Victoria Azarenka shares relatable parenting moment as son Leo declines hugging her out of embarrassment in front of his friends
Victoria Azarenka joined her son Leo at his ice hockey tournament and shared a relatable parenting moment. The Russian tennis star revealed that her son hilariously declined to hug her in front of his teammates out of embarrassment.
Azarenka is enjoying her offseason by spending some quality time with her seven-year-old son Leo. He plays for the Florida Kings ice hockey team after signing a contract with them in May this year.
Recently, he was participating in a tournament that Azarenka also attended. She uploaded an Instagram stories post of Leonard indulging in a game of chess during a break from ice hockey against presumably a teammate with snacks on the table.
Further, the 35-year-old took to X to open up about how her son declined to hug her at the tournament.
"My son Leo doesn’t want to give me hugs in front of his teammates I’m at his hockey tournament at he’s like not here mom is that relatable? Or …."
Azarenka gave birth to her son, Leo, in December 2016 with her then-partner Billy McKeague, a former hockey player turned golf instructor. The couple split up in 2017 when Leo was only a few months old, leading to a highly publicized custody battle.
The legal dispute forced Azarenka to miss several tennis tournaments, including the 2017 U.S. Open. After a prolonged battle, she ultimately gained custody of Leo.
Victoria Azarenka opened up about being a mom of two after hilariously stating that Leo does not care much about her tennis
At the Australian Open last year, Victoria Azarenka defeated Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals and was asked about her son during the post-match interview.
"Um well, Leo doesn’t really care so much that I’m playing here. He worries more about his football…" Azarenka said to the amusement of the crowd. "And when we gonna go play again out there. But obviously, he is watching some matches. He definitely wants his mom to be home so a few more days here and I’ll be back."
She revealed that it was her dog's birthday that day to the cheers of the crowd.
"I miss my dog also, so so much. I’ve become a dog-mom as well so I have two kids now."
Azarenka faced defeat against Elena Rybakina in the semifinals of the 2023 Australian Open. This year, the former World No. 1 was ousted in the fourth round of the Melbourne Slam by Dayana Yastremska. Overall, she finished 2024 with a record of 30-15, ranked at World No. 20.