The Osaka-Azarenka U.S. Open final will have no shortage of power — and subplots

In January 2019, Victoria Azarenka returned to the Australian Open for the first time in three years.

She had taken time off after giving birth to her son in December 2016. When she got back on court, her career moved in fits and starts, and leading up to the first Grand Slam of that year, she had suffered first-week exits at the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2018. Off the court, she battled personal demons, including the beginnings of a long custody battle.But Melbourne, for Azarenka, always had been different.

“I’ve been through a lot of things, you know, in my life, and sometimes I wonder why I go through them,” she said, wiping her face. “But I think they’re going to make me stronger. I want to believe that. And I’m going to work hard for it. Sometimes I just need a little time and patience and a little support.

Together, they tell individual tales of evolution, of growth both early in a career for Osaka, and relatively late for Azarenka.Much of Osaka’s personal progression has played out in the public eye. A shy newcomer in 2018, her introductory image to most sports fans was that of a teary-eyed young woman holding a trophy aloft while forcing a smile after her controversial U.S. Open title won against her hero, Serena Williams.

This summer, she turned into an activist, protesting police brutality in Minneapolis and prompting the Western & Southern Open to pause play for a day after NBA players sparked a cross-league movement by refusing to participate in playoff games.At the U.S. Open, she has used her excellent serve and the nearly unparalleled pace and power in her groundstrokes to roll through the draw while spreading messages of social justice.

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