Caroline Wozniacki Retiring From Tennis — Her Plans For Her Next Stage Of Life
She and David Lee got married this summer.
getty Caroline Wozniacki has had a successful career as a pro tennis player, winning one Grand Slam tournament, and she has held the number 1 ranking in the world.
The Danish player announced this week that that she would be retiring from professional play to purse other goals, including starting a family with her husband. But who is Caroline Wozniacki's husband, David Lee?
David Lee is a major figure in sports as well, as he was an NBA player for over a decade. He played for the 2015 Champion Golden State Warriors. The Florida native has retired from basketball and has been vague about his career plans since then.
There have been rumors about him joining a venture capital firm, but one thing that he's been crystal clear about is his love for Caroline Wozniacki. The couple has been together since 2015 and they got married earlier this year.
At one point, Vogue dubbed the couple the "most romantic pair in sports," and Lee seems determined to live up to that title. But what else do we know about Lee, his relationship with Wozniacki, and their life together?
1. Wozniacki is retiring from professional tennis.
The 2018 Australian Open champ announced this week that she was planning to retire from professional tennis in 2020. She was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2018, which she says isn't actually the main driver for her decision to step away from professional sports. Instead, she's ready to start a family with Lee.
In an Instagram post announcing her retirement, she explained her decision, saying, "In recent months, I’ve realized that there is a lot more in life that I’d like to accomplish off the court. Getting married to David was one of those goals and starting a family with him while continuing to travel the world and helping raise awareness about rheumatoid arthritis (project upcoming) are all passions of mine moving forward."
2. Lee is a retired basketball player.
David Lee is no stranger to professional sports or to making decisions to retire from the game when the time comes. Lee played basketball at the University of Florida before being drafted by the Knicks in 2005. After five years in New York, he went to the Golden State Warriors in 2010 and played for that team through their championship season in 2015. He kept playing until 2017, moving between the Celtics, the Mavericks and the Spurs before announcing his retirement in 2017.
He felt like his decision to retire was the right one given the offers he had at the time and the goals he had had for his career. "I'm completely at peace with it. I'm really happy that I got to go out on my terms," he said a year after his retirement. "I think that was something that was very important to me. I had the thought of playing another 2-3 years, and then got a great business opportunity off the court so I'm completely at peace with it and very, very happy to come back tonight. No awkward feelings. Just going to go support everybody and be a fan. So it's been great."
3. The couple met through mutual friends.
The couple met in 2015 when a mutual friend introduced them. The very next night, they were spotted out together at a private event at Villa Casa Casaurina. At the time, Wozniacki recently split from her former fiancé, golfer Rory McIlroy. He had reportedly ditched her via phone call and then never got in touch with her again.
“I was shocked. I thought at least it would be face to face or something but there was nothing. It was a phone call and I didn’t hear from him again,” she said of McIlroy. In musing about what she was looking for her in her next relationship, she proved to be remarkably prescient. “I would like a taller guy so I can wear high heels," she said. Little did she know her next boyfriend would be a 6'9" basketball player!
4. He spilled the best tea at their wedding.
On their wedding day, Lee told guests all about how they actually met and how it was pure luck that they were in the right place at the right time together. “It’s November 2015... we’re playing against the Miami Heat. I can’t remember who won or lost, which probably means we lost by 30 points. I go out to dinner afterwards... they say every relationship begins with a miracle. The fact that [you were out at] dinner past 7:30 p.m. — because normally you would be asleep 8:00 p.m — was a miracle,” he recounted.
He then revealed she left and he had forgotten to ask for her number, so he followed her out of the restaurant. They ended up hanging out her at her house until late and he slept over — in the guest room. He wanted to keep the magic alive the next morning, but she said she had practice and her coach was already on his way over to train her.
He tried to say they — Caroline and her coach — could at least have breakfast together. “I have a coach, you have a coach. I can eat with your coach," he told the crowd he said to her at the time. "That won’t work either," he said she told him. “My coach is my dad."
He ended his wedding speech by sharing his love for Caroline. "As a man you’ve made me a better person," he said. "I love you with all of my heart and promise to treat you like the most special woman now and forever.”
5. They got engaged in Bora Bora.
Wozniacki and Lee dated for a couple of years before taking the relationship to the next level. He popped the question while they were on vacation in Bora Bora in 2017. If that isn't romantic enough all on its own, he gave her the most gorgeous diamond ring.
She announced the engagement with a social media post of the giant sparkler. "Happiest day of my life yesterday saying yes to my soulmate," she gushed in the caption. David posted a photo of himself and Caroline together that same day and wrote, "She said YES! So thrilled to be engaged to my soulmate!"
The ring is 8.8 karats because 8 is her favorite number.
5. David is head over heels in love with Caroline.
All of David's social media posts about Caroline are enough to melt anyone's heart. Earlier this year, he dedicated a post about International Women's Day to her. He shared a photo of her on the court and wrote, "In honor of #internationalwomensday I want to acknowledge my incredible fiancé @carowozniacki. Her strength, character, attitude, and class inspire others to be their best, and she sets an amazing example for women around the world. I love you!"
Another time, he posted a picture of them walking hand-and-hand into a sunset and wrote, "Happiness is spending time with the ones you love and creating memories that last a lifetime."
6. They had a gorgeous wedding in Italy.
The couple got married at Castiglion del Bosco in Tuscany in June 2019. Serena Williams was a bridesmaid and about 120 guests celebrated the happy occasion with the couple.
The couple got married in June 2019.
David is just as supportive of his wife's retirement as he has been of her career. He also shared her announcement on his own social media and added the comment, "So proud of you wifey! You accomplished everything possible in your sport and you did it your way! I can’t wait to support you in the next chapter."
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. She is the creator of the blog FeminXer and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.