"She has done theatre, she has faked injuries" - Radwanska on Azarenka
WTA
Agnieszka Radwanska didn't hold back when criticizing Victoria Azarenka, who she had disagreements with in the past.
Radwanska and Azarenka used to be rivals on the WTA Tour. Both have reached the World No. 1 rank in their careers, and they have met a total of 18 times. Azarenka won 13 of those matches.
Now that Radwanska is retired, she can still observe the Belarusian's career, and she got to see Azarenka retire from her second-round match at the 2022 Miami Open.
The Belarusian player took on teenager Linda Fruhvirtova and retired down 2-6, 0-3. The chair umpire wanted Azarenka to wait for the physio to try to help her, but she didn't want to do that and left the court.
In an interview with Polish publication WP Sportowe Fakty, Radwanska admitted that if she ever returned to the tennis courts, she would try to distance herself more from her rivals.
"If I returned to the court after the birth of my son, I would certainly have an even greater distance than I used to. Do you remember what Azarenka did this year? She has done theatre more than once before, she has faked injuries etc."
"I watch her match in Miami, I look and something doesn't match her. She was losing and just left the court in the middle of the set. I think: 'God, girl ... You're 33, you've got everything on the court, you're a mom. And you do something like that!' It is completely incomprehensible to me."
Radwanska also mentioned her semi-final match against Azarenka at the 2012 Qatar Open in Doha. The Belarusian player won the first set 6-2, but she fell during the second set and appeared to be physically struggling throughout the set.
Still, she came back from 0-2 down to win the match 6-2, 6-4. Radwanska's handshake after the match could be described as cold, and even a few years later, the Polish player seemingly insists that her opponent wasn't really hurt during their match despite visibly struggling.
"Well, to be honest, I don't think this is worth a comment. But I think after this match (in Doha)... just lost a lot of respect. That's it. If you do this in the match, if anyone didn't see the match, I think it's just a quick look on YouTube, and you'll know what was going on."
In the final of the 2012 Qatar Open, Azarenka easily beat Samantha Stosur 6-1, 6-2 to win the title.
