The women's Tennis is set to have quite a year now that Serena Williams' name is off the table. The absence of the American star leaves an open door for other names. Victoria Azarenka is one of those particular names with the 27-year-old Belarusian setting an official date to resume her professional tennis career.
According to the WTA official page, the former world no. 1 and two times Australian Open champion will make her comeback in Mallorca, Spain during the warm-up grass season prior to Wimbledon.
Now ranked as the world no. 972 due to inactivity, she is expected to add few extra thrills into the WTA circuit.
The upcoming grass season has the potential to be quite a spectacle having Azarenka, Kvitova and Sharapova building their ways back tot the top.
Azarenka took an unexpected break back in 2016
Last season, while Serena seemed a bit under the weather, Victoria Azarenka did some extraordinary things during the first session on the hardcourt. She won the Sunshine Double consisting of back-to-back successes at Indian Wells and Miami then she went for the clay court swing in Europe.
A knee injury prevented her from competing at her best and later she announced the pregnancy and a certain shift of priorities. In December of last year, she gave birth to a child and then went for a comeback way to the professional tennis.
To get a spot in Mallorca's main draw she will benefit either of her protected rankings or will ask for a wild-card.
Given her past WTA success, it won't be an issue to receive one. The WTA event in Mallorca is one of the newest of its kind having its first representation last year when the women's singles contest was won by Caroline Garcia from France.
And it's only the fifth WTA event held on grass prior to Wimbledon which could give to a bigger number of players a chance to properly compete before the big gig in London.
A warm-up for Wimbledon is what she needs
Being a WTA International event, it means that the main draw won't be populated with that many WTA tennis stars.
It's a bonus for Azarenka who could take the most out of this event. An extended run would give her a proper way to adjust her game after taking such a long break.
Regarding Wimbledon, her best result on London's grass courts was reaching the semifinals stages back in 2011 and 2012. At 27 years of age, she has plenty of time left to deliver some extraordinary tennis. After all, she remains one of the powerful players of the WTA Tour and the grass season might be the best choice for her to make a glorious comeback.
