Victoria Azarenka: future tennis career remains up in the air
By Harry Floyd
Victoria Azarenka is a former world No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam champion. Her tennis future remains up in the air right now.
Victoria Azarenka drops her opening round match at the 2018 French Open. The Belarusian tennis star is a former world No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam champion.
Falling to Kateřina Siniaková in straight sets, Vika’s return to the WTA Tour continues amidst struggles. She has continued her return to the courts following the birth of her son Leo. Azarenka’s return is unique compared to other women’s singles players who have dealt with pregnancies throughout their careers. Vika’s tour scheduling and ability to travel to certain tournaments has also been impacted by ongoing custody disputes. The tennis world, however, would love for Azarenka to reach a balance that both allows her to thrive on tour and act in the best interests of her son and family. She is constantly updating fans via Instagram about her life as a new mother.
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Azarenka’s straight set loss at the French Open comes after several tough tournament appearances in recent months. Time away following her pregnancy, along with inconsistency in tournament scheduling throughout the past year, has plagued Azarenka’s fight to rise in the rankings. Women’s singles tennis is currently being dominated by the likes of Caroline Wozniacki, Simona Halep, and Elina Svitolina.
Victoria Azarenka is a two-time Australian Open champion. At 28-years-old, the Belarusian tennis star still has time to contend at any given tournament.
Despite the rough outings throughout the past year, Azarenka still has the talent to be a top player on the WTA Tour. She falls early at both the Italian and French Open, but Azarenka has had success previously in 2018. The tour could easily see her make a run at any given tournament.
Stay tuned to see if Victoria Azarenka can string together some second half tournament success on the 2018 WTA Tour. For now, players such as Halep and Wozniacki remains the heavy favorites moving forward. Vika falls somewhere in between veteran talents and young rising stars in women’s singles tennis. She has the potential to rise in the rankings is she can find a schedule that works in her favor. Otherwise, the former world No. 1 will need to contend with a new generation of women’s singles stars. The sport is seeing several new names atop the headlines as we head into the second half of the 2018 tour.