Victoria Azarenka concedes returning to the pro tour after giving birth hasn't been a fairy-tale comeback.
Though she's faced fear at times, the former No. 1 says motherhood is the most meaningful title of her life.
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Azarenka candidly discussed the challenges of life as a working mom to two-year-old son, Leo, on the pro circuit.
"For me, it's not been easy," Azarenka told the Fed Cup YouTube channel in this video interview. "I thought everything was going to be a little bit like a fairy tale and it's not.
"But definitely for me, it's the best thing that ever happened to me. I enjoy the challenge of it; it's scary sometimes because you have full responsibility of another human while you're trying to do your job and something that I'm really passionate about. So it's not easy, but I'm trying to find a good balance and hopefully be a good example."
Since knocking off four seeds en route to the Miami Open semifinals last March, Azarenka has reached just two quarterfinals in her last 13 tournaments.
The two-time Australian Open champion scored a doubles win in Belarus' 4-0 sweep of host Germany that sent the nation into the Fed Cup semifinals against host Australia, April 20-21st.
The 29-year-old Azarenka says she will encourage her son to try several sports as he's growing so he can choose which one he likes best. Azarenka said she believes Leo can learn life lessons from sport.
"I believe that tennis is really an amazing sport," Azarenka said. "It teaches you a lot of tools to have in life because you are an individual. It teaches you responsibility, it teaches you how to think for yourself and be disciplined. So there's a lot of qualities that you can definitely benefit from.
"I think a lot of sports gives you those tools to be able to succeed in life. So I would love for him to be able to play a lot of sports."
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve