Tennis players are not well. After the world number 1 Ashleigh Barty who announced her retirement, it is another member of the world Top 20 who says she wants to take a break. Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, who retired in the middle of a match on Sunday March 27, leaving 16-year-old Czech Linda Fruhvirtova to advance to the round of 16 of the WTA 1000 in Miami, apologized and said she wanted to “take a break “, claiming” the last few weeks extremely stressful “.
“I shouldn’t have entered the court today. The past few weeks have been extremely stressful in my personal life. The last game wore me out so much, but I wanted to play in front of a big crowd because it helped me out in my first game. I wanted to try but it was a mistake,” Azarenka wrote in a statement.
The 16th in the world is indeed going through a difficult period. In Indian Wells two weeks ago, she inexplicably broke down in tears during her match against Kazakh Elena Rybakina, but ended it with a 6-3, 6-4 loss. She then closed her accounts on the networks and did not reappear until Friday March 25 in Miami, where she fought to beat the Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova (54th), 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7/5 ).
VIDEO. “Absolutely exhausted”: Ashleigh Barty, the world No.1 in tennis, announces her retirement at just 25 years old
The Belarusian, who, like her compatriots and the Russians, plays without mention of her country or representation of her flag, according to a directive from the tennis authorities in response to the war in Ukraine, was one of the few sportswomen from her country to openly condemn this conflict initiated by Vladimir Putin.
“I hope to be able to come back”
“I hope to take a break and be able to come back,” she added, thinking, “Sorry for what happened. “I always look forward to the challenge of competition and the pressure that comes with it, but today was just too much. I must and will learn from this. I want to congratulate my opponent and wish him good luck for this tournament and the start of his professional career,” she concluded.
Linda Fruhvirtova, who became the youngest player to reach the round of 16 in Miami since Maria Sharapova and Tatiana Golovin in 2004, did not hide her disbelief when she saw Azarenka leave the court. “I don’t know what happened in the end. It was an honor to play against her. You never want to end the match this way but it does happen. We shook hands and then she left,” she told AFP.
Until then, the 279th world, who benefits from an invitation, flew over the debates in the face of her eldest, very frustrated, who often shouted her anger on the court and threw her racket on the ground, before making her abrupt decision after trailing 6-2, 3-0. For Fruhvirtova, sensation of the Florida tournament, the adventure continues. In the next round, she will be opposed to one of the favorites of the event, the Spaniard Paula Badosa (6th).