Caroline Dolehide finds gratitude amid the grind
On Wimbledon’s Centre Court, a doubles defeat sparked not defeat but awe for Caroline Dolehide, a mindset fueling her pro career and now guiding young athletes through the sacrifices and supports that define the path to the top.
In the humid haze of a 2023 Wimbledon afternoon, Caroline Dolehide absorbed a doubles semifinal loss on Court 1’s lush grass, her partnership with Zhang Shuai edged out by Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens. As the crowd’s murmurs faded into applause, she linked arms with her opponent—her frequent ally Hunter—and glanced toward the packed stands, whispering, “Look where we are.” That moment of shared wonder cut through the sting, a testament to the Hinsdale, Illinois, native’s evolution from local courts to global stages, where every baseline rally and net rush builds not just rankings but resilience.
Childhood drives without added weight
Growing up, Dolehide biked to public courts in her hometown, racket in tow, sharpening her strokes alongside siblings who all captured state titles. Their home buzzed with internal rivalries—quick volleys and crosscourt exchanges that honed her competitive edge—yet her parents kept expectations light, letting her self-imposed intensity take the lead. This freedom, she explained during a panel at the Chicago Sports Summit alongside fellow Hinsdale product Andrew Gutman of the Chicago Fire, allowed her to thrive without the burnout that shadows many young talents.
The 27-year-old, a six-time Grand Slam semifinalist, recalled how that approach mirrored the mental resets needed in pro tennis, where a misjudged slice on grass or a rushed inside-out forehand on hard courts can shift a match’s tempo. She shared that her family instilled daily lessons of hard work and play, competing against personal bests rather than outside demands. Dolehide credits this balance for sustaining her through eight years on the Hologic WTA Tour, where isolation amplifies every unforced error.
“I already put enough pressure on myself,” she said. “If I had extra pressure around me and more demand from my parents, I don’t think I would be where I am today. My parents taught me to work hard, play hard. That was an every-single-day life lesson for our family, and we would compete against ourselves. Having that pressure off my shoulders helped me become who I am today.”
She finds joy even in the struggles, viewing tough sessions as signs of growth, much like extending a rally with deep crosscourt balls to test an opponent’s footwork. This perspective, forged in youth, keeps her returning to the practice courts, rain or shine, building the psychological fortitude for three-set battles under stadium lights.
Sacrifices that sharpen ambitions
Transitioning to the pros meant forfeiting milestones like her high school prom and her younger sister’s West Point graduation, choices Dolehide embraced as the cost of chasing big dreams across clay, hard, and grass circuits. These absences punctuated a schedule crammed with surface adaptations—from low-bouncing grass volleys to high-altitude hard-court endurance in places like Guadalajara, where her 2023 WTA 1000 final run peaked her singles ranking at No. 41. Now at No. 112 in singles and No. 43 in doubles, she eyes a Top 50 return in 2026, prioritizing offseason prep to refine her one–two patterns and down-the-line precision.
During the summit, she urged acceptance of these trade-offs from the start, framing them as investments rather than burdens. The emotional weight hits hard—missing family events amid jet-lagged recoveries—but her accomplishments, from Grand Slam semis to consistent doubles results, affirm the payoff. Dolehide pours everything into her goals, leaving no tactic unexplored, whether adjusting serve placement for wind-swept outdoor courts or building stamina for extended baseline duels.
“As long as you accept that from the beginning, you’ll be able to make those sacrifices,” she noted. “I’m not saying it won’t be tough. But to me, the accomplishments that I’ve had, and my future accomplishments, are worth it because I have big goals and I pour everything into them. You cannot leave any stone unturned if you’re going towards something big, and that should excite you, not put pressure on you.”
Her path highlights how pros navigate the tour’s rhythm, turning potential regrets into motivation during quiet hotel nights or pre-match warm-ups, where a well-timed inside-in forehand can swing momentum in a deciding set.
Building teams and giving back
Central to her longevity is the trusted circle around her, starting with family support that made early drills fun and extending to a professional team that fuels daily improvements. In an individual sport like tennis, where solitude amplifies doubts after a poor return game, this network transforms grind into excitement—analyzing video of slice approaches or coordinating doubles strategies. Dolehide emphasized at the summit how fostering such an environment sustains drive, much like partnering for complementary styles on varied surfaces.
She extends this ethos beyond her game through the Serving Chicago Style Foundation, launched last year to inspire kids via sports’ power, funding youth programs and resources for underserved communities while organizing events like December’s Rally for a Clause, which supports the Play Like a Champion Today movement. The initiative stemmed from her lifelong giving—donating gear to Chicago’s homeless as a child and volunteering at soup kitchens with her father—intensified by the 2023 tragedy of young Sean Richards in Hinsdale. Compelled to act, she started a fundraiser for Love Like Sean and Chicago Youth Centers, evolving it into her foundation with family on the board.
“My mom was like, ‘We should create your foundation, because this is something you’ve always wanted to do,'” Dolehide shared. “She’s my advisor, and all my siblings are part of my team. That’s the board of my foundation, and the mission is about nurturing strong habits and routines. We’re creating opportunities that start locally and extend globally, empowering individuals and communities to thrive.”
To learn more about the foundation and donate, click here. As offseason days stretch, she collaborates with her coach on a measured buildup, ensuring physical tweaks—like enhancing her underspin for defensive plays—and mental resets position her for 2026 breakthroughs. Whether reclaiming singles heights or deepening doubles impact, Dolehide’s blend of gratitude and grit promises more moments of awe on the world’s biggest stages, inspiring the next wave to embrace the journey’s full spectrum.
