Wozniak Cracks Top 30, Lights Québec Games Flame

March 7, 2009 

Aleksandra Wozniak took a leading role in the 44th annual Québec Games (Les Jeux du Québec) recently, helping light the flame at the opening ceremonies in her hometown of Blainville, Québec.

Wozniak was not only an Ambassador for the Games, but also took part in ceremonies in the two other Québecois cities where the Games were jointly held, Rosemère and Sainte-Thérèse. She attended some of the province-wide sporting competition's events throughout the week, which included 20 sports also played at the Olympics.

"It's important to encourage young athletes in their first steps of developing in their sports, so that one day they will have the chance to go to the Olympics," Wozniak said. "It's an honor for me to be Ambassador and I want to be at the Games and help motivate the athletes so they can fulfill their dreams. The most important time to be involved in an athlete's development is when they're young. I also do it to give back to a community that gives me so much love and support.

"This experience is important for me as I never had the oppurtunity to play in the Québec Games. There will be 3,000 participants in 20 sports, more than at the Winter Olympics, which had 2,508, so it's a big sports event!"

Wozniak has also been making some significant strides forward on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour recently. She captured the Bank of the West Classic title in Stanford, California last summer, and reached another pair of semifinals later in the year in Tokyo and Québec City. A few weeks ago she rose to a career-high of No.30 in the world, the first Canadian woman since Patricia Hy-Boulais in 1993 to crack the Top 30; she was the first Québecois woman ever to achieve the feat.

"I'm thrilled to be the first woman from Québec to have ever reached the Top 30. I hope this will be motivation to inspire others from my country."

Wozniak's father and coach, Antoni, was also recently honored by Tennis Canada as 2008's Coach of the Year: "I was in Toronto to receive the award on my dad's behalf. It's a big honor for me and my family to be a part of Tennis Canada and to hopefully be role models across the world."

The Québec Games began on Friday, February 27 and ended on Saturday, March 7. For more information on the Games visit www.jeuxduquebec.com.

**With files from Sony Ericsson WTA Tour web site***

Photo courtesy: Vincent Ethier