Victoria Azarenka was forced to miss the 2022 Wimbledon Championships after the tournament banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing. The former world No. 1, who is currently competing at the Citi Open, blamed the All England Club for their ignorance and negligence in standing firm with the decision.
Azarenka, who has made the Wimbledon semi-finals twice in her career, also lamented a missed opportunity to show that sport can unite people regardless of political offences.
However, award-winning sportswriter Peter Bodo disagreed with Azarenka and took to Twitter to express his thoughts.
“Victoria Azarenka needs to spend less time criticizing Wimbledon over the banning of Russian and Belarusian athletes and more time thinking about what Putin is doing to Ukrainian children, just like her own son Leo. Slam is not a human right, basic security is,” Peter Bodo tweeted.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has refused to stop his invasion and continues to wreak havoc on the Ukrainian people. Countless men, women and children have lost their lives and the situation is only getting worse with no sign of a ceasefire in sight.
Tennis Plays for Peace is a joint initiative through tennis to support humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine. Learn more about #TennisPlaysForPeace ⬇️
Victoria Azarenka is preparing for the US Open 2022
Victoria Azarenka is currently competing at the Citi Open in Washington DC. She started her campaign with a solid 6-4, 6-0 win over Dayana Yastremska.
The two-time Major winner returned to the circuit two months after her last match, which took place at Roland-Garros. She was ousted from Roland Garros by Jil Teichamann in a close encounter in three sets in the third round.
The Belarusian started the year on a high note by reaching the quarter-finals at the Adelaide International but was unable to progress beyond the round of 16 in eight tournaments thereafter.
Azarenka has a 75% win rate at the US Open and has appeared in the hard-court Major final three times (2012, 2013, 2020) in her career. However, she was never able to cross the line and lift the title.
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Vika Azarenka has made money on the floor 🇺🇸 for the past two seasons 🤑2020 Cincinnati: 🏆2020 US Open: Runner-Up2021 Indian Wells: Final vs Badosa https://t.co/tKJSvqcPt4
As her 2021 US Open campaign ended in the third round against Garbine Murguruza, the 33-year-old is hoping to make a deep run this year and maybe even clinch the title.