Caroline Wozniacki has been under the microspore as the number one player in the world, but nothing like the scrutiny that she came under this week, as her boyfriend Rory McIlroy had to deny breakup rumors to the media after walking off at the Honda Classic last week.
According to SI.com, Wozniacki has been dealing with the media spotlight due to her relationship and she spoke about it on Wednesday as she prepares for the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. The two star players have been dating for over a year and while McIlroy has risen in his sports rankings, the tennis star has fallen from one to 10.
"We've been in the media spotlight for so long separate as well, you know, so it's not like it's something new," she told a small group of reporters at the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday. "I think we've gotten used to that part of it. We don't really pay attention to it anymore. Unless it's a rumor like the there was the other day that we've broken up and I was like 'Oh really? I didn't realize that. Thanks for letting me know.'"
McIlroy had to deny breakup rumors leading up to his tournament on Thursday after walking off the course mid-way through the Honda Classic and he denied that anything is wrong between the two. Wozniacki spoke about the slippage in her game and how she can rebound going forward.
"I don't think I have a problem," she said. "When you're No. 1 and not winning everything there's basically one way [to go] and that way is down. You can't really go further up than that. I mean, I'm healthy, I'm playing, I feel I'm playing well.
The media reported that their usually busy Twitter correspondence had gone cold, but McIlroy denied the rumors.
"I've read what's been written, and just because I have a bad day on the golf course and Caroline loses a match in Malaysia it doesn't mean that we're breaking up,'' McIlroy said. "It's sport. Look, I'd rather keep my private life as private as possible, but everything on that front is great and I'm looking forward to seeing her next week when she gets to Miami.''
McIlroy later spoke to reporters and said that he regretted leaving the course. He missed the cut at Abu Dhabi and also was eliminated in the first round of match play before the Honda Classic incident.
"Obviously had a lot of time to think about it," McIlroy said. "I realized pretty quickly that it wasn't the right thing to do. No matter how bad I was playing, I should have stayed out there."
