“Players are exploited right and left!” Victoria Azarenka disgusted by the treatment of young players by coaches after Fiona Ferro’s case

“Players are exploited right and left!” Victoria Azarenka disgusted by the treatment of young players by coaches after Fiona Ferro’s case

Fiona Ferro and Victoria Azarenka

Former World no. 1 Victoria Azarenka, recently discussed in a press conference how some players are exploited “right and left on the tour.” This statement comes after the sexual assault allegations against Pierre Bouteyre came to the surface. Fiona Ferro accused former coach Bouteyre of sexually assaulting her when she was just 15 years of age. But Bouteyre claims that they were in a relationship

Now, Victoria Azarenka is expressing her support for Ferro and claiming that these abuses are becoming a common occurrence that people won’t talk about. She said, “The recent story with Fiona Ferro that came out, I don’t know how to put it in words sometimes. All you can do is check in on the person and kind of give your hand – what I can do, what I can help with.”

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Our job is to be better at safeguarding: Victoria Azarenka discusses the unsafe environment for tennis players after Fiona Ferro’s story came out

Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka

On the protection of young players, Azarenka said, “In woman’s game particularly, I see so many coaches that make their players dependent on them, and I think that’s very dangerous. It’s very manipulative too. I wish that kind of subject was talked about a little bit more. The problem here is when somebody is winning, nobody’s going to go and say, ‘Okay, that [inappropriate coaching behaviour] is the thing’ When the winning stops, it becomes dark and there is nobody to hold your hand.”

She further added, “Our job is to be better at safeguarding, As player council, it’s almost like No. 1 subject to us. Because we see those vulnerable young ladies that getting taken advantage of in different situations. “

She finally applauded Ferro for being brave. Azarenka commented, “So, I mean, I applaud her for being brave. I hope this situation she’s gonna come out of it stronger and tennis is not ruined for her because of that. That’s I think very, very heavy topic.”

Victoria Azarenka will play against Karolína Plíšková in her fourth-round match at the US Open.

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