Why did Victoria Azarenka make an unexpected appearance in Tommy Paul's box at Madrid Open? Looking into their connection

Tommy Paul's second-round match against teen phenom Joao Fonseca at the Madrid Open 2025 attracted plenty of attention. The highly anticipated showdown took place on Saturday, April 26, with two-time Major champion Victoria Azarenka being one of the notable attendees as well.

While Azarenka's singles campaign in Madrid came to an end in the first round with a loss to Olga Danilovic, she's through to the quarterfinals in doubles. Following her doubles victory, she was there to cheer for Paul in his player box during his match against Fonseca.

While it may seem a little random, Paul and Azarenka have known each other for a while. They have a common link, Franco Herrero. He is the American's fitness coach and the former World No. 1 also occasionally trains with them at his academy in Boca Raton, Florida.

Herrero is a renowned strength and conditioning coach and runs the FRWD Training in Florida. He previously worked with Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig and former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, among others. He's currently working with Aleksandar Kovacevic and Renata Zarazua as well.

Paul was put to the test by Fonseca but squeaked past his younger rival with a 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3) win. The American saved a couple of set points in the first set tie-break, and then fended off another two set points on his own serve at 5-4 in the second set. He has now matched his career-best result in Madrid with his win over the teenager.

Tommy Paul bidding to advance to the fourth round of the Madrid Open for the first time

Tommy Paul at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships 2025. (Photo: Getty)

11th seed Tommy Paul will take on 24th seed Karen Khachanov in the third round of the Madrid Open 2025 on Monday, April 28. He's gunning to advance beyond the third round in the Spanish capital for the first time in his career.

Paul bowed out in the second round on his debut in 2021 and was knocked out in the first round the following year. He crashed out in the second round in 2023 as well. He reached the third round here for the first time last year. He took on Francisco Cerundolo for a spot in the fourth round and lost to him in three sets.

Paul won his previous and only encounter against Khachanov at the Miami Open 2022 in three sets. He will be looking to repeat the feat in order to improve his record at the Madrid Open.

About the author

Rohit is a journalist at Sportskeeda who specializes in covering tennis. Having been with the company for three years, he has proven himself as a formidable force in the field. With a Master's degree in law, Rohit brings his analytical and research skills to the forefront as a journalist. He stays on top of the game by using social media platforms and never misses a match for on-court insights. He values giving credit where it's due, keeping his reporting fair and accurate.

At the outset of his career, Rohit found his niche in writing previews and SEO pieces and it's this expertise that continues to define his role at Sportskeeda. He is particularly proud of one article that garnered an impressive 750k views and surpassed his "wildest dreams." Rohit is not particularly fond of (GOAT) debates and it is one of the reasons why he left the legal world behind. He prefers to view players in "tiers," where they're all esteemed to an extent. However, if pressed to name favorites, he would choose Serena and Venus Williams. The Williams sisters' journey from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of tennis has been his greatest source of inspiration.

When he isn't busy making spot-on predictions about match outcomes, Rohit likes reading, particularly fantasy, sci-fi, and comics. As an X-Men fanatic, he's also passionate about board games and enjoys watching movies in his spare time. And don't be surprised if you catch him silently wishing to the tennis gods for the removal of ad scoring from doubles.

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Edited by Rohit