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Azarenka playing for Belarus in the 2011 Fed Cup in Eilat, Israel. |
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| Country | Belarus |
|---|---|
| Residence | Scottsdale, Arizona, United States[1] |
| Born | 31 July 1989 Minsk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union now Belarus |
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) |
| Turned pro | 2003 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Career prize money | $8,933,357 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 276–120 (69%) |
| Career titles | 8 WTA, 1 ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 3 (12 September 2011) |
| Current ranking | No. 3 (31 October 2011) |
| Grand Slam results | |
| Australian Open | QF (2010) |
| French Open | QF (2009, 2011) |
| Wimbledon | SF (2011) |
| US Open | 4R (2007) |
| Other tournaments | |
| Championships | F (2011) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 134–51 |
| Career titles | 6 WTA, 3 ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 7 (7 July 2008) |
| Current ranking | No. 12 (24 October 2011) |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| Australian Open | F (2008, 2011) |
| French Open | F (2009) |
| Wimbledon | QF (2008) |
| US Open | 2R (2009) |
| Mixed Doubles | |
| Career titles | 2 |
| Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results | |
| Australian Open | F (2007) |
| French Open | W (2008) |
| Wimbledon | 1R (2007) |
| US Open | W (2007) |
| Last updated on: 10 October 2011. | |
Victoria Azarenka (Belarusian: Вікторыя Азаранка, Russian: Виктория Фёдоровна Азаренко; born 31 July 1989) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots.[2]
Azarenka has won two mixed doubles Grand Slam titles: at the 2007 US Open with Max Mirnyi and at the 2008 French Open with Bob Bryan. She has won seven singles titles, including the Sony Ericsson Open in 2009 and 2011 and has made one Grand Slam semifinal appearance at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and five quarterfinal appearances overall.
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At 14 years old, Azarenka moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, in the United States, from Minsk, Belarus to be able to train in better conditions. At this time, she was aided by National Hockey League goalie Nikolai Khabibulin and his wife, who is a friend of Azarenka's mother.[3]
In 2005, Azarenka won the Australian Open and US Open as a junior and was named the ITF Junior Girls World Champion for that year, the first player from Belarus to do that. She also won her first ITF title in Pétange, Luxembourg in the same year. In Guangzhou, China, she reached her first pro-level semifinal, winning three qualifying rounds and defeating Martina Suchá and Shuai Peng in the main draw, before losing to eventual champion Yan Zi.
In 2006 in Memphis, Azarenka defeated her first top-20 player, Nicole Vaidišová, and two months later defeated her second top-30 player in Jelena Janković at Miami. On clay, Azarenka pushed 2004 French Open champion Anastasia Myskina to 7–6 in the third in Rome, and took clay-court specialist Anabel Medina Garrigues to 9–7 in the third set in the first round at Roland Garros. At the 2006 US Open, she had her first win over Myskina in the first round, and lost to Anna Chakvetadze in the third round, her best result in a Grand Slam event to that date. In her next tournament, Azarenka reached her second pro-level semifinal in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, losing to Tiantian Sun. She finished the year reaching the final of an ITF event in Pittsburgh, losing to Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak.[4]
Ranked world no. 96, Azarenka began the year by playing two tournaments in Australia. She lost in the second round at the Moorilla Hobart International to Serena Williams. At the Australian Open, Azarenka reached the third round of a Grand Slam singles tournament for the second consecutive time, where she lost to world no. 11 Jelena Janković in straight sets.
She was upset in the first round of the French Open by Karin Knapp of Italy, and at Wimbledon, she lost in the third round to 14th-seeded Nicole Vaidišová.
At the US Open, Azarenka upset former world no. 1 Martina Hingis in the third round, before 2004 US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova beat her in the fourth round. In mixed doubles, Azarenka and countryman Max Mirnyi won the title, defeating Meghann Shaughnessy and Leander Paes.[5]
She ended her year at the Tier I Kremlin Cup in Moscow, where she upset world no. 4 Maria Sharapova in the second round.[6] She then lost to the eventual winner of the tournament, world no. 14 Elena Dementieva, in the quarterfinal. At the same tournament, Azarenka and her doubles partner Tatiana Poutchek, also of Belarus, lost in the final to the world no. 3 team of Liezel Huber and Cara Black in three sets. Azarenka's results at the Kemlin Cup elevated her rankings to career highs of world no. 27 in singles and world no. 29 in doubles.
Azarenka began the year at the Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts tournament in Gold Coast, Australia. Unseeded, she reached the semifinals, where she beat fifth-seeded Shahar Pe'er of Israel, Azarenka's sixth top-20 victory. In her third career WTA tour final, she lost to Li Na, but the points she earned in this tournament were enough to improve her ranking to a career-best world no. 25.
Azarenka was seeded 26th at the Australian Open. This was her first appearance as a seeded player in a Grand Slam singles tournament. She showed no ill effects from a leg injury while winning her first two matches, but lost in the third round to seventh-seeded and defending champion Serena Williams. In doubles, Azarenka and her partner Pe'er were seeded 12th. They made it to the finals, before losing to the unseeded team of Kateryna and Alona Bondarenko.
She was seeded 16th at the French Open. She defeated 18th-seeded Francesca Schiavone of Italy in the third round, before losing to fourth-seeded Kuznetsova in the fourth round. Azarenka teamed with American Bob Bryan to win the mixed doubles title at the French Open, defeating the top seeded team of Katarina Srebotnik and Nenad Zimonjić in the final.
At Wimbledon, Azarenka was seeded 16th in singles and 6th in doubles (with Pe'er). In singles, Azarenka was defeated by 21st-seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia in the third round. In doubles, Azarenka and Pe'er reached the quarterfinals, where they lost to the top-seeded team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber.
Azarenka was seeded 14th at the US Open, but was defeated by 21st-seeded Caroline Wozniacki in the third round.
Azarenka began the year at the Brisbane International as the second seed. She defeated Kateryna Bondarenko, Jarmila Groth, Lucie Šafářová, and Sara Errani, all in straight sets to reach her fifth career final. In the final, Azarenka defeated third seed Marion Bartoli, 6–3, 6–1, to win her first WTA career title.
Azarenka was seeded 13th at the Australian Open. She advanced to the fourth round for the first time, winning the first set against world no. 2 Serena Williams, before she was forced to retire because of heat stress, with the score 6–3, 2–4.
At the Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Tennessee, Azarenka was seeded second. She won her second WTA title by beating her doubles partner and top seeded Caroline Wozniacki in the final. Afterwards, Wozniacki and Azarenka won the doubles title, beating Michaëlla Krajicek and Yuliana Fedak in the final.
At the BNP Paribas Open, Azarenka was seeded 8th and reached the semifinals, where she lost to her doubles partner and eventual champion Vera Zvonareva, 3-6, 3-6. Because of her performance at this tournament, Azarenka improved her singles ranking to a career-best world no. 10.[7] She is the second woman from Belarus ever to be ranked that high, following Natasha Zvereva who was ranked world no. 5 in the late 1980s.[7]
At the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, Azarenka was seeded 11th. She defeated world no. 1 and defending champion Serena Williams in the final, 6–3, 6–1. This was Azarenka's first Tier I or Premier Mandatory event title. Azarenka also became the sixth teenage female singles champion in the history of this tournament, with the others being Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Venus Williams, and Gabriela Sabatini.[8] By winning this tournament, Azarenka's ranking increased to a new career high of world no. 8.
Her next tournament was on clay at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, where she lost to Gisela Dulko in the second round. At the Italian Open, Azarenka lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals.
At Roland Garros, Azarenka was seeded ninth and advanced to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, where she fell to top seed Dinara Safina, 6-1, 4-6, 2-6. With her partner Elena Vesnina, Azarenka made the final of the ladies doubles at Roland Garros. In the final, they played the Spanish pairing of Garrigues and Ruano Pascual, and the higher-ranked Spanish pair won, 6–1, 6–1.
She withdrew from her first match at the AEGON International, the warm-up for Wimbledon, citing a hip injury.
Azarenka was seeded 8th at Wimbledon and was the bookmaker's third favorite to win the tournament. She fell, 2-6, 3-6, to second seed and eventual winner Serena Williams in the quarterfinals.[9]
Receiving a bye to the second round in Los Angeles, Azarenka fell to Maria Sharapova, 7-6, 4-6, 2-6. In Cincinnati, Azarenka lost to Jelena Janković in the third round, 5-7, 6-7(4), committing 11 double faults. At the Rogers Cup in Toronto, she was seeded ninth. She lost to returning Kim Clijsters in the second round, 5-7, 6-4, 1-6.
At the US Open, Azarenka was seeded eighth. She fell to Francesca Schiavone in the third round, 6-4, 2-6, 2-6.
Seeded eighth at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, she lost to Li Na in the quarterfinals, 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-7(4), giving up a 5–1 lead in the first set. In her next tournament the China Open, Azarenka was seeded ninth. She lost in the second round to recent Tokyo champion Maria Sharapova, 3-6, 7-6(5), 5-7, leading 5–2 in the final set and serving for the match twice. She intended to play the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, but she withdrew.
At the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Azarenka vanquished Jelena Janković in her first-round robin-match, 6–2, 6–3.[10] In her second match, however, Azarenka was defeated by Caroline Wozniacki, 6-1, 4-6, 5-7. Azarenka failed to convert a match point in the final set in which she led by a break on four occasions, and also served for the match at 5–3. Azarenka also conceded her serve at 5–5, to leave Wozniacki serving for the match after receiving a point penalty for racket abuse.[11] Due to her loss to Wozniacki, Azarenka had to defeat second alternate Agnieszka Radwańska to qualify for the semifinals. She led 6–4, 5–2 with a double break, before going on to lose nine of the next ten games, eventually conceding the match after severe cramping in the third set forced her to retire while trailing 6-4, 5-7, 1-4.[12]
Azarenka ended the year ranked world no. 7, with a 45–15 win-loss record, having won three titles and qualified for the year-end championships for the first time in her career. On 15 December 2009, Azarenka split with long-time coach Antonio Van Grichen.
Azarenka began the season at the Hong Kong Tennis Classic exhibition. She was part of Team Europe, along with Caroline Wozniacki and Stefan Edberg. In her first match, she defeated Gisela Dulko, 6–1. The match was played best of one set due to rain. She withdrew from her remaining matches due to illness. She was seeded sixth at the Medibank International. She won her first three matches, all 7–5 in the third set. In the semifinals, she fell to fifth seed Elena Dementieva, 3-6, 1-6.
At the Australian Open, she was seeded seventh. She lost to Serena Williams in the quarterfinal, 6-4, 6-7(4), 2-6, giving up a 4–0 lead in the second set. This was the third consecutive year she has lost to Williams at this tournament. Seeded fourth at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, on her way to the final, she defeated Vera Zvonareva in the quarterfinals and Agnieszka Radwańska in the semifinals. In the final, she lost to defending champion Venus Williams, 3-6, 5-7.
At the 2010 BNP Paribas Open, she was seeded third, but was upset in the third round by María José Martínez Sánchez, 6-7(4), 2-6.
At the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open, where she was the defending champion and fourth seed, she lost in fourth round to 14th seed and eventual champion Kim Clijsters. This was the fourth match in the five tournaments this year that Azarenka lost to eventual champions.
At the Andalucia Tennis Experience, she was the top seed. She had to retire in her quarterfinal match against María José Martínez Sánchez, leading 4–0 due to a left thigh injury.
Seeded third at the Family Circle Cup, she had to retire from her first match while leading, 6–2, 2–2, against qualifier Christina McHale. At the 2010 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, she was upset in the second round by qualifier Anna Lapushchenkova, who was ranked no. 138 at the time.
At the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, as the ninth seed, Azarenka lost to Ana Ivanović, 4-6, 4-6. As the tenth seed at the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, Azarenka retired from her first round match against Shuai Peng, while trailing 0–3 with a groin injury.
At the 2010 French Open, coming back from injury, Azarenka was upset in the first round by unseeded Gisela Dulko, 1–6, 2–6. This loss caused Azarenka to fall to world no. 15.
Azarenka was unseeded at the 2010 AEGON International. Struggling with injuries, Azarenka fell to qualifier Ekaterina Makarova in the final.
Azarenka was seeded 14th at the Wimbledon. She lost to Petra Kvitová in the third round. Having served for the first set at 5–4, Azarenka lost nine consecutive games losing, 5-7, 0-6.
To begin the summer hard-court season, Azarenka competed in the 2010 Bank of the West Classic as a wildcard and eight seed. Azarenka defeated Maria Sharapova in the final, 6–4 6–1. The win propelled Azarenka to world no. 12. Despite being the favourite to win the Mercury Insurance Open, Azarenka withdrew to recover from a right shoulder injury. Seeded ninth at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open, Azarenka lost to Ana Ivanović, 2-6, 6-7, 2-6, despite serving for the match twice in the second set. However, she won the doubles title, partnering with Maria Kirilenko, defeating Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs. 7–6(4), 7–6(8).
At the US Open, during the second round against Gisela Dulko and whilst trailing 5–1, Azarenka collapsed on the court. There were concerns that the cause of the fall was heat-related. Azarenka was taken to a local hospital for treatment and was diagnosed with a concussion after hitting her head whilst warming up before the match during a sprint exercise.[13]
At the Toray Pan Pacific Open, she lost to Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals, 2-6, 7-6(3), 4-6. At the China Open, Azarenka retired in her secound-round match, having received a bye, to Timea Bacsinszky while leading, 6–4, 2–3.
At the 2010 Kremlin Cup Azarenka, as the second seed, defeated Maria Kirilenko in the final, 6–3 6–4, coming back from 4–0 down in the second set to win her fifth career title.
Azarenka's performance in Moscow qualified her for the year-end 2010 WTA Tour Championships, where she was in the White Group as the eighth seed. In her first round-robin match, Azarenka lost to Vera Zvonareva, 6-7, 4-6, despite serving for the first set at 5–4 and leading 3–1 in the second. She also lost to Kim Clijsters in her second match, 4-6, 7-5, 1-6, which assured that she did not qualify for the semifinals. Then, in her final match of the tournament and season, she defeated Janković for the second year in a row, 6–4, 6–1. Azarenka ended the year as world no. 10, her second consecutive year-end top-10 finish.
Azarenka then took part in a charitable exhibition match in mid-November with Caroline Wozniacki, beating the Dane, 6–3 6–3, at the Sports Palace in Minsk.
Azarenka began her year at the Medibank International as the seventh seed, where she lost to Kim Clijsters in the quarterfinals, 3-6, 2-6. At the 2011 Australian Open Azarenka was seeded eighth. She lost to the ninth seed and eventual finalist, Li Na, 3-6, 3-6, in the fourth round. Azarenka partnered with Maria Kirilenko in the women's doubles event, but the pair lost to Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta in the final.
Azarenka then travelled to Israel to compete in Fed Cup. Belarus beat Croatia, Austria, and Greece in the group stage, without losing a match. The Belarusian team then defeated Poland 2–0 to qualify for the World Group II play-Offs in April where they played Estonia.
Azarenka's next tournament was the 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships, where she was seeded 7th. She lost to Flavia Pennetta in the third round. Azarenka then competed at the 2011 Qatar Ladies Open as the sixth seed, but lost to Daniela Hantuchová in the first round in three sets, 6–4, 1–6, 2–6.
Azarenka's next event was the 2011 BNP Paribas Open, where she competed as the eighth seed. She retired in the quarterfinals against world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, whilst trailing 0-3, due to a left leg injury. She also became the second person to defeat both Radwańska sisters in the same tournament.
Azarenka then competed at the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open as the eighth seed. She reached her second final at the event, where she defeated sixteenth seed Maria Sharapova, 6–1, 6–4 to win the title.
At the 2011 Andalucia Tennis Experience, Azarenka was the top seed and dropped only fourteen games on her way to the final. She defeated Irina-Camelia Begu, 6–3, 6–2, in the final. Azarenka's victory, and Samantha Stosur's inability to defend her points at Charleston, ensured that Azarenka would reach a career high of world no. 5. She then participated in Belarus' 5–0 win over Estonia in the Fed Cup, registering a 6–2, 6–0 win in her singles rubber. In her next tournament the 2011 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Azarenka retired after the first set of her first match, having won the first set 6–4 against Julia Goerges, ending her 12-match winning streak. Ironically, Julia went on to win the tournament.
At the 2011 Madrid Masters, Azarenka was seeded fourth. She lost in the final in straight sets to Petra Kvitová, but still rose to a career-high world no. 4. Azarenka then reached the quarterfinals of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, where she was up a set before retiring to eventual champion Maria Sharapova.
Azarenka was the fourth seed at the 2011 French Open. She beat Andrea Hlaváčková in the first round, Pauline Parmentier in the second round, 30th seed Roberta Vinci in the third round, and Ekaterina Makarova in the fourth round to reach her fourth career Grand Slam quarterfinal. She lost to Li Na in the quarterfinals.
Azarenka was the fourth seed at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships. She beat 25th seed Daniela Hantuchová in a three-set third-round match, before beating Nadia Petrova. She followed that up with an easy victory over Tamira Paszek, advancing to the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the first time. Azarenka was beaten by Czech player and eventual champion Petra Kvitová, going down in three sets, 1–6, 6–3, 2–6.
Her next tournament was the 2011 Bank of the West Classic, where she was the defending champion and top seed. Azarenka was ousted by 124th-ranked Marina Erakovic from New Zealand in the second round. Despite her 'horrible match' in singles, Azarenka claimed the doubles title with partner Kirilenko.
The next tournament Azarenka played was the 2011 Rogers Cup, where she was seeded fourth. After a bye, Azarenka crushed Stephanie Dubois, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, and Galina Voskoboeva, before being stopped by Serena Williams in the semifinals, 3-6, 3-6. Azarenka reached the doubles final with Kirilenko, but the team was forced to withdraw because of a hand injury to Azarenka.
Azarenka pulled out of the 2011 Western & Southern Open with the same injury.
Azarenka's next tournament was the 2011 US Open, where she was seeded fourth. She made it to the third round, where she was defeated by Serena Williams, 1–6, 6–7(5). Despite the early loss, she reached a new career high of no. 3 in the world.
Azarenka reached the semifinals of the 2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open, losing to eventual champion Agnieszka Radwańska. In doing so she qualified for the year-end championships in Istanbul.
The Belarusian participated in the China Open, the last of the four mandatory events for 2011, as the second seed. She defeated Polona Hercog in the second round, after receiving a first-round bye. She then withdrew from the tournament citing a right foot strain.
Azarenka would win her third title of the year at the 2011 BGL Luxembourg Open, defeating Monica Niculescu in the final.
Azarenka was placed in the White Group at the 2011 WTA Tour Championships. She beat Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-2 and Li Na 6-2, 6-2 in her first two Round Robin matches. She secured the move to the semifinals despite her loss in three sets, 7-5, 4-6, 4-6, to Marion Bartoli, a substitute for Maria Sharapova. She then beat Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-3 to move to the final where she lost to Petra Kvitova 5-7, 6-4, 3-6.
Azarenka has been criticized by ex-professionals for the noise she makes when hitting the ball. During the 2010 Australian Open quarterfinal between Azarenka and Serena Williams, ex-pro Pam Shriver, who was providing court-side commentary, noted that Azarenka's screams were so long that she was still yelling when Williams returned the ball.[14] She has also been noted for her tendency to lose her temper during matches.[15] In Wimbledon 2011 she grunted at 95 decibels,[16] which caused the chief executive of the All England Lawn and Tennis Club Ian Ritchie to raise the issue with the press. He issued the following statement – "Officials would prefer to see less grunting". Her average screams were recorded to last 1.5 seconds.[17][18]
| Tournament | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | W–L | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | A | 1R | 3R | 3R | 4R | QF | 4R | 14–6 | ||||
| French Open | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | 4R | QF | 1R | QF | 11–6 | ||||
| Wimbledon | A | A | A | 1R | 3R | 3R | QF | 3R | SF | 15–6 | ||||
| US Open | A | A | A | 3R | 4R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 3R | 12–6 | ||||
| Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–4 | 7–4 | 9–4 | 13–4 | 7–4 | 14–4 | 51–23 | ||||
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Michaëlla Krajicek |
ITF Junior World Champion 2005 |
Succeeded by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova |
| Preceded by Serena Williams & Venus Williams |
WTA Fan Favorite Doubles Team of the Year (with Maria Kirilenko) 2011 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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