Former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki loses in first round at Wimbledon

Former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki fell in Wimbledon’s opening round in her first game back from an ankle injury.

Wozniacki, who entered the tournament with a world No. 43 ranking, could not find a rhythm Tuesday against world No. 14 Svetlana Kuznetsova, losing in straight sets.

The opening set on Centre Court was a back-and-forth battle, with Kuznetsova eventually outlasting Wozniacki for a 7-5 win.

Kuznetsova then raced out to a 5-1 lead in the second set, but Wozniacki would not go down without a fight. She won 12 straight points to make things interesting and looked to be gaining confidence with every shot. Wozniacki’s comeback attempt was too little, too late though, as Kutznetsova regained her composure to take the set, 6-4, and advance to the second round.

The loss will move Wozniacki out of the top 50 for the first time in over eight years. Wozniacki has struggled to regain the form that kept her at the top of the WTA rankings 67 weeks from 2010 to 2011.

She had her worst year-end ranking in 2015, having won just one singles tournament in 2015, and failed to make it past the fourth round at any Slam event. Wozniacki has had no better luck in 2016, falling in the first round of the Australian Open and suffering an ankle injury that sidelined her during clay-court season.