Caroline Wozniacki reflects on season of breakthrough and adversity

WATCH—Elina Svitolina takes out Caroline Wozniacki in Singapore:

Caroline Wozniacki has confirmed she will start next season in Auckland, but she's still winding down from a long year.

The 28-year-old won her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open and returned to No. 1 for the first time since 2012. She was also diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis just ahead of the US Open.

"So it's been a great year. I won my first Slam," Wozniacki said in Singapore. "I won in Beijing and in Eastbourne, and I think I can be proud of just the way that I have handled adversity and I have handled a lot of things this year.

"It's definitely been a tough year. I think it's been really difficult, because I think there is a lot of things going on and you just have to keep grinding."

Having initially kept her illness quiet so as not to give others a competitive edge, Wozniacki spoke in detail about her diagnosis for the first time in October.

"I have to be honest, I think after Wimbledon I wasn't feeling well. I thought it was just the flu. I [went] to Washington. Knees are hurting, my leg is hurting," she said. "I wake up and I can't lift my arms... I go to the doctor and they tell me everything is fine. And then I'm like I know that I'm not fine."

After letting the diagnosis sink in, Wozniacki is now more confident in her ability to keep competing, saying, "You just have to be positive and work with it, and there is ways that you can feel better so that's great."

Her win in Beijing helped; it was her first title since being diagnosed.

Wozniacki has been enjoying her offseason, with a vacation in the Maldives, a trip to Italy, a basketball game in New York and an appearance at the Necker Cup, all with her fiancé, David Lee.

The No. 3-ranked Dane will be the top seed at Auckland.