Azarenka's enigmatic pause

Yesterday was the until recently number one, Ashleigh Barty, consumed by the Australian "mentally and physically";

previously the Japanese Naomi Osaka, who has been fighting with herself and with the professionalism package to return to the top of the circuit for a long time, declined;

and now it is Victoria Azarenka, a long-standing figure with a prestigious career, who steps aside because she, she says, is the victim of "extreme stress."

It remains to be seen what the exact origin is for which the 32-year-old Belarusian announced that she needs to make a personal parenthesis and move away from tennis, a sport that from one angle or another (the physical, the mental or, in many cases, a hybrid trigger) ends up consuming not a few celebrities.

After the shocking goodbye of Barty, who abruptly left the circuit last week because she feels that her body and mind can't give more of themselves, women's tennis receives another severe blow with the pause of Azarenka, one of its most charismatic representatives .

The player from Minsk, former number one and owner of two major titles, interrupted the match she was playing in Miami against the young 16-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova, and when she lost 6-2 and 3-0 she retired directly to the locker room .

There was no injury, nor any explanation on the track.

She would arrive later, through a message broadcast through her social networks.

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Azarenka brakes dry due to “extreme stress”

“Today [yesterday] I shouldn't have jumped on the track.

The last few weeks have been extremely stressful in my personal life.

The last game was exhausting for me, but I wanted to play in front of this big crowd because it helped me a lot on the first day.

I wanted to jump on the court and try, but it was a mistake”, transmitted the 16th in the world, who before crossing paths with Fruhvirtova had barely saved the first round against Ekaterina Alexandrova, with a hasty victory in three sets;

“I hope to take a break and come back.

I feel sorry for the fans, because they were fantastic;

they were the only reason I went out to compete.

I always look for challenges and pressure, but today it was too much.

I must learn from this."

Two weeks earlier, Azarenka broke down during her second match in Indian Wells, against Elena Rybakina.

She then burst into tears and the chair umpire had to come down to comfort her.

She continued to play and lost.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she just commented.

Later, the tennis player, very active on social networks, was surprised by suspending her profiles on the different platforms without explaining why.

From some sectors, she associates this maneuver with the tweets that she had previously published, within the framework of Russia's military offensive on Ukraine.

“I am devastated by the actions that have been taking place in recent days against Ukraine.

It is heartbreaking to see how the lives of so many innocent people are being affected by the violence,” she posted.

Lukashenko's national symbol

“Since my childhood I have seen how the people of Belarus and Ukraine, as well as both nations [Russia and Ukraine] have supported each other.

It's hard to witness the violent separation taking place right now, instead of leaning on each other and showing compassion for each other.

I wish for the war to end and for there to be peace,” lamented Azarenka, champion of the Australian Open in 2012 and 2013.

The chair umpire comes to comfort Azarenka on the 14th in Indian Wells. Mark J. Terrill (AP)

Then, when she triumphed twice in the Underworld and climbed to the top of her sport, Azarenka became a national symbol and a proud advertising item for President Alexakder Lukashenko.

Despite living since her adolescence in the United States (where she was trained) and later in Monte Carlo and Los Angeles (where her son Leo was born), the tennis player has always expressed a sentimental attachment to her country, unlike other figures who in times past (such as the Czech Martina Navratilova or her compatriot Ivan Lendl) clearly disassociated themselves from the then Soviet bloc.

However, she does not usually pronounce herself from the political point of view.

The no to Tokyo 2020, a turning point

He did raise his voice in 2020, like many other athletes in Belarus and in a critical key, when thousands of citizens demonstrated in the streets and denounced the manipulation of the presidential elections, as well as police repression.

"I love my country and I pray to all parties that the unrest stops and we move towards peace," he broadcast two years ago.

"It's a clean place where there are honest and hard-working people," she said in 2012, when she had good chemistry with Lukashenko, who awarded her the Fatherland Medal, one of the highest national distinctions and traditionally reserved for heroes of war.

But recently there was a turning point.

Last July, Azarenka announced that he would not compete in the Tokyo Games, wielding (like many other athletes around the world) the argument of the pandemic.

The tennis player, who in London 2012 won individual bronze and gold in the mixed doubles, together with Max Mirnyi, specified her willingness to attend Paris 2024, but the government reaction was forceful.

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“Why was Azarenka guided?

It's disgusting.

How is he not going to fight for the honor of the country?

Is he not going to help when he is needed or lead the youth, inspiring them by example?

She had a great chance to win gold with [Aryna] Sabalenka.

She does not look good either as an athlete, as a person or as a citizen of our country, ”recriminated the Minister of Sports and Tourism, Syarhei Kavalchuk.

“Our country is investing a lot in the development of athletes.

Unfortunately, many of our tennis players tell their lives and careers only in dollars," added the Belarusian politician.

After becoming a mother and an unpleasant legal dispute with her ex-partner for the custody of her son, her performance diminished, but after that crisis (2017-2019) was overcome, Azarenka returned to the front line of the circuit.

Spiritual, warrior and neat, the sudden break announced in Miami deprives women's tennis of another of her best assets.

In less than a week, she and Barty are already watching from the reservation.

That is to say, a more than important sinkhole.

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