“A big opportunity missed showing how sports can unite” Victoria Azarenka expresses disappointment after the ban on Russian and Belarus at Wimbledon 2022
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Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka, former World No 1, has been inconsistent with her performances lately due to injuries. She became the first Belarusian player to have won a singles Grand Slam title after her win at the Australian Open in 2012. She finished with a year-end top 10 singles ranking for five consecutive years between 2009 and 2013. She last played at the French Open in 2022 but lost to Jil Teichmann in the third round in a three-set match lasting three hours.
The two-time Grand Slam winner, Azarenka has also won 21 WTA singles titles. She could not participate at the All England Club after the ban was imposed on the Russian and Belarus players to stay out of the competition due to the Russian and Ukrainian wars. She is currently participating at the Citi Open 2022 and had already stormed into the second round after defeating Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska 6-4, 6-0 in the first round.
“It showed absolute ignorance and carelessness” Victoria Azarenka
Recently, in the post-match interview after her win at Washington DC, Azarenka pointed out how the All England Club’s ban on the players is a missed opportunity to showcase unity in sports and also felt that she was very much concerned about the players as she is a WTA Council Member. She said “I’m on the Player Council, so I can’t completely cut myself off. I take that part of my job very seriously. I think what people missed here was a big opportunity to show how sports can unite. I think we missed that opportunity, but I hope we can still show it.“
She further revealed that she attempted at formulating a middle ground with the concerned tennis bodies but they totally ignored her completely dismissing her concerns. She added “How did I deal with it? I always try to find a solution that is beyond myself and what can be better because I love to help people.”
She even spoke about her dismay at the obvious indifference shown towards her efforts to negotiate the ban.“I love to find solutions to difficult situations. I think what was hard was the absolute ignorance and carelessness of the other parties. I think that was a tough part to digest, because you’re coming in with options, opportunities, and your heart, and it’s met with basically a ‘we don’t care.“
She will next face Tereza Martincová in the Round of 16 at the Citi Open 2022 and is looking strong to have a good run at the US Open which starts on 29 August, where is a three-time major finalist.
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Prateek Pradhan
(601 Articles Published)