CALVIÀ, Spain — Victoria Azarenka is back in tennis ahead of schedule.
Initially planning to come back for the North American summer hardcourt season in late July, Azarenka returned from maternity leave on Tuesday at the Mallorca Open, a grass-court event that serves as a warm-up for Wimbledon. It had been six months and one day since she gave birth to her first child, Leo.
“My team started talking to me when I started practicing and progressing quite rapidly,” Azarenka said. “They said, ‘Hey, what do you think of playing Wimbledon, and earlier?’ And I said: ‘Eh, I’m not sure, I don’t know.