"If you know what I mean" - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova hilariously poses in front of Italian Open's iconic statue as she visits "favorite" court early
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova struck a hilarious pose in front of an iconic statue at the Italian Open and shared the picture on social media with an equally comic caption.
Pavlyuchenkova paid a visit to the Foro Italico, the famed sports complex in Rome. The sports complex's clay courts host the prestigious Italian Open, an ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 event. This year's edition of the Italian Open is slated to start on May 6.
While Pavlyuchenkova did not disclose the exact reason for her visit to the Foro Italico, she certainly seemed to make the most of her time there. In one of her posts, the former WTA World No. 11 posed in front of a stripped statue, one of the 60 marble statues at the venue. The post also featured a hilarious caption.
"Fav court ever if u know what I mean...," the Russian wrote in an Instagram post.
In a separate post, the WTA World No. 22 showed one of the clay courts at the Foro Italico. Unsurprisingly, the court was empty and looked a shadow of its buzzing self, which usually is the case when the Italian Open is on. The Russian captioned the post:
"Came a bit early..."
Pavlyuchenkova is not the first person to poke fun at the stripped statue at the Italian Open venue. Last year, Eugenie Bouchard, the Canadian player who is now an active pickleball player, also posted about her amusement after encountering the same statue.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova suffered an early exit at the Miami Open
Pavlyuchenkova was the 21st seed at the Miami Open. However, despite getting off to a bright start at the WTA 1000 event, her run was abruptly halted in the third round.
The Russian started her Miami Open campaign in the second round after receiving a first-round bye. She comfortably dispatched American Shelby Rogers in the second round 6-2, 6-1. The WTA World No. 22's aggressive playing style was in full flow against Rogers, as she used her flat groundstrokes to overpower the American.
However, Pavlyuchenkova faltered in her third-round match against Ekaterina Alexandrova. The 32-year-old lost the first set 4-6 but seemed to have weathered the storm following her 6-3 victory in the second. Ultimately, it was Alexandrova who came out on top as Pavlyuchenkova crashed out of the tournament.
So far this season, Pavlyuchenkova has played 19 matches, winning 13 and losing six. She also withdrew from the Dubai Tennis Championships ahead of her Round of 32 match against compatriot Liudmila Samsonova.