Former World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki has taken a firm stand against longtime Danish commentator Peter Bastiansen after he criticized her for not making her retirement status clear. The 2018 Australian Open champion didn’t hold back, calling Bastiansen a “clown” and accusing him of personally targeting her for over two decades.
Her strong response came after the TV pundit questioned her indecision about returning to the sport and even labeled the idea of a potential comeback “deeply frivolous.”
Caroline Wozniacki’s Career Status Draws Harsh Words from Danish Commentator
Bastiansen’s criticism came during an interview with the Danish outlet B.T., where he questioned Wozniacki’s silence about her professional future. The 35-year-old Dane has been inactive since giving birth to her third child, Max, in July 2025, with her husband and former NBA player David Lee. Wozniacki has yet to announce her retirement or commit to a full-fledged return, leaving fans curious about what comes next.
Her break follows a remarkable second act in tennis. She initially retired in 2020 at age 29 after the Australian Open, only to stage a surprise comeback in 2023. Since then, she’s reached back-to-back fourth rounds at the US Open in 2023 and 2024, as well as a quarterfinal appearance at Indian Wells, before falling to Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia in her last match at the 2024 US Open.
Bastiansen, however, was far from impressed by her continued uncertainty. Speaking to B.T., he said he couldn’t understand why Wozniacki hadn’t made her decision public. “I can’t understand why she doesn’t announce it. So, what’s the point of not doing it? She’ll never, ever return to top tennis. That race is over. Why doesn’t she just say it?” he remarked.
“There’s nothing wrong or unnatural about that. All big sports stars announce things like this, so I don’t understand it.”
He criticized the idea of her potentially entering the 2026 Australian Open. “I’ll fall off my chair if she signs up for the Australian Open in January. It will be a travesty if she does. It will simply be deeply frivolous. I can’t see why the organizers would bother giving her a wildcard.”
How Did Wozniacki Respond to the Commentator’s Criticism?
Those remarks didn’t sit well with Wozniacki, who wasted no time responding publicly. Taking to her social media, the former World No. 1 called out Bastiansen for what she described as long-standing personal attacks. “It’s now been more than 20 years that Peter Bastiansen has bullied me and attacked me personally in the media, talking about things he doesn’t understand,” she wrote.
Caroline Wozniacki slammed on Instagram a Danish TV commentator who said that “it would be frivolous if she decides to make a new comeback”.
She called him a clown and other things:https://t.co/tseuj0WqPJ pic.twitter.com/PBSB5fCsjx
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) October 28, 2025
Wozniacki then took direct aim at his expertise, adding, “Peter, you’re a clown, and as a so-called ‘tennis expert’ you should know the rules. It can be hard to keep track of them when you’ve never played at a high level yourself.”
She clarified that she doesn’t need a wildcard to play major tournaments thanks to her protected ranking. “I have a frozen ranking of World No. 71, which means I don’t need wildcards to enter the big tournaments,” she explained.
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In the same post, Wozniacki emphasized that her priorities have shifted after years of intense competition and motherhood. “After many years of hard training and top-level tennis, I have the right to do what’s best for my family,” she said.
The former Grand Slam champion also criticized Danish media for continuing to promote Bastiansen’s comments, saying she could not understand why outlets such as TV 2 and B.T. kept using his opinions when there were many more qualified tennis experts in Denmark.
