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Miffed with being constantly bombarded by questions about 'handshakes', Victoria Azarenka has vowed to cut back on her media interactions.
Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine last year, the spotlight has been on Russian, Belarusian, and Ukrainian players across the tennis tours. The WTA Tour has especially come under the scanner as there has been a lack of handshakes between Ukrainians and Russians/Belarusians before or after matches, as is customary.
Players from those three nations have been repeatedly asked about the issue of shaking hands, or the lack of them, over the last few months.
At a press conference in Cincinnati, Azarenka stated that she is tired of speaking about the same topic again and again, and vowed to reduce her press duties if she had to.
“I do want to have interesting discussions because I’m very professional all the time and I do give insightful answers. But unfortunately, the only that comes up in the media is this one question, and I just feel like I’m wasting my time,” she stated after her defeat of Barbora Krejcikova. (via tennis.com)
“I had a transcript from a whole interview in Montréal. That was nowhere to be found, and the only thing that came out of it was about handshakes. I want to minimize my media intake because I don’t want to keep repeating the same questions over and over,” she now added.
This isn't the first time Azarenka has expressed her frustrations about the issue. Earlier, at the Citi Open in Washington, the Belarusian stated that she has moved on from the matter and doesn't give it any second thoughts.
Donna Vekic ends Victoria Azarenka's Cincinnati Open campaign
Victoria Azarenka was recently in action at the Cincinnati Open, where she faced 11th seed Barbora Krejcikova in the opening match. In a match between two Grand Slam winners, Azarenka fought back from trailing 5-2 in the second set to emerge victorious with a 6-3, 7-5 scoreline.
After withdrawing ahead of her second-round match against Sloane Stephens in Montreal last week, Azarenka looked to be in good touch against Krejcikova at the Cincinnati Masters. The Belarusian started strong, winning 12 of the first 16 points of the match, which she won in one hour and 45 minutes.
However, Azarenka's Cincinnati Open campaign came to an end at the hands of Dona Vekic in the following round. Despite taking the lead in the contest, the two-time Grand Slam succumbed to a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat at the Linder Tennis Family Center on Wednesday.
