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ROME, ITALY: Victoria Azarenka of Belarus celebrates in her round one match against Venus Williams of The United States during day three of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia at Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Riccardo Antimiani – Pool/Getty Images)
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ROME, ITALY: Victoria Azarenka of Belarus celebrates in her round one match against Venus Williams of The United States during day three of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia at Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Riccardo Antimiani – Pool/Getty Images)
Former Grand Slam champion, Victoria Azarenka, is currently in isolation for the Australian Open in Melbourne. The players are currently serving a 14-day quarantine period, following protocols issued by the authorities. The COVID-19 pandemic has created panic amongst people due to the ease at which the virus spreads and the fatality rate.
Due to the isolation, players are training in their respective hotel rooms. As a result, once the period is over, they’ll have a week to resume training on the tennis courts. It can prove decisive since it could be difficult for players to instantly adapt to the summer of Australia.
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 10: Victoria Azarenka (R) of Belarus talks with Serena Williams (L) of the United States after winning their Women’s Singles semifinal match on Day Eleven of the 2020 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 10, 2020 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Azarenka says there should be a sensitivity to the judgement
The Belarusian voiced concern with regard to players being able to cope up with these changes. The former World No. 1 said, “I think that people who are not in the situation, don’t have a good understanding of what they are talking about and I think there should be a sort of sensitivity to the judgment.”
“Because it does depend a lot, I don’t think any doctor or medical person or even coach would say that after not being out in just a simple example, out in the sun out of in air to go out and playing in Australian heat which is a bit different.”
Victoria felt that one week can be tricky. Also, she felt players shouldn’t be judged for the situation they’re currently in, as it’s always easy to judge from the outside.
Victoria Azarenka: Many Components and Thought Process Comes to It
“So, having one week going into a Grand Slam without any match practice and without having a full training it’s you myself those chances or not so there’s a lot of components and thought process that comes to it and would ask people who are not in this situation not to judge players or their choices without being in their shoes.”
The Belarusian has been a two-time winner at the Australian Open. Last season, she made it to the final at the US Open. It’ll be interesting to see if Victoria can carry that form to Melbourne.
What do you make of Azarenka’s comments?
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