Victoria Azarenka mourns ‘missed opportunity for unity’ with Wimbledon ban after defeating Ukraine's Yastremska at Citi Open

WATCH: Azarenka won the final eight games against Yastremska in her first match after two months out of action.

WASHINGTON—Victoria Azarenka hit out at the ban that precluded Russian and Belrarusian athletes from participating at this year’s Wimbledon Championships following her return to action at the Citi Open on Tuesday.

The former world No. 1 last played at Roland Garros, opting out of the grass-court swing leading up to Wimbledon—where she is a two-time semifinalist—but admitted she still felt quite connected to the sport in spite of her physical absence.

“I’m on the Player Council, so I can’t completely cut myself off,” she told TENNIS.com after a 6-4, 6-0 win over Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska. “I take that part of my job very seriously. I think what people missed here was a big opportunity to show how sports can unite. I think we missed that opportunity, but I hope we can still show it.”

The ban was handed down by the All England Club in the months following Russia and Belarus’ invasion into Ukraine. Though Russian and Belarusian athletes have been stripped of their flag and banned from team competitions like Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup, they have largely competed unimpeded since war broke out at the end of February.

I love to find solutions from difficult situations. I think what was hard was the absolute ignorance and carelessness from the other parties. I think that was a tough part to digest, because you’re coming in with options, opportunities, and your heart, and it’s met with basically a 'We don’t care.' Victoria Azarenka

Andrey Rublev discussed his frustrations in failing to convince the AELTC to let Russians and Belarusians compete in a documentary filmed earlier this summer, and Azarenka corroborated the Russian’s claims that attempts were made to find common ground between the players and Wimbledon itself.

“How did I deal with it? I always try to find a solution that is beyond myself and what can be better because I love to help people," she says. "I love to find solutions from difficult situations. I think what was hard was the absolute ignorance and carelessness from the other parties. I think that was a tough part to digest, because you’re coming in with options, opportunities and your heart, and it’s met with basically a ‘We don’t care.’

“But we all move on. It didn’t change my view and my perception when it comes to helping people, and it won’t. I don’t believe that part of me will ever go away, so we’ll just move on.”

If in other sports the Russian and Belarus are out of competitions, I think in tennis it has to be the same. Dayana Yastremska

Azarenka won the final eight games against Yastremska, who was personally affected by the invasion into Ukraine and ultimately sought refuge in France with her mother and sister. Speaking about the ban at Wimbledon, the 22-year-old was unsurprisingly in full support of keeping Russian and Belarusian athletes out of elite sport indefinitely.

“If in other sports the Russian and Belarus are out of competitions, I think in tennis it has to be the same,” she said in July, taking greater issue with the ATP and WTA tour's response to strip Wimbledon of its ranking points.

"More players are talking about why Russian and Belarusian players are out from the tournament than they talk about the Ukraine. So it's very tough to say what players are supporting to these athletes from Russia and Belarus to play at Wimbledon or they support Ukraine."

Azarenka, who celebrated her 33rd birthday earlier this week, will next face Tereza Martincova for a spot in the quarterfinals.