Belarus’ top tennis player organises master class for children, and para-athletes, at Minsk’s Centre of Olympic Tennis Training

Around 200 people came to meet the former world tennis first seed — to train, ask questions and receive autographs. Victoria, joined by her partner, Sasha Bazhin, noted that an increasing number of children attend her master classes each year. She commented, “It’s clear that tennis is developing dynamically in our country. Major new courts, with various surfaces, have opened, as have modern gyms. Children have great conditions in which to develop their skills. However, much more needs to be done to train sportsmen and coaches.”

Victoria discussed how best to improve training for tennis players during her meeting with the Sports and Tourism Minister, Alexander Shamko. Moreover, after her master class, she mentioned her desire to follow the training of athletes readying themselves for the Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games. Victoria plans to take part in the 2016 Olympics in the singles event, having already won Olympic gold in London, in the mixed doubles. She tells us, “In Rio de Janeiro, I’ll try to win the women’s tournament. I want gold for Belarus!”

Analysing her performance in this year’s tennis season, Azarenko notes that her best play was during the US Open Championship: in the quarter-finals, she lost to Romania’s Simona Halep. At present, Victoria is ranked 23rd by the WTA. She plans to participate in three Asian tournaments, aiming to reach the final WTA championship in Singapore.