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2024 is the year of mothers, in the WTA Tour. Angelique Kerber and Naomi Osaka came back after their motherhood, showing good tennis. The WTA season officially kicked off with the 500 tournaments in Brisbane, Australia, and the 250 tournaments in Auckland, New Zealand.
Among the protagonists of the Australian tournament there is another strong mother, Victoria Azarenka. The former WTA No.1 first defeated Anna Kalinskaya with a score of 6-1, 7-6(8), then Clara Burel 7-5 6-2. In the quarterfinals she will challenge former Roland Garros winner Jelena Ostapenko.
Azarenka won the first edition of the tournament in 2009 and highlighted what she likes about Brisbane and Australia. "Beautiful city. Just a great atmosphere. Like I said, the people I hear really appreciate sports. I feel like Australia in general really loves sport.
Tennis is a very widespread culture in Australia. Definitely a nice place. I think that's what we're here for, to play in front of the fans, put on a bit of a show. I mean, that's why I train so hard. I still love competing. I don't like traveling or going from one tournament to another but I like competing, that feeling of going out on the pitch in front of the crowd is what motivates me to keep going," she explained.
Azarenka on Osaka and Kerber's come back
The 2012 and 2013 Australian Open champion talked about Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber's return to competition and the figure of female athletes, saying on the WTA Tour.
"I never give advice to people who don't ask me personally.
People are individuals and have their own ways of doing things. I really stay away from giving advice. What I would say is that I'm very excited to see the players that are coming back. I think we have defeated the stereotype of being an athlete and having a family.
I believe we still have a long way to go in this regard. We need to be committed to continuing to move forward as women leaders in sport, on how we can make our athletes feel more safe, at all levels and not just at the top level, but also at the lower levels where they don't have that stability and security.
financial to continue to come back. I think we have the opportunity to do that in women's sports like maybe never before. I hope we have the right resources in this," she told.