Two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka recently revealed that when she gave birth to her son Leo three years ago, sponsors abandoned her, "the atmosphere is very unpleasant", which has once again sparked controversy about the treatment of pregnant athletes.
On the eve of Wimbledon' opening, Azarenka spoke to The Telegraph, and although the Belarusian star declined to give specific information about the sponsor, she said she ended her partnership with the sponsor when she announced her pregnancy in July 2016.
Less than two months ago, several athletes, including British long-distance runner Joe Pavey and American sprinter Alison Felix, accused Nike of stopping funding after they became pregnant, a matter that reflected the terrible pressures faced by pregnant female athletes.
Azarenka said Nike, which has changed its policy on pregnant female athletes, has been very supportive of her. But when asked if any sponsors had ever abandoned her, Azarenka said, "Not now, but I've had an unpleasant experience."
It was clear that the recollection upset Azarenka, but she didn't want to reveal more. The Belarusian added, "The sponsor left us because of the pregnancy, and the matter was not made public." This has happened in the past, and I don't think mentioning it will change anything."
However, after listening to the testimony of Pavey and Felix and others, Azarenka also criticized Nike, but the larger change was something that Azarenka was more eager to achieve. In tennis, Azarenka, the mother-level player after Serena Williams, is determined to use her position on the players' committee for meaningful reform and encourage herself with the affirmative careers of her predecessors such as Billy Jane King.
"Women need to keep fighting, we fight for equality every day. I hope that in the near future, equality will no longer have to be fought for, but a norm."
The 29-year-old Belarusian is one of the tournament's most feared players. As a teenager, Azarenka was talented and began sonically vibrating women's tennis in the early 2000s – and it's no exaggeration to say that she was also known for her screams when she hit the ball. In the 2012-2013 season, Azarenka became the world's first and twice won the Australian Open women's singles title, and also won an Olympic gold medal (mixed doubles). After a series of serious injuries, Azarenka returned to the top in 2016 with hopes of winning more Grand Slams. However, in July of that year, Azarenka announced her pregnancy and gave birth to her son Leo 5 months later.
At Wimbledon 2017, Azarenka returned to the game and reached the fourth round. Soon after, she parted ways with her son's biological father, Billy McGee, and since then, the old love has been locked in an endless battle for the son.
Azarenka had to streamline her schedule, dropping out of the 2017 US Open and the 2018 Australian Open. Reports at the time said Azarenka could not leave California, where she lived, until her son's custody dispute was resolved.
Despite these pressures, Azarenka maintains a steady ranking and currently ranks 40th in the world. Azarenka was also a pioneer in reform in women's tennis. Over the past year, she has led a committee of players to successfully lobby the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) to change their rules for athletes to return to the field after pregnancy and childbirth. The WTA announced in December 2018 that athletes can use special rankings for a longer period of time after having a baby, up to 3 years, and the number of competitions they participate in will increase. Last summer, the All England Meadows Club gave Serena Williams the status of seeded players who came back after giving birth to a pregnant child, and the seed system has also undergone some changes.
Azarenka didn't stop there, her dream was that if female players left the arena to have children, they would be paid maternity leave. "I want to keep moving forward with the reforms, and I think paid maternity leave is really important," said Azarenka, who is at Wimbledon, who will face France's Coney in the first round.
"Tennis players make money with their bodies, and pregnancy needs to rest. It is very important that women need to feel safe when having children. Paid maternity leave is one of the biggest changes I'd like to see, and the WTA is the largest women's sport with the opportunity to be a pioneer in the field. I hope we can do that."
Continuing the affirmative work of his predecessors, including Serena Williams, who fought for the same amount of money for women's tennis players, is one of the important driving forces for Azarenka's efforts. "I have a lot of goals before me, because of the efforts of a lot of seniors, such as fighting for the same amount of money for female players, to make our lives better. It's time for us to move on and I'm going to do everything I can to achieve paid maternity leave for female players."
The firmness in Azarenka's voice and the love she exudes when she talks about her son Leo are perfectly integrated. Leo is two and a half years old and has accompanied his mom to many tournaments, including this year's Wimbledon Tennis Open. Last year, Leo also played with Serena Williams' daughter Olympia at Wimbledon. Azarenka said that as a mother-level tennis player, balancing her role is more difficult than she imagined.
"I thought it would be easy, but in fact it's very tough to balance work and personal time. Your center of gravity has changed. Before my son was born, everything was about tennis, about myself. But now it's not, I feel good, it's just that I need to find a better way to balance it."
The roles of mother, positional tennis player and pioneer of tennis reform mean that the burden is on the shoulders, and as Billy Jane King puts it when he looks back on his career, "the support and effort for [affirmative action] may come at the expense of the title.". So does Azarenka feel she needs to put the affirmative action campaign more than winning more Grand Slams?" Well, both matter, and I don't think it's either/or. I think they're all important." Azarenka thought about it for a moment before adding: "As professional tennis players, our careers are short, but being able to help the sport get better is certainly the most important thing.".
The experience of the past few years has also had an impact on Azarenka's career. At this year's Australian Open, the Belarusian lost to Sigmund in the first round, after which he burst into tears at a press conference and mentioned the word "struggle" 12 times.
But having leo by your side always makes life easier, "When you have children, children will force you to learn more about yourself, learn to adapt, and be patient." 」 It's a lot of work, but it's the best job and the best experience." (Source: House of Tennis Author: Charlie Eccleshare Translated by Min Lin)