Victória Fyódorovna Azárenka (Belarusian: Вікторыя Фёдараўна Азаранка; Russian: Виктория Фёдоровна Азаренко; born 31 July 1989) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. She is a former world No. 1 and is currently world No. 12 as of 24 October 2016.

She has won two Australian Open singles titles (2012 and 2013), becoming the only Belarusian player, male or female, to win a Grand Slam singles title.

Her other achievements include winning the singles Bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, two mixed doubles Grand Slam titles—the 2007 US Open with Max Mirnyi, the 2008 French Open with Bob Bryan—and the gold medal in the mixed doubles at the 2012 Summer Olympics with Max Mirnyi.

On July 31, 1989, Azarenka was born in Minsk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union to Alla and Fedor Azarenka in a middle-class family. She has an elder brother Max.

Azarenka's tennis idol is German former player Steffi Graf. In an interview, Azarenka stated: "Graf's Calendar Golden Slam in 1988 is my biggest motivation."

At age 15, Azarenka moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, United States, from Minsk, Belarus, to train. In this she was aided by National Hockey League goalie Nikolai Khabibulin and his wife, who is a friend of Azarenka's mother. In 2012 she moved to Monaco and in August 2013 she bought a new house in Los Angeles, California. Azarenka is fluent in Belarusian, Russian, and English and has some handling of French and Ukrainian. In 2011 she briefly considered a break from the sport of tennis to focus on education; however, after a conversation with her grandmother, she decided to continue playing. It is the inspiration from her grandmother that is regarded as the key for her continued developments in the sport.

...
Wikipedia