Show and tell! Victoria Azarenka surprises son Leo's school with special visit

The former No. 1 brought her Olympic medals to share with the class, and received hand-written thank-you letters from her son's classmates.

ByBaseline Staff

Published Jan 31, 2025

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How's this for show and tell? Former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka revealed on social media this week that she recently surprised her son Leo's school with a visit—but she was the one who left the most touched.

"I was honored to be invited," Azarenka shared in a video on Friday, calling the visit the "highlight of her week."

The two-time Australian Open champion detailed how she shared her tennis journey with the class, imparting them with the life lessons of dedication, perserverance and passion, and even allowed the children to pass around her Olympic medals, a mixed doubles gold and a singles bronze she won at the London 2012 Games.

"I signed maybe five or six arms," Azarenka recalled. "Leo told me afterwards, 'Mommy, when you left, all the class wanted you to sign their shoes, too, so I think we would've gone [through] everything in the classroom for me to sign."

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A post shared by Victoria Azarenka (@vichka35)

But she was later thrilled to receive a surprise of her own: A day later, Leo came home with a folder full of hand-written thank-you notes from each of the students in class.

"[The kids] have no idea how much this actually means to me, because I will keep them, and I will absolutely think of them when I play next time," she said.

Azarenka's keepsakes, brought home by Leo in a special folder, also featured tennis-themed drawings of her likeness, trophies, balls and racquets. One student, for whom Azarenka autographed a tennis ball, wrote that they were excited to share the keepsake with their grandpa, while another said she was their mom's favorite player.

"'You are really inspiring,'" a third letter read. "I'm never giving up because of you now."

While 8-year-old Leo is a common special guest at tennis tournaments, his mom got to return the favor at school.

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But the cutest letter might've come from Leo himself, who told his mom that one day he hopes to be just like her, just "in a different sport." While the 8-year-old is a common guest at tournaments, he thrives in hockey and soccer, and Azarenka has said that he hopes to be the next Lionel Messi.

"I think that was very clear Leo," she joked.

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