach the fourth round.

On Sunday, September 3, Coco Gauff ended the Dane's campaign at the New York Major with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 win in the Round of 16.

In a press conference after the match, Caroline Wozniacki was asked about the hype around Gauff and the eagerness of fans to see her win her maiden Grand Slam title. In reply, the former World No. 1 said it doesn't matter when and how someone wins their first Major.

Wozniacki further claimed that a player's first WTA title coming at a Slam does not assure them an all-star career.

"I think just like in life, everyone goes through their journey in different ways and different timings. Just because your first tournament win is a Grand Slam doesn't mean that you're going to have an absolutely all-star career later on, or just because you win quickly or you win late, it doesn't really define who you are," Caroline Wozniacki opined.

"At the end of the day, everyone has their own path. Obviously Coco is doing well. She came on tour very young. There were a lot of eyes on her immediately. With that comes expectation, everything else," she added.

Fans were quick to react to the Dane's words, with one claiming that she was indirectly speaking about the likes of Emma Raducanu and Bianca Andreescu.

"Emma and Bianca catching strays," they wrote.

Raducanu surprised everyone when she came through the qualifiers to win the US Open in 2021. Since then, however, she has struggled to replicate her success; the Brit is currently ranked World No. 185.

Similarly, Andreescu won the title in New York in 2019 and has since struggled to perform well on the WTA tour. The 23-year-old, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 4 in October 2019, currently sits just outside the top 50.

Another fan suggested that Wozniacki's comments were a new low for Raducanu and her fans.

"Getting dragged by pushniacki omg raducanation really has reached a new low," read one post.

Here are a few more fan reactions:

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"I think I'm exactly where I want to be" - Caroline Wozniacki on her US Open learnings after retirement u-turn

Caroline Wozniacki in action at the 2023 US Open.

Having called time on her career in January 2020, Caroline Wozniacki decided to return to the sport earlier this year. She made her comeback in Montreal and also competed in Cincinnati before accepting a wild card to take part in the 2023 US Open.

Wozniacki posted straight-set wins against Tatiana Prozorova and Petra Kvitova in the opening two rounds. She then showed her fighting spirit by coming from a set down to defeat Jennifer Brady in the third round. Her impressive run, however, came to an end in the Round of 16 at the hands of Coco Gauff.

Looking back at her time in New York, Wozniacki said she was satisfied with her performance but disappointed at not being able to progress further in the tournament.

"Obviously I'm disappointed now. I wanted to make it further into the tournament. But, you know, all in all, I think I put up a good display this week in general. I think I played pretty well throughout consistently. I think there's a lot of things that I can take away with me from playing this slam, and obviously I beat some great players along the way," she said.

"I wanted to see kind of where I was tennis-wise, where I was physically and everything else. I think I've learned a lot from that. I think I'm exactly where I want to be. There's still a few things that I want to work on and I can do better. But in general I think it's very positive," Caroline Wozniacki added.