Victoria Azarenka's secrets

Lily

B.R
Staff member
3262082715.jpg

Blonde hair, blue eyes and legs which go for miles — nobody would ever imagine she'd have body hang-ups but Victoria Azarenka is just like the rest of us when it comes to fashion.

"I don't think any girl will ever be completely happy with the way she looks," she said with a giggle. "We're wired that way."

In town for the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships this week, the world No 9 seemed to embrace the chance to talk dresses, designers and Dannii Minogue.

"I love fashion. I love clothes," she said before a big pause. "But it's shoes which are my weakness. I have so many pairs of shoes I couldn't even attempt to tell you how many. I had an entire section of my wardrobe at home converted into a shoe closet."

Standing at 5ft10in Azarenka has the luxury of looking good in both flats and heels. "When I wear heels I tower above people and I know people stare a little bit. It can be quite a statement when I walk into a room with heels on because I feel like everyone notices me. It's hard to miss me to be honest.

"But I love I can wear flats too because I actually still look pretty tall. It's a great excuse for buying shoes in all different kinds of styles."

At just 21, Azarenka says she's just beginning to find her own sense of style but that didn't stop her hooking up with fashion designer, singer and sister of Kylie, Dannii Minogue, last week to pick up some tips.

Tucked away in an Australian hotel room, Azarenka couldn't have been further from the high-intensity world of Grand Slam tennis yet took to the celebrity make-over like a supermodel to a catwalk.

The Belarussian, who lists Gucci and Dior as her favourite designers, was treated to a hair and make-up session by Minogue's ‘Glam Squad' before being styled in dresses from the Melbourne style queen's fashion line, Project D.

"It was so exciting to work with Dannii and I was honoured to be able to meet her," said Azarenka.

"She is such a wonderful person and we had a blast. She's so famous and I've seen her dresses when she was on the X Factor in the UK so I couldn't wait to see what she would suggest for me."

Azarenka picked out two dresses from Project D's first collection — Wildcard and Royal Flush, before working with Minogue to pick out some killer heels.

Statistics

Country: Belarus
Age: 21
Height: 5'10''
Plays: Right handed
Rank: 9
Best Rank: 6 (Oct 26, 2009)

Head start

Delighted to discover that even the fittest of athletes have their body insecurities, Minogue looked shocked when the tennis ace stressed out about her arms and a T-shirt tan.

"We just imagine that you're a sportsperson, you've got an amazing body, you can wear anything," said the X Factor star. "But everybody has something they want to cover up."

A dedicated follower of fashion, Azarenka's mother was a fashion designer in Belarus.

"I think mum wanted me to find my own style so she never tried to force anything on me. But I grew up very aware of what looks good and what doesn't work which was a head start.

"I love getting dressed up for off-court tennis events around the world. Dannii actually gave me the dresses from her collection and I've already worn them to a player party.

"It's important to make an effort off court because we spend so much time in sportswear. We do cocktail dresses for red carpet occasions and I like to try and vary what I'm wearing.

"I like different kinds of styles, sometimes casual, sometimes evening, and I love girly styles."

Favourites

"I love Dior shoes," said the self-confessed shoe-a-holic. "They are so comfortable and they are my guilty pleasure."

"When it comes to colour I think my favourite is definitely black but I try and team it with bright and funky colours wherever possible.

"I love experimenting with colour but I know I always tend to come back to a trusty black."

Girls' getaway

Azarenka escaped the court for a while last year to spend some time in Monaco with best friend, world No 1 Caroline Wosniacki.

"Caroline lives there so we spent some time there last year which was so much fun. We had dinners and drinks and went to the aquarium. It's always good to have some girl time."

Must-have product

Whether it's in her hand bag at the mall or in her sports bag on court, Azarenka says her never-leave-the-house-without product is without question sunscreen.

"It's the only way I have any chance of staying looking young," she laughed. "I spend so much time outside in the sun so it's important I make a point of being protected all the time."

[/img][/COLOR]
 
Top