At international tennis tournaments, Russians and Belarusians play in a neutral status, which sometimes leads to confusion and even comical situations. Ex-first racket of the world Victoria Azarenka was mistaken for a representative of Russia at a press conference. It seems that both the athlete and the unfortunate journalist felt awkward in the end.

“You obviously played in Russia”

Former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka kicked off the Wimbledon tournament with a tough win over China’s Yue Yuan. The Belarusian tennis player left the first set (6:4), but after the break, the opponent was able to level the score (7:5). In the decisive third set, the Belarusian won again (6:4) and went to the next stage of the tournament, where she will play with Nadya Podoroska from Argentina.

After winning on the court, Azarenka was too early to relax – she was expected to communicate with the press. Considering that they periodically try to bring tennis players from Russia and Belarus to talk about politics, one could expect anything from communicating with journalists. Victoria was lucky – this time the conversation was about tennis – specifically about Wimbledon, where the Russians and Belarusians were absent for more than a year. But one of the questions still turned out to be extremely strange.

— What does Wimbledon mean for Russia? What is the interest there? Just from the point of view of the role that the tournament plays in culture,” Azarenka was asked.

The Belarusian athlete was somewhat embarrassed and reminded the reporter that she was not from Russia. Perhaps after that it would be possible to admit the mistake or just apologize. But the journalist was not going to give up so easily. He reformulated the question, which, however, after that became even less clear.

Victoria bluntly stated that she did not understand what they wanted from her. The correspondent tried to correct the wording, believing that in general there was nothing strange in his words. But it would be better if he didn’t…

– As for the international level, how do you see the culture of Wimbledon and how big a tournament do you see it at the international level? You have obviously played in Russia in the past. How important do you think the tournament is?

Photo: © Robert Prange / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

“Bad Question”

Azarenka was already desperate and even stopped proving that she was not from Russia at all. It seems that the tennis player just wanted to end this strange conversation as soon as possible. The journalist, meanwhile, did not calm down:

– Actually, I meant in the international arena and just on tour. This is the question we asked in connection with his influence on Russia. For the first time this year, Russian players are allowed here.

In the end, the stubborn reporter admitted that he had asked a “bad question.” However, it cannot be said with certainty that the journalist realized his mistake. Perhaps he simply decided in this way to end the suffering of the athlete.

Victoria did not want to end the conversation in uncertainty and told what a prestigious tournament means to her personally. And after that, just in case, she added that she could not say how the Russians feel about Wimbledon.