The WTA Tour makes a new stop this week in Lexington for the inaugural Top Seed Open and one of the most intriguing names in the field is Victoria Azarenka. The Belarusian is eagerly awaiting a chance to get back on court where she will face Venus Williams in a blockbuster first round match.
Azarenka "excited" ahead of Lexington debut
Speaking to the media via conference call, the two-time Grand Slam champion talked about having to restart her season essentially from the beginning due to the COVID-19 forced break.
"I was just ready to restart play and I was just excited", Azarenka said. "I just had one tournament in and when the first tournament was cancelled, I was like 'well I still need time to practice so I'm going to take a month off. It'll be okay. And then six months...it was too long! So I guess everyone will start from the same starting point, but I don't think I can compare any other layouts to this one."
'I hope we can have something safe and successful'
With new health and safety regulations such asfrequent testing and social distancing, Lexington will have a different feel to the former world number one than any other tournament she's played in.
"You're not supposed to get anywhere outside of your hotel, so...Uber Eats, Postmates, all those services are at hand now so you minimize any possibility to go outside. I mean there's a lot of restrictions, for our safety, but it's something to obviously get used to. It's going to be a little tough to adjust.
"None of us does know when it's going to be over, so I think if everyone takes 100 percent seriousness and awareness of the situation that is happening right now and brings their best responsibility, then I hope we can have something safe and successful."
Two-time major champion looking forward to returning to action
Azarenka's only match of 2020 was a 6-2, 6-2 loss to Tamara Zidansek in Monterrey. She missed the Australian Open for personal reasons and before that had not competed since losing the U.S. Open doubles final with Ashleigh Barty.
"Obviously I just want to start from somewhere", she said. "You know, just start competing and try to feel again that feeling of competition and momentum swings. We practice for so long but there's nothing like playing actual matches where you feel the atmosphere. I really don't know what to expect.
"I feel like it's just a good starting point. And it's going to be a Super competitive field here - so many great names, so many great players. So it's going to be a great opportunity to have good matches with such high quality players."