After pulling off a shutout win over Alison Van Uytvanck at the Australian Open on Tuesday, Victoria Azarenka made sure the crowd looked at her dab.
Victoria Azarenka’s dab is proof that she spends the offseason studying expired dance crazes
I know what you’re thinking: The dab is over. It used to be a cool thing, and now that it’s made its way to the tennis world, no one can or should do the dab anymore. I disagree. The dab still has some life in it, even though we’re a few months removed from when Cam Newton introduced everyone to it. I think Azarenka is in the clear here.
For one, even if Azarenka is late on the meme bandwagon, she’s earned the right to dab. If she had let Van Uytvanck win any games during their match, the dab would’ve seemed a little out of place. For all intents and purposes, one should only dab when one’s performance is on fire. She was dominant here, so she can dab if she pleases.
Second, we should probably give Azarenka some slack here. The timelines of both the Australian Open and dabbing’s coolness weren’t aligned. Azarenka probably waited the tournament to actually show off her dab, while the rest of the sports world was busy running off on the plug twice. It’s not the first time she’s done a dance meme months after its peak, and it probably won’t be the last time.
Would it have been better if she recorded herself dabbing on Instagram or Vine while it was still popular? Maybe. Still, I don’t think she should be ridiculed for this moment. Not everyone will get to a meme on time, and that’s okay. That just means Azarenka is essentially your aunt who keeps sharing things on Facebook you already saw years ago.
