‘Tennis is my work but being a mum is my No.1 priority’

A former world number 1 and a two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka didn’t have a chance to play in Australia since 2016 when she won the title in Brisbane and reached the quarter-final in Melbourne.

After giving birth to a son Leo, injuries and custody battle that forced her to focus on other things outside of tennis, the 20-time WTA champion is now ready to make another successful trip down under and compete for her first title in almost three years. Back in 2016, Vika was the best player in the first three months of the season, lifting trophies at Indian Wells and Miami before missing all the action after Roland Garros due to pregnancy.

Azarenka was able to play only two events in 2017, losing to Simona Halep in the fourth round of Wimbledon and making a return only at Indian Wells last March. She was the semi-finalist in Miami but that proved to be her last good result of the year, winning just 17 matches and staying outside the top-50.

Leaving the rough period behind her, Vika is now ready to rumble again in Australia where she claimed some of the biggest titles of her career, traveling to Brisbane with her son before heading to Adelaide where she will compete at the World Tennis Challenge on January 7-8.

The Belarusian will make her first appearance in Melbourne in three years, making debut as a qualifier in 2006 at the age of 16 and winning titles in 2012 and 2013.

“I don’t know if it will happen in a couple of weeks or whenever but that’s definitely my goal and it will mean a lot to me,” Azarenka said. “I’ve worked really hard to prepare for this year.

I’m excited and I’m very motivated. Leo is a good traveler; he likes to travel, so I’m sure he’ll love all the cities and the Australian Open. I’ll definitely take him to the zoo so he can see all the cool animals you guys have, so it’s going to be fun.

I’m very excited going to Australia because I haven’t been there for a while and it’s one of my favorite places in the world and I absolutely love the Australian Open and all the tournaments over the Australian summer.

I’m always looking forward to it. Being a mum is my No.1 priority. Being a tennis player is my work, which is also a very high priority, but I’ve had this year to kind of test it out and see how I can learn a lot more how can balance my own time and spend time with my son.

So it’s been really good – happy to have had this year so I’m a lot more prepared now. I’m feeling good. And what would be a success? We have one goal, which is to win the tournament.”