Victoria Azarenka was one of the players affected by the Wimbledon ban and the Belarussian played thinks, tennis missed a huge opportunity in all of that.
Azarenka took a very public stance against the War in Ukraine when it happened and she worked behind the scenes in trying to bring the community together. However, she was left frustrated as her suggestions and ideas fell on deaf ears. She was asked about how she handled the whole situation and she did not hold back:
“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. I love to find solutions from difficult situations. I think what was hard was the absolute ignorance and carelessness from 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.’ But we all move on. It didn’t change my view and my perception when it comes to helping people, and it won’t. I don’t believe that part of me will ever go away, so we’ll just move on.”
It's a very strong point made by Azarenka who pointed to a faulty line of thinking in tennis where ideas get shut down rather quickly. The sport is one of the slowest ones to adapt to change and it's hurting it globally.
Azarenka further lamented the missed opportunity that presented itself ahead of them but underlined her hope that tennis can still show that it unites people rather than divides:
“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.”
Azaenka made the comments after beating Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine in the opening round of San Jose.
0 Comments