AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 11, 2025

Victoria Azarenka

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Vika, I'm going to steal a question you just answered: what it means, in a way, to be back in this tournament that's been so important in terms of your career.

VICTORIA AZARENKA: Yeah, I'm very happy to be back. I always have a high level of excitement coming here. I have had tremendous memories here and kind of where the world found out about my name (smiling).

So, yeah, I'm excited to be here. I'm excited to start the tournament and take it one step at a time. I think I'm coming this year with a little bit of a different mentality that maybe has a little bit less with just my game and just to kind of find joy in being here and playing and taking a bit less pressure off myself on result-oriented base and really what I can do to improve day by day.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Going off of that in terms of a different mentality, that was a little bit of my question of, you know, how much at the start of the season is it, oh, here we go again, another go-around on the year, and how much is it excitement? Where does that kind of skew these days for you?

VICTORIA AZARENKA: Well, I'm sure it's going to go from one day to another. It's not going to be on the same level. I think that taking a break after kind of US Open for me was very important to come into this year with a little bit of a fresher mindset and a bit of a different perspective, a little bit more space and flexibility with myself and probably the way I'm going to schedule my whole year. At least that's the hope (smiling).

Then, yeah, I think that break was very important, so I didn't necessarily have that feeling of, oh, here we go, another year. But at the same time, which is like 20th season or 21st season for me, so I try to -- I try, I'm not sure I'm succeeding -- be good on a daily basis to kind of take it day by day and not to bring all those thoughts. Oh, I have been playing for so long, this is my 17th Australian Open or whatever it is.

It's not easy, because my mind kind of like rushes through that, for sure. I feel that I'm not necessarily craving that feeling anymore. I'm trying to find different ways how I approach my mentality, my schedule, the way I play on the court. Not necessarily technically or tactically, maybe some of those little changes, but overall, yes.

Q. In terms of that, like, speaking to a lot of tennis players over the years, there is always that kind of existential crisis that sometimes exists with people of what am I doing, what is it all here for, especially when things are kind of down.

VICTORIA AZARENKA: Yeah.

Q. I'm curious, is it good, do you think, for players to kind of be in that head space of constantly trying to understand the motivation and the purpose of the day-to-day of their careers, what they are doing on the tennis court, or is it better to keep it simple and keep those slots at bay? Or does it depend on what stage of your career you're in?

VICTORIA AZARENKA: Well, I think it's inevitable. I'm not sure at one point or another you're going to be able to fight it off and be, like, okay, let's just think simple. I think that's an ideal desire, at least for me, but I think you always, you grow, you learn.

I talk about it in terms of motivation, and, you know, when I was coming on tour, one of my highest motivation, especially where I come from and how my young career was developing, is that need to prove people wrong, you know, and like if somebody says I can't do it, I was, like, let's dance, you know, and stuff like that.

But after a certain period, that was not a sustainable motivation. I don't believe that it's actually long-term sustainable motivation, because you start to get caught up in thinking about other people.

I think you can still kind of dig and try to extract that motivation once in a while, but if we talk about sustainability for a year or two seasons, three seasons, I think that's going to be pretty tough.

That's where I had to find a different way, what's going to motivate me. Then it's another one. So it's that kind of cycle I think is inevitable. Same with purpose. Same with joy. Like, if you ask, oh, I just love playing all the time, I'm not sure you're being very truthful.

But how many days you are enjoying, how many days you're suffering, and if you see that balance, it's, like, in the healthier percentage, well, I think that's pretty normal.

But over the years, for sure, with every aspect, you have to restart, okay, how is my game, how can I improve. Playing 15 years ago, can I continue to do that, or do I have to adjust? Different players. Different conditions every time.

I think courts became, most of the courts became a lot slower than they used to be. Grass court in particular. Indian Wells, like, I mean, feels like playing in the sand at times. I have won that tournament twice, so I feel like has it been that way (smiling)? I really ask those questions sometimes.

So I think it's a healthy process, but as I said, depends on how much time you spend in that down part, because I don't think anybody cannot have that. As long as the ratio of the balance of percentage how much you spend in that space is healthy, but then again, you know, hopefully we also put some things in place with the tour where there is help for us, especially mental health practitioners that are on tour constantly.

Yeah, I think it's, for young people, it's not, it's pretty tough now with all the attention, with all the social media, I think it's very challenging.

Q. There is always talk on tour about handshakes. It's a unique thing in some ways, individual sport. What's it like at the end of a much where it's been competitive that you have to sort of instantly go and sort of be friends with this person? Is it...

VICTORIA AZARENKA: I don't think you have to be friends with that person (smiling).

Q. Well, you have to do something that's, like, seen as a friendly thing, where you might just want to get the hell off.

VICTORIA AZARENKA: Well, I think it's sportsmanship. If I'm going to sit here and say I had all the best handshakes in my career, that's just going to be a blatant lie, but I do believe that I conduct myself with sportsmanship. I try to do my best.

Have I been perfect? No. But I think that over the years, I also learned that this is what it takes to be a professional. You play the match. You say thank you. You shake hands, and you go.

To be honest, I don't think tennis maybe is the best example, but what I found, like, amazing is in rugby, you know, how much respect the players have between each other, how much they have respect with referees. I also didn't have the best always moments with referees, but what's interesting that I have great relationships with all of them.

I talk with them. We have conversations. I don't know one referee that I ever had actually bad relationships over the years.

Moments? Yes, for sure, but once things kind of get heated, I'm not saying it's normal, but it happens. I think what you do after that, how you handle those situations and you're able to say, hey, that was my bad, or you kind of follow up that conversation. I think if you ever have a disagreement and you deal with that in person, I have always done that with anybody. I think that's again a learning process, but the handshakes sometimes can get tricky, for sure.

I don't really care about it too much anymore. I think that's my maturity (smiling). Yes.