Former World No.1 Victoria Azarenka had only played one match in 2020 before Coronavirus struck and despite thinking the break would only be a short one, it turned into five months of no tennis.

Azarenka is part of the field at the Top Seed Open this next week alongside the likes of Serena Williams, Sloane Stephens and Coco Gauff; she spoke to the press reflecting on her time off and the restart which she is excited for but with apprehension.

“I was just ready to restart play and I was excited. I had just one tournament in,” Azarenka said. “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 just 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.”

“Obviously I want to just start from somewhere,” Azarenka told press. “You know, just start competing and try to feel again that feeling of competitions and momentum swings. We practice for so long but there’s nothing like playing actual matches where you feel the atmosphere. I don’t really 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 some good matches with such high-quality players.”

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