Victoria Azarenka criticizes Iga Swiatek for her ignorant comments on WTA not supporting Ukrainian players
Victoria Azarenka debunks Iga Swiatek's comments about WTA's apathetic attitude for Ukrainian players concerns.
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Victoria Azarenka and Iga Swiatek
The heat of the Russia-Ukraine war has begun to affect the sportspersons. After Lesia Tsurenko‘s last-minute withdrawal from her match against Aryna Sabalenka at the Indian Wells Open, and later blaming it on her conversations with WTA Chief Steve Simon about his stand on Russian and Belarusian players supporting the war effort of Russia, has ignited a spark.
Following this Iga Swiatek too shared her opinions on the current unfolding situation due to Russia-Ukraine war. She talked about the tensions that has engulfed locker rooms. She also blamed WTA for not guiding the players in a proper way and mismanaging the concerns of Ukrainian players.
However, soon the WTA in a stout and direct reply negated all the comments made by the current World No.1. The organization also pledged to support Ukrainian players in every way possible. Victoria Azarenka who is a member of the WTA Council has shared her difference in opinions with Iga Swiatek regarding this issue and the support that is being given to the Ukrainian players by WTA.
“Obviously some players have different feelings and behaviors. Overall, I don’t necessarily share the same opinion as Iga. I encourage her to look at what has been done before commenting. It is obvious that as a member of the player council, I am happy to provide all the facts that have been made. And I think that would be a more appropriate way to have that conversation,” she said.
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Victoria Azarenka hits out on people who ask about her retirement plans
Former World No.1 Victoria Azarenka is 33 years old and for many believe that she is in the last leg of her career. Hence, she is constantly perturbed with questions about her retirement. However, this time she has decided to open up on this topic.
“Yes, I mentioned it before I came back in 2020. I wasn’t sure if I would play again. I feel like when you have players who are older, like me, older in tennis, not older in life, I see a lot of people keep asking about the retirement and once they do they suddenly miss them,” she said.
She believes that media and critics must let the players decide for themselves on retirement calls and do not bother them with repetitive questions.
“It’s like we’re wasting their last years to talk about their future retirement. People will let them know when it’s time, and that’s it. But I see those comments come up all the time,” she continued.
Victoria Azarenka currently participating in the Miami Open 2023. She will start her campaign in this competition by playing against World No.46 Camila Giorgi.
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Abhar Indorkar
(451 Articles Published)