( CNN ) -- She lives in Monaco , and she honed her skills in Marbella and Arizona -- but world No . 1 Victoria Azarenka was most definitely made in Minsk . Hurting from a slow start to her 2011 season , Azarenka wondered if professional tennis was really the career for her . A trip back home to Belarus and a chat with her beloved grandmother soon put her back on track . `` She never really talked to me about tennis or anything specific , she just was explaining to me about when she was growing up , '' Azarenka told CNN 's Open Court . `` You just look at different perspective of things and I just realize , you know what , I 'm so lucky to have an opportunity to do something that I really love and I 'm here sitting and complaining about how hard my life is because I lost a tennis match when some people are really suffering with big troubles and they have a smile on their face . '' Since that conversation , Azarenka has won her first grand slam title at the Australian Open , thrashing the far more experienced Maria Sharapova in January 's final to become the first player from Belarus to win a major singles crown . The 22-year-old has also claimed the No . 1 ranking , sparked by a 26-match winning start to this season that only ended in Miami last month . While she wants to avoid coming across , as she puts it , as a `` Cinderella story , '' Belarus was hardly a hotbed of tennis talent when Azarenka was growing up , and her future was never mapped out . When she started working in a local tennis center , Azarenka 's mother Alla needed a distraction for the young `` Vika '' so she could get on with her job . In desperation , Alla gave her daughter a racket and ball . `` It was just fun for me to hit against the wall and one of the coaches saw me and asked me if I wanted to join the group and I was like , ' I do n't know , I 'm scared , ' but I picked it up right away , '' Azarenka said . `` We did n't even step on the court for the first year and a half . We played in a hall ... and there was 40 kids and we were so happy when we would hit one ball and wait five minutes for another one . '' When she was n't part of the coaching group , Azarenka was hitting against a wall at the center . When she was n't at the center , she would play against her grandfather at home with a soft ball and badminton rackets , using the sofa and bookshelves to make the tennis court . Azarenka eventually outgrew her surroundings . She trained in Spain briefly before eventually completing her tennis education in Scottsdale , Arizona . Moving away from home at the age of 15 was difficult , but Azarenka said : `` I saw my goal in the tunnel and I just wanted to do absolutely everything to reach it . '' And she is n't done yet . With the top ranking and a major title in the bag , Azarenka has already moved on to new targets . With the French Open and Wimbledon approaching , she has recruited two-time grand slam champion and former world No . 1 Amelie Mauresmo to her coaching team . `` I felt that she could help me in the way that my team probably never experienced before , '' Azarenka said of Mauresmo , who retired at the end of 2009 . `` She 's been through everything all ready , so those extra details or something could help , that 's what we always look for , something to be better . '' The Olympics also loom large . At the last Games in Beijing , Azarenka was `` so hyper and so excited just to be there that I was n't worried about playing , I was just worried about being there and collecting pins . '' She tried and failed to hunt down the autographs of record-breaking swimmer Michael Phelps and basketball 's golden boy Kobe Bryant , but come August and the London Games , Azarenka will be one of the star attractions . Her trips home to Belarus , where she is an idol for thousands of children , have prepared her for the attention . `` I do some kids clinics , and the last one I actually did in Minsk , kids came from outside the cities , it was like almost 300 kids on one tennis court and they all start pushing each other because they all wanted to play and I was supposed to play for only one hour , '' Azarenka said . `` And I saw these kids , they were just like pushing each other and fighting and I said , 'Guys please stop fighting because I 'll play with each one of you until everyone is done , I wo n't go home before that . ' I was exhausted after that , but you have so much positive energy that it is just priceless . '' So while Azarenka might live in glamorous Monaco with neighbors like Caroline Wozniacki and Novak Djokovic , there is only one home . `` My real home will always be Belarus where I 'm from , and it can honestly never change . ''
Victoria Azarenka is the first player from Belarus to win a grand slam singles title . The 22-year-old has lost one match this season , and won 26 , including four titles . The world No . 1 was introduced to tennis by her mother , who worked in a tennis center . Azarenka moved to the United States when she was 15 , and now lives in Monaco .