Mats Wilander says there is ‘no excuse’ for the Victoria Azarenka on-court rant at Roland Garros officials on Sunday.Azarenka was angry at being asked to remain on court while a rain shower passed over, complaining the was ‘cold’ and would not ‘sit here like a duck’ to a supervisor.
She then left the court without it being approved before returning to win the match in more clement conditions.
However, the incident did seemingly leave a bitter taste in the mouth for Eurosport expert Wilander.
“You have some players that just love tennis,” Wilander said. “But then you have other players, like Victoria Azarenka, loves the crowd and wants it to be perfect.
god I love her @hmeislerAzarenka and Kovinić briefly leave French Open court after complaining about the cold 🥶 https://t.co/RaD16p9CoN
“I get it, but there is no excuse for comments like the ones she made today to me. You go, you try hard, or you don’t go. You don’t have to play majors.”
The conditions were a major talking point on a wet, cold, and windy opening day at Roland Garros, but Wilander believes it presents a great opportunity for tennis to show something different.
“That seems to be the hardest thing for players – they are asking if they are really need to be in Paris doing this right now because this is not what it has been like in the past.
“As much as the US Open was fun to watch, this is a bigger test.
“Azarenka might have opened up a can of worms, this might potentially be a great advertisement for professional tennis to be honest.”
