Victoria Azarenka: 5 Things You Should Know About the No. 1 Player in the World

Victoria Azarenka, the 22-year-old from Minsk, Belarus, made a name for herself in the tennis world after winning the 2012 Australian Open and taking the top spot in the WTA rankings in January. She is the top seed at the French Open and will face Aleksandra Wozniak in the third round on Friday.

Here are five things you should know about the current world No. 1 player:

1. When Azarenka was 14 years old, Nikolai Khabibulin, the current goaltender of the Edmonton Oilers, was impressed by Victoria's fire and hunger for success, according to an interview with ESPN. He invited her to live with his family in Scottsdale, Ariz., and train with some of the world's best coaches. Just one year after she moved to Arizona, she won the junior Australian Open in 2005.

2. She captured her first Grand Slam singles title and clinched the world No.1 ranking for the first time in her career after defeating Maria Sharapova, 6-3, 6-0, in the 2012 Australian Open Final. Azarenka is the first Belarusian to win a singles Grand Slam title and the first ever Belarusian to hold the top spot in women's tennis.

3. Azarenka is the first player to ever skip the No.2 ranking en route to No.1, according to the WTA. She has held the top spot for 17 consecutive weeks after unseating Caroline Wozniacki on Jan. 30.

4. Azarenka has compiled an impressive 35-3 singles record this season and captured four WTA singles titles, including the Australian Open, Indian Wells, Sydney, and Doha. She now holds 12 career WTA singles titles.

5. While Azarenka is a dominant force in singles, she has also won several mixed doubles titles. She won the 2007 US Open with fellow Belarusian Max Mirnyi and the 2008 French Open with American Bob Bryan.