Former World No.1 and two-time major champion Victoria Azarenka has launched 'Think About It', a six-episode series of interviews hosted by the Belarusian star. Over a series of honest, in-depth conversations with power players across industries, Azarenka hopes to take listeners along on her own journey of enrichment and learning to show the strength that can be forged from vulnerability.

"My goal was to learn and take the audience on that learning experience," Azarenka told WTA Insider from Melbourne, where is preparing for the start of her 2021 season. "The other goal was to show conversations between people who are in different fields being real and authentic.

"I think in sports we always have this protective wall that we don't want to show our vulnerabilities, feelings, emotions, fears, etc., because it shows, from a perspective of people, a weakness and that you shouldn't talk about it and people will think of you differently. It's not that people don't think about it or have those emotions and feelings, it's just they're hiding it. Unfortunately in sports, I don't see a lot of open conversations on these topics regarding our jobs.

"Some people do it for good reasons and respect that because it's not easy to put yourself out there for the whole world to see, being vulnerable. But I believe there is big power in that, in showing that, in sharing that, in relating to people who go through the same things or are experiencing or have experienced it, and are trying to heal from it.

"Those moments of uncertainty, moments of struggles, those are what help people relate. Not a lot of people can relate to what I do professionally or what I've been through professionally. Maybe tennis players or other athletes, to a certain level. But we're all human and we go through the same emotions and feelings and struggles. One of the things about the show is that having people from different fields able to connect on those examples, having the same struggles in different fields."

Over six episodes, Azarenka goes in-depth with professional rock climber Sasha DiGuilian, ultra-marathon runner and VP of Fitness at Peloton Robin Arzon, motivational gurus Trevor Moawad and Lewis Howes, and medical professionals Dr. Rupy Aujla and Dr. Rahul Jandial.  

"This was an amazing pool of people, talking to a brain surgeon, talking to a doctor who transformed his life through food," Azarenka said. "Talking to Lewis Howes who has an incredible story himself, and Trevor Moawad, who has such an interesting story of, how do you get out of the shadow of your dad who was in the same field but finding your own identity in that field? All these topics are so diverse and that was the point of the show."

"It was interesting to talk to Sasha because when I go on the court, my experience is not life or death. But her experience as a professional rock climbing and what she's doing is where one mistake can lead to a fatal outcome. We talked about fear. For me what she does is super scary. For her, what I do is super scary. I can't understand how she's on the same level of fear of what I do as I am of what she does. That was an interesting thing to hear because we are both really open about it."

Listen to all the episodes of "Think About It" here!

Think About It with Victoria Azarenka Episode One: Trevor Moawad