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Belarusian tennis star Victoria Azarenka was asked by the chair umpire to remove her Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) shirt during the ongoing 2023 Australian Open.
Azarenka was asked twice to remove her jersey as she warmed up ahead of her semifinal clash against Elena Rybakina. The 24th seed suffered a straight set defeat to Rybakina, 7-6(4), 6-3 in their last-four clash on Thursday.
Having previously won the tournament twice in 2012 and 2013, Victoria Azarenka had the chance to become a three-time Australian Open champion in 2023.
Azarenka's six-year-old son Leo Azarenka is a massive fan of the Parisian club, which is partly why the 33-year-old wore the club's kit. Speaking about the incident after her Australian Open exit, Azarenka said (via Indian Express):
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"They told me to take it off twice because I had a different shirt, I think it’s the issue with the sponsorships. I guess the logos are too big … I know that I’m not allowed to play in that. I knew those type of things. But I can still step on the court in what I want to step on the court. I do it for my own reasons."
Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka's son wants to play for PSG in the future
Azarenka has been a fan of PSG since 2012, when David Beckham joined the Ligue 1 side. After her quarterfinal against Jessica Pegula, she revealed that she has attended many of the club's matches.
Victoria Azarenka previously revealed that her son Leo wants to become a footballer and represent PSG. She also declared herself a "soccer mom." Azarenka said:
“He wants to play at Paris Saint-Germain. That’s his dream. I’m a soccer mum now and I love that. I love supporting. I’m obnoxious, like absolutely the most obnoxious.”
After her semifinal defeat, the 33-year-old also said that she was wearing the PSG kit to match with her son, but wasn't allowed to do so by the officials. She added:
“My son wore the white jersey today to his practice, and I tried to wear a white jersey to my match but couldn’t. So that’s okay.”
