Australian Open: Victoria Azarenka, Messi's most fanatical tennis player, who learned to live with fear and anxiety

Victoria Azarenka

returned to the semifinals of

after ten years.

The last time she had been in 2013, when she won the title for the second consecutive edition.

Of course, after the 6-4 and 6-1 against the American

, her third favorite, in Melbourne they not only talk about her because of her tennis but because she goes out on the court with a

shirt .

The former world number one is a self-confessed fan of the French club,

and the Argentine national team.

What's more, she was one of the international sports figures who suffered the most, enjoyed and celebrated the consecration of the albiceleste team in the

.

"Everyone asks me why I wear the PSG shirt and they don't know that I've supported them since 2012, when (

signed with the club. I've been a fan for a long time and I went to a lot of games," Azarenka said.

"I've been a PSG fan since 2012," Azarenka said.

Photo Reuters

Of course, his love for

 was further enhanced in August 2021, when Messi joined the Parisian team.

At that time, Vika shared on

the image of Rosario with the number 30 jacket, along with a heart.

"

. Because of the way he handles himself on the pitch. He's so talented and so different from the rest of the players... I also love how humble he is," he explained in that moment.

And that predilection for the Argentine became a passion for the Argentine national team for several years.

During the World Cup he followed the matches live and filled the social networks with messages of support and admiration.

And even he had the pleasure of witnessing the match against

live and fulfilling his dream of seeing Messi live in a World Cup. 

"El Rey" tweeted in Spanish, along with a photo of the Albiceleste captain, after the victory in the round of 16.

"Bravo!", He celebrated after the 3-0 defeat against Croatia in the semis.

And after the triumph in the final against France, he did not hold back.

"I'm crying," he confessed himself first.

," he added in Spanish.

And in English he highlighted the

: "Martínez, you are the boss."

And he closed the flood of tweets with a photo of the entire team, with the cup raised and a simple "

". 

Azarenka shares that passion for football, for PSG and for Messi with her six-year-old son

.

And in her passage through Melbourne she confessed that she became a

(soccer mom). 

"He is extremely obsessed with soccer. I told him soccer and he said

. It's a debate we have," he said with a laugh.

"He wants to play for PSG, it's his dream. He saw me wearing the shirt and now he wears the same one. And he's pretty good. So now I'm a

. I'm very annoying, I yell a lot, without shame, but always very positive and supporting him. I'm very proud of him," she added.

Leo was born in December 2016 and is the number one priority in the life of the Belarusian.

What's more,

put her career on hold for almost a season to focus on the

.

It is that after returning to the circuit in June 2017, after giving birth, she was able to play alone in Mallorca and Wimbledon before returning to the United States, because a California judge had imposed a restriction on her son to leave that state.

She was away from the courts until March 2018, when she reappeared at the age of 29.

And it was difficult for her to recover her best level, which had taken her to number one in the world in mid-2012.

The fight to return to the elite

Australia 2019: Azarenka broke down after being eliminated in her debut and even thought about retiring.

Photo EFE

With Leo as her new traveling companion,

set out to make up lost ground.

But the trip was moved.

At the beginning of 2019, after falling in his debut in Australia,

down at the press conference.

"I've been through a lot. Sometimes I wonder why I have to go through all this, but I imagine it will make me stronger. I want to believe and I'm going to work for it.

," he said through tears.

Some time later he affirmed that at that moment

.

That season was a sporting nightmare: he could not advance to the second week of any Grand Slam or chain more than three consecutive wins.

In a 2020 marked by the pandemic, he began to see the light at the end of the tunnel and returned to play at a high level, winning the

(his first title since 2016) and reaching the

final , which he lost. with

, and from Ostrava.

She and she finished the year in the 13th step of the ranking, after having touched 60th. 

But in 2021 he had an irregular campaign (the Indian Wells final was his best result) and at the beginning of 2022 he confessed that he was experiencing moments of great stress in his personal life, which affected his tennis.

Azarenka broke in the middle of the game at Indian Wells 2022.Photo Reuters

What's more, in March,

in Indian Wells and weeks later he suddenly withdrew in the second round in Miami: when he trailed 6-2 and 3-0, at half-time, he took his things, He went to the locker room and never came back. 

"I shouldn't have gone out on the court. The last few weeks have been extremely stressful in my personal life. I wanted to go out and try, but it was a mistake," he confessed.

And he warned that he would take a "break" from tennis, which was short, because a little less than two months later he was back.

"Today I enjoy and I am compassionate with myself"

Victoria Azarenka spoke about her mental health in Melbourne.Photo Reuters

After beating Pegula and advancing to the semis in Melbourne, Azarenka recounted

.

"Anxiety is not something you recognize right away

You feel lost. I was at a point where I couldn't find anything that made me feel good about myself, or not even a sentence," he said.

"Fear is connected to that. In my case, every time I stepped on a tennis court these two feelings awoke. It happened to me in moments of pressure, situations of great stress," he added.

The Belarusian assured that the elimination in the first round of the

tournament , last October, helped her change her perspective.

"The moment when I broke some rackets in Ostrava was critical for me, since then I tried to take everything simpler.

Instead of focusing so much on the goals , focus on the process. Today I'm happy for everything I've been through. Everything helped me to be more open, tolerant and compassionate with me," he explained.

He added: "I enjoy everything, but most of all being able to accept everything that happens. If I'm not playing well, I start looking for a solution to overcome it, whereas in the past I would have reacted by getting angry.

".

And although she is excited to be able to continue advancing in the tournament -this Wednesday her will be the Kazakh

, she does not lose that new focus that led her to have a good time again on a court.

"Last year my tennis was not bad, but I lacked mentally. In the preseason I said to myself

. I feel like I've been playing tennis at a high level since the beginning of the year. I am excited to return to play a semifinal here and give my best. I need to concentrate, stay in the present and continue doing my daily work, step by step", said

, who between football and Messi, motherhood and a new mentality, he wants to party in Melbourne again. 

HS

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