Victoria Azarenka defeated Yulia Putintseva at the 2024 Miami Open with a score of 7-6(4), 1-6, 6-3, advancing to the semi-finals. Azarenka, a former World No. 1, acknowledged after the match that her motivation has evolved from a desire to dominate to a process of losing motivation and then regaining it to pursue her former level of success.
Azarenka, who became a mother to her son Leo, revealed that her primary motivation shifted after motherhood, causing her previous goals of winning multiple Grand Slams and reclaiming the World Number One ranking to lose their prominence. This shift required her to reignite her hunger for victory and find new sources of motivation to continue pursuing success in tennis.
“I think there is two different ways to look at it. One is what it motivates you to win, right? For me, it definitely shifted when I was young. And especially where I come from and the way my career was going, one of my top motivations was to prove people wrong and to really, like, you say I can’t? Well, watch me. So that was my primary motivation,”
Azarenka said.
“After I achieved being No. 1, winning Grand Slams, winning gold medal, and so many titles, and probably also becoming a parent, like, that motivation was not a priority for me. It’s not something that made me, you know, turn on, like, beast mode,”
she added.
Azarenka expressed the need to discover her true motivation beyond proving people wrong, acknowledging her impressive resume as a reason not to focus solely on that aspect. She described this journey as a search to identify what truly drives her, emphasizing that while it hasn’t been a challenge, it’s certainly been a process of exploration and self-discovery.
Azarenka reflected on her journey, noting that after a challenging last year, she feels she has started to find the space she needs to rediscover her motivation. She emphasized that this process takes time and isn’t something that happens overnight, but she feels she’s in a good place and on the right track towards regaining her competitive edge.