"She's either retiring or playing doubles with Serena Williams at the US Open" - Curious tennis fans react to Victoria Azarenka's cryptic announcement post
Tennis fans around the world have been engulfed in a haze of mystery ever since Victoria Azarenka's cryptic tweet about an upcoming announcement from her side.
Azarenka hasn't had the best of seasons this year. She struggled to put together good performances at the Australian Open and the French Open, and Wimbledon's ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes meant she was unable to compete at the Championships.
The former World No. 1 recently made it to the Citi Open quarterfinals before Wang Xiyu ended her run. After being unable to compete at the Canadian Open due to her visa getting rejected, she took part in the Western & Southern Open, where she lost to Emma Raducanu in the second round.
Following her defeat Azarenka posted on Twitter that she would soon make an announcement, but made no specific indication of what it would be.
"Announcement tomorrow," she tweeted.
…Announcement tomorrow 📣 …
Tennis fans soon started speculating what her announcement might be about, with the majority of them hinting at her retirement. One user suggested that she would either play doubles with Serena Williams at the upcoming US Open or retire.
"She's either retiring or playing double with Serena Williams at the US Open," the user wrote.
Announcement tomorrow 📣 …
Another said that it would be too tough to handle another retirement this year if Azarenka went the same way, and wrote:
"I can't survive another retirement this year I stg (swear to god. The announcement better be her rolling out a clothing line or something," tweet read.
I can't survive another retirement this year i stg the announcement better be her rolling out a clothing line or something 😭😭😭 twitter.com/vika7/status/1…
One fan, however, theorized that it might be the announcement of the birth of a second child and tweeted:
"Hm, am I the only one who thinks it might be baby no.2 for some reason."
Hm.... Am I the only one who thinks it might be baby no.2 for some reason twitter.com/vika7/status/1…
Here are a few more reactions to Azarenka's tweet:
IM GONNA KILL MYSELFFFFFFFFFFFF twitter.com/vika7/status/1…
She better not retire twitter.com/vika7/status/1…
Not Vika too
Please let it be something else😭 twitter.com/vika7/status/1…
Raducanu really sent her into retirement🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 twitter.com/vika7/status/1…
Pls…Why give us a heart attack just say it now 😭😭 twitter.com/vika7/status/1…
Vika PLEASE 😭 I can’t lose you too twitter.com/vika7/status/1…
ANOTHER INSTAGRAM POST WITH A CAPTION TENNIS IM SAYING GOODBYE AND IM GONNA KMS OKAY VICTORIA AZARENKA I HOPE YOU’RE READING THIS!!!??? twitter.com/vika7/status/1…
Usually bad news is just announced with no pre warning so im not too worried twitter.com/vika7/status/1…
ugh retirement twitter.com/vika7/status/1…
No tennis player has ever announced they are about to win the US Open. This is going to be iconic.
Can you tell us what time this annoucement is happening please? twitter.com/vika7/status/1…
Maybe it's just that she's playing in that Ukraine charity exhibition? 🥲 twitter.com/vika7/status/1…
OMG Noooooo retirement announcement Vika I can’t take anymore twitter.com/vika7/status/1…
mother don't do this i need you twitter.com/vika7/status/1…
The first stage of grief is starting.. twitter.com/vika7/status/1…
@TennisPodcast I'm worried about this one . . . twitter.com/vika7/status/1…
Looks like another retirement in 2022! twitter.com/vika7/status/1…
Also check out: US Open 2022 Results
"People missed a big opportunity to show how sports can unite" - Victoria Azarenka on Wimbledon banning Russian and Belarusian players
During the Citi Open earlier this month, Victoria Azarenka criticized the ban that prevented Russian and Belarusian players from competing at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships.
In an interview with Tennis.com, the Belarusian opined that the tournament had missed the chance to display the sport's togetherness. She did, however, express hope that another opportunity would arise in the future to do things differently.
"I’m on the Player Council, so I can’t completely cut myself off. I take that part of my job very seriously. I think what people missed here was a big opportunity to show how sports can unite. I think we missed that opportunity, but I hope we can still show it," she stated.
Azarenka also talked about how her attempt to resolve the matter was ignored. The 33-year-old remarked that the concerned authorities were ignorant and careless and that they brushed off her solutions without any serious discussion.
"How did I deal with it? I always try to find a solution that is beyond myself and what can be better because I love to help people. I love to find solutions from difficult situations. I think what was hard was the absolute ignorance and carelessness from the other parties," she said.
"I think that was a tough part to digest, because you’re coming in with options, opportunities and your heart, and it’s met with basically a ‘we don’t care', " she added.
The next stop for Azarenka is the 2022 US Open, where she will be eying her third Grand Slam singles title.