Victoria Azarenka attended a meeting with Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko on October 17th according to the Belarus Telegraph Agency.
The two have met numerous times throughout Azarenka’s career. In 2013 Lukashenko told the media that he was the person who guided Azarenka to glory. He recalled when the two-time Grand Slam use to watch him play tennis when she was eight-year-old. When Azarenka won the 2012 Australian Open, the president awarded her with the order of the motherland.
During their latest meeting, Azarenka confirmed that she will not play any more tournament for the rest of 2015 as she switches her attention to the off season. The two also talked about the state of Belarusian tennis. There are currently three Belarusian women ranked inside the top 400 and there is no men ranked inside the top 200.
Azarenka hasn’t played since the second round of the Wuhan Open, where she retired at the start of the second set due to a leg injury. During the US Open Azarenka reached the quarterfinals before losing to Simona Halep. Speaking about her run at the US Open, president Lukashenko said that Azarenka’s emotions let her down.
“Azarenka recently lost at the US Open, although it was her tournament. She has never played so well. And she could have defeated Romanian Simona Halep in the quarterfinal match. I think, she failed to be strong emotionally”. He said.
Lukashenko is a controversial figure who was once described by America as ‘Europe’s last dictator’. He has been the president of Belarus since 1994 and has been accused of suppressing opposition figures in the country throughout his presidency.
