'A lot harder for them to have a career as long as I've had': Victoria Azarenka calls for tennis scheduling to move with the times

Victoria Azarenka saw off Camila Osorio in her opener at the Rome Open and got to tackle a myriad of issues in her post match press conference.

Not one for shying away from her opinion, Azarenka said that tennis needs to move with the times and that not many players now will have the career that she had.

The multiple Grand Slam champion has played for 20+ years and was the last of her kind in regards to becoming the final player to leave the top 50 who was born in the 1980's. But while she has no concerns for herself, it is more of a concern when it comes to those at the start of their careers.

She said that tennis needs more predictability and needs to be conversations had when there is two week events as to the longevity of the careers in regards even to certain issues as balls and also mirroring sports that are giving tennis competition that it didn't have before.

“My concern is less for me and more for younger players because it’s going to be a lot harder for them to have a career as long as I’ve had, to play 20-plus years on tour,” she said in her press conference as per Tennis.com. “From that end, I also think there should also be a conversation about how differently the balls have changed and evolved over the years, surfaces as well.

“When it comes to scheduling, we need more predictability to sell product for players to prepare, for fans to watch and business to distribute,” she added.

“I just want to see our sport grow, honestly. I really want our sport to do well. This sport gave me so much in my life, and I want to see it grow, become bigger, keep being a dominant sport for women. There’s a lot of sports coming up and giving us competition. We need to keep making those strides forward too.”

Match Statistics Azarenka vs. Osorio