"Thanks for calling this out Vika, more of this please" - Tennis fans laud Victoria Azarenka for confronting journalist over inappropriate photo

Victoria Azarenka called out a tennis journalist for sharing an inappropriate picture of Ekaterina Alexandrova to convey the news of her dominant win over Karolina Pliskova at the Qatar Open on Tuesday. After Azarenka's comment, many within the tennis fan community slammed the reporter over his choice of photo and lauded the two-time Grand Slam champion for highlighting the issue.

Alexandrova beat 2017 champion Pliskova 6-1, 6-2 in just over 50 minutes in the Round of 32 at the Qatar Open. Sharing the news of Alexandrova's big win, journalist Jose Morgado took to social media to post a screenshot of the final scoreline, which also included an image of Alexandrova bending over while packing her bags after the match.

Victoria Azarenka swiftly pointed out the problem, suggesting to the journalist that they could have used any other screenshot instead of one that had an image of the player bending over.

Victoria Azarenka reacts to a tweet by tennis journalist Jose Morgado.

Note: The original tweet by Jose Morgado has now been deleted.

Morgado later gave a clarification over his tweet, but tennis fans were quite peeved at the use of the picture in the first place. Many applauded Azarenka for using her strong public voice to call out the journalist.

"Thanks for calling this out Vika more of this please," read a fan's reaction to the incident.

"Highly unprofessional and degrading to all female athletes on tour. No respect," another fan expressed.

Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans to Victoria Azarenka calling out the tennis journalist over his social media post:

Victoria Azarenka sets up Qatar Open 2023 clash with in-form Belinda Bencic

Victoria Azarenka in action at the Qatar Total Energies Open.

Carrying on from her strong showing at the 2023 Australian Open where she reached the semifinals, Victoria Azarenka kickstarted her campaign at the 2023 Qatar Open with a comfortable 6-1, 6-1 win over Ipek Oz of Turkey. Azarenka will next take on seventh seed Belinda Bencic, who entered the Qatar Open fresh off a title at the Abu Dhabi Open.

Showing class with her words after the match, Azarenka shared a message of support and comfort for Oz in light of the ongoing tragedy in her country Turkey caused by multiple earthquakes.

"I'm sure it's very hard for [Oz] to go out on the court and play right now, considering everything that's going, so I wish her strength. Hopefully, somehow, someway, things can get better," Azarenka expressed in her on-court interview.