“She’s Our Hero” – Belarusian Star Victoria Azarenka Reveals Why She Looks Up to Hall of Famer Billie Jean King

Over the past ten years, Victoria Azarenka has been among the most consistent players in the women’s circuit. The Belarusian star has managed to amass two Grand Slam titles. The first one came in the year 2012, when she won against Maria Sharapova at the Australian Open. After a year, she again won her next title and successfully defended her title.

For a player to sustain their form and be successful, you need legends to look up to. There have been many legendary players in the history of tennis, right from John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors to Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. When it comes to legends in the sport, Billie Jean King is certainly one of them. Recently, Victoria Azarenka revealed that she looks up to the American legend.

Victoria Azarenka reveals that Billie Jean King is her hero

On September 16, 2022, Brandon Marshall and Victoria Azarenka sat down for a heartfelt conversation in which they were frank about their own challenges, expressed frustration with the social media era, and emphasized the importance of maintaining tough, often emotional conversations.

During the conversation, the 33-year-old Azarenka talked about the importance of making this generation understand gender equality. She further went on to mention Billie Jean King as the pioneer for gender equality and her true hero. “There’s been many, many people in Tennis Village, and King is our hero, right? She’s our hero. That’s somebody who I look up to, not because of her titles, but what she has done for the sport, and I want to continue to push that needle further,” she said.

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Azarenka continued by stating, “And I think for me as a mom, to teach my son how to understand that.. that people are equal, that’s my job.”

Azarenka takes a stand for women’s cause 

The former world No.1 recently said that the WTA Tour should do more to safeguard its younger players. She emphasized the importance of protecting female players from abuse by coaches and other authorities.

The Belarusian further requested the media to continue investigating the topic and urged the Tour to protect its players.

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Prior to this interview, French tennis player Fiona Ferro’s old coach, Pierre Bouteyre, was arrested for sexual abuse. Azarenka commended Ferro’s honesty and added that the issue has been a major focus for her and the other WTA Player Council members.