Before Leylah-Annie Fernandez or Eugenie Bouchard, Aleksandra Wozniak opened many doors and she remains in the minds of many one of the “great ladies” of Canadian tennis. His entry into the Tennis Canada Hall of Fame, Tuesday evening during a brief ceremony on the center court of the IGA stadium, is therefore well deserved.
First Quebec champion of a WTA tournament, at Stanford in 2009, qualified for the fourth round at Roland-Garros that year, Aleksandra climbed to 21e world rank.
Also the holder of 12 ITF tournament titles, Wozniak has long been the local headliner in Montreal and reached the quarter-finals in 2012, the best Canadian performance in 20 years, at the time. And unlike others, she’s never turned a blind eye to an opportunity to represent Canada in the Fed Cup and holds several national records in this competition.
A superb career therefore, unfortunately cut short by a series of injuries which forced her to retire in her early thirties when she still had the means to return to the world elite.
A difficult period, where she felt a little abandoned by Tennis Canada, whose leaders then favored this new generation which was soon to hatch.
Wozniak progressed quickly, introduced to tennis when she was only 3 years old by her father, a former professional soccer player in Poland who was already coaching Aleksandra’s sister, Dorota, an excellent player too. But the sporting environment was very different back then; Antoni and Jadwiga had to multiply the jobs to allow their daughters to live their passions. And for a long time, even when Aleksandra began to shine on the international stage, it was still Antoni who trained her.
Give back to the next generation
Today, at 34, married and mother of little James, Aleksandra runs a tennis academy in Bedford, in the Eastern Townships. His reputation and formidable resilience have attracted the interest of players of all ages and their parents.
I was lucky to have exceptional parents who loved us unconditionally and who would have been ready to do anything for their children.
Aleksandra Wozniak
“It’s a lot thanks to them that I was able to realize my dream, to have such a great career and that I can receive honors like this induction into the Hall of Fame of my sport in Canada, said Wozniak in an interview after the ceremony. Over time, with these honors and recognitions, I realize the great privilege I have had. »
“I now hope to be able to help others achieve their dreams, use my experience, my experience, to be a mentor and guide them on their journey. My son is only one year old and I don’t know if tennis will interest him one day. It will be up to him to decide and we will support him, my husband and I, whatever his choice. »
Colleague Tom Tebbutt, who has covered the Grand Slam tournaments for nearly 50 years and is widely regarded as the country’s premier tennis journalist, was also inducted into the Tennis Canada Hall of Fame.
