Watch: Victoria Azarenka hits the practice court with son Leo ahead of Wimbledon 2023
Victoria Azarenka is training hard ahead of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships and was joined by a special guest, her son Leo, in one of her hitting sessions.
Azarenka, currently ranked World No. 19, recently gave her invaluable tennis insight to her son Leo, who joined her during a training session.
In a video shared by Wimbledon's official social media account, Azarenka is seen guiding her 5-year-old son on how to hit the ball.
"Turn low and hit," Azarenka instructed.
Leo enthusiastically tried to follow her mother's instructions and did manage to hit a few balls.
Leo has often been seen with Azarenka while she travels across the globe to compete in tournaments. He recently joined the Belarusian on the court after her first-round win at the Libema Open on June 12.
After her victory, Azarenka proceeded to give away a few tennis balls to spectators and was helped by Leo, who hit them into the stands. Leo's participation was cheered by the fans present in the stadium.
Family fun in Den Bosch 👩👦
@vika7 | #LibemaOpen https://t.co/I1QsuQC0ch
On the tennis side of things, Victoria Azarenka began her grass swing of the 2023 WTA Tour at the Libema Open. She won her opening-round match against Serbian qualifier Natalija Stevanovic, 7-6(5), 6-3. However, her campaign was cut short by Ashlyn Krueger of the US in the second round, as the latter won, 6-3, 6-2.
Azarenka then competed at the 2023 Berlin Open, where she was ousted in the first round by fellow Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich, 6-4, 6-4.
Now, the 33-year-old will head to the Wimbledon Championships, where she will be seeded No. 19.
Here's how Victoria Azarenka has fared at Wimbledon over the years
Victoria Azarenka has found most of her success on the hard court, with both of her Grand Slam titles coming at the Australian Open (2012 and 2013). That's not to say that she has not enjoyed any success on grass.
The Belarusian has reached the semifinal in London on two occasions - 2011 and 2012. In 2011, Azarenka was seeded No. 4 and beat the likes of Daniela Hantuchova (No. 25 seed in the third round) and Tamira Paszek (in the quarterfinal). She was then bettered by eventual champion Petra Kvitova in the semifinal, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2.
In 2012, Victoria Azarenka was the No. 2 seed and did not drop a set until her semifinal loss to another eventual champion Serena Williams, 6-3, 7-6(6). Her run included wins over No. 16 seed Ana Ivanovic (fourth round) and Tamira Paszek in what was a repeat of the 2011 quarterfinal.
Since then, Azarenka's best performance at the Wimbledon Championships was a quarterfinal in 2015 (lost to Serena Williams). The former World No. 1 did not participate at Wimbledon last year due to the ban on Russian and Belarusian players amid the war in Ukraine.