Caroline Wozniacki & David Lee: Happily Ever After

Photo Credit: Scott McDermott

Photography: Scott McDermott

Styling: Shala Rothenberg

Grooming: Angel Gabriel

Shot on-site at The New York EDITION

There are certain people in this world who are lucky enough to find their soulmate—their better half, the person who completes them and makes them better when they are together. Strong alone, but better together. While you may not believe in the concept, when you experience it first-hand, it’s hard to deny. And anyone who has had the pleasure of meeting Caroline Wozniacki and David Lee can attest to that.

Both members of this power couple—Wozniacki, the recently-retired, former No. 1 women’s tennis player in the world, and Lee, a retired NBA All-Star—have each shined in their own arenas of the professional sports and business worlds. But when interacting with them, it’s clear that there is no greater achievement to them than finding their perfect partner.
The two tied the knot with a Tuscan wedding weekend straight out of a fairytale. Inviting an intimate group of family, friends and fellow athletes—including Wozniacki’s on-court rival but off-court close friend and bridesmaid, Serena Williams—Wozniacki and Lee created their picture-perfect celebration at the famed Castiglion del Bosco in Tuscany that was completely indicative of them as a couple.

As we’re chatting during our photoshoot with the pair, Wozniacki is getting her hair and makeup done, while Lee is animated, recapping the weekend with a huge grin on his face and an energy that is palpable to everyone in the room who is intently listening on.

He runs through how the wedding was the ideal combination of fun and romantic, with each day and night holding a special theme—the most memorable to him was on the eve of their ceremony, when they hosted rounds of Olympic-style games, inviting couples and family members to take part in fun, competitive activities and allowing the group to bond. By the end of the weekend, he shares, everyone was basically family.

The concept of family is an important one for both Wozniacki and Lee. Throughout the entirety of her professional tennis career, Wozniacki’s father served as her coach and her family traveled with her around the world, supporting her journey.
“I love spending time with my family, they’re amazing,” Wozniacki notes. “With my dad being my coach, I’d see him every day on the court. My parents are extremely supportive, and whatever it is that I need, they’re always the first people I call for help.”

Photo Credit: Scott McDermott

Lee echoes the same sentiments. “We maybe take it for granted sometimes, but we’re really lucky to have the family that we have. Obviously, when you marry a person, you’re marrying into their family as well. So, we’re blessed to get along with each other’s families as well as we do. I love my family, my parents and my older sister, but I spend a lot of time with Caroline’s as well and get advice from them.”

Lee has a love for family business just like Wozniacki, as he serves as the co-founder of Top Sail Reinsurance company, along with his brother-in-law and uncle.
“Right now, I’m focusing all of my business energy into this company. We’re looking at around $250 million in revenue a year, so we’re off to a really good start. I’ve been lucky enough to work remotely, throughout the past few years, but now that we have more time, I’m looking forward to also picking up some new hobbies with less travel demand from our schedule.”

What Lee is referring to is the momentous decision Wozniacki made earlier this year when she announced that she would be retiring from the world of professional tennis after the 2020 Australian Open. The news came as a shock to fans around the globe, but to Wozniacki, this was the perfect time for her to enter a new chapter in her life.
“I’ve committed my whole life to the sport—I started playing professional tennis when I was 6 or 7 years old. I’m very competitive, so when I do something, I want to do it 100-percent and I want to be the best,” she explains. “It reached a point where I was doing it for so long and I was exhausted both physically and mentally—from going on the court and playing tournaments every week, and just not having free days—it felt right in my heart to finish at the time that I did, and sometimes you just need to listen to yourself and your body. It took a long time for me to just think about it and talk to my family and decide it was time.

“And of course, David and I eventually want to start a family, so that would likely be the next step in the future. I want to enjoy spending time and basking in life just the two of us, though. Since announcing my retirement, it’s been crazy finishing up everything with my career, so now is the first time I can really breathe and take it easy for a little bit.”
Since announcing her retirement, Wozniacki has been on a whirlwind of press segments and training for the Australian Open, which took place earlier this year. While she has officially retired from professional tennis, she does have one last match approaching with her friend Serena Williams. The two of them will battle it out on the tennis court in Denmark one final time.

“I’m really excited for the match,” Wozniacki says. “I’m excited to play one last time. Doing it with Serena will be so awesome and playing in front of the Danish fans who have been so supportive of me for so long will be the perfect way to say farewell in front of the home crowd. It will be very special.”

In addition to her upcoming match, Wozniacki still has a nice long line-up of business endeavors. Although she is stepping off the court, her partnerships with Rolex and Adidas will still continue. She has served as a Testimonee for the esteemed Swiss watch brand for more than 10 years—one of the most prestigious partnerships to attain for any athlete.
“I’m also working on an exciting new awareness and empowerment campaign for women like me living with chronic inflammatory diseases (CIDs). I’m very excited about this because it’s something that is close to my heart,” she says.

Photo Credit: Scott McDermott

When we last spoke to Caroline Wozniacki in 2018 for a previous cover interview, she hinted that she would love to do more in fashion in the future. Now that she actually has the time for it, we pressed for any updates regarding this potential opportunity.

“Right now, I haven’t gotten a chance to look more into it. I’ve been very involved in the past with designing my own collections with Adidas, and maybe we’ll do something in the future, too. But right now, there is no official update. I think the first thing that I would like to throw myself into would probably be something with T.V. Maybe some studio stuff around sports, but maybe even something outside of sports. I think doing T.V. is a lot of fun, so that would probably be something I’m very open to exploring in the future.”

The love for T.V. may have been sparked by a recent adventure trip Lee and Wozniacki embarked on with the Discovery Network where they challenged themselves to a two-week mountain climbing trip during the height of winter. While the two mentioned that they were grateful they made it through the difficult, yet incredibly rewarding experience, they can’t reveal too much until the special premieres, which will document their journey that they took along with rest of the Wozniacki family.

“While I can’t say more, all I have to say is that if anyone asks you to climb a mountain, maybe think twice—it’s not an easy thing,” Lee laughs.

While Lee likes to humorously self-deprecate his athletic abilities in comparison to his incredibly talented wife, he also boasts an impressive professional sports career of his own. Prior to retiring from professional sports and switching his focus to entrepreneurial interests, Lee played for the New York Knicks from 2005-2010, receiving his first All-Star selection, followed by five years with the Golden State Warriors from 2010-2015. Here, he received his second All-Star selection and became an All-NBA Team member, winning the NBA Championship with the Warriors in 2015. He subsequently played for the Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks and finally, San Antonio Spurs before officially retiring in 2017.
So, it’s safe to say that between the two of them, the couple has pretty killer athletic genes that they will undoubtedly pass onto their children to come. However, while they’re both officially retired, they prefer to find neutral sports and hobbies to enjoy together.

“We really enjoy working out together now that we don’t have to be working out,” Wozniacki notes. “We love to be active and get a sweat going, especially going on runs together.”
“My new little ploy is to get Caroline into golf. It’s a hobby I’ve picked up and really enjoy playing, and I’m trying to get her to enjoy it with me as well,” Lee shares. “I’ve taken her out a few times and of course, she’s such an incredible athlete, that she picks it up so quickly. I think now that’ll be a new activity for us to enjoy together.”
“David is stronger than me, but I am a better runner than he is, so we try to help each other rather than being competitive,” Wozniacki adds.

Photo Credit: Scott McDermott

“More like helping me!” Lee interjects with a laugh. The sweet self-deprecation once again. “Most of the time, it’s her helping me, let’s be honest,” he maintains. “I do enjoy tennis but that’s work for her, and I love golf, but she hasn’t played as long, so we’re still looking for that mutual ground.”
“We like to go out and try to get better at things we’re not as good at. And eventually, we’ll get on similar levels and that will turn into something fun we can compete in,” Wozniacki notes.

Aside from their natural love of sports, they also share a love for food as self-proclaimed foodies, as well as going out to dinner with small groups of friends. They even met on a group date at Miami hot spot, Nobu, years ago, which seems to be a fitting reason to love this activity; and now close to one-year into marriage, they remain happier and stronger than ever.

“Married life has been really great. We’ve remained busy with Caroline wrapping up her tennis career, but we’re finally enjoying the chance to settle down. We were really sure of each other and ourselves as a couple even when we were engaged and dating, so marriage is something we were both very excited about—and not much has changed since getting married,” Lee notes.

“I agree. The only difference for me is that once you’re married, you’re officially stuck with each other,” Wozniacki says with a playful laugh. “Like, even if David does something stupid one day, at the end of the day, we chose each other and we’re in this together and we’re going to learn and have fun together and I love that.”

It seems like these two have the whole marriage thing down to a science. So, what’s next for them? Aside from hinting at wanting to grow their family in the near future, of course.
“This year, I’m really looking forward to getting into a new rhythm and finding traction since we’re both retired [from professional sports] now, and that’s really exciting. We can choose our schedules more than before. We’re excited to spend time together, do some traveling, and spend as much time with close friends and family as possible,” Lee says.
“And relaxing a little bit,” Wozniacki adds. “Enjoying not having a crazy busy schedule and getting to unwind. For many years, we’ve been working every single day so it’s nice to be able to take a break and enjoy life and relax for a bit.”

We have a feeling that this won’t last too long for the two of them. After all, they seem to excel in everything they do—especially marriage and family. So, for now, that is all for Chapter I. We’ll be eagerly waiting to see what Chapter II holds—a dynamic golf duo? A fashion line? New hit T.V. show? Only time will tell.

Photo Credit: Scott McDermott

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