Serena Williams ‘paved the way’ for mothers to keep playing tennis, says Martina Navratilova
Serena Williams ‘paved the way’ for mothers to keep playing tennis, says Martina Navratilova
LONDON (Reuters) – A day after Serena Williams said she considered her professional career at a halt, the top-ranked tennis player told a British newspaper that she had made history with mothers on the court by encouraging girls to continue playing tennis after having a child.
Williams, 26, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, said the support of her mother Janelle helped shape her approach to her tennis career and that she made a conscious decision in 2007 to play professionally only after her son Alexis was four months old, knowing no other option would be possible.
“A lot of things, I didn’t have the courage to talk about, but there was really no choice for me that would work. If I waited to turn professional, it would be the same thing I am always going to have to go through to get there,” Williams told The Daily Telegraph newspaper.
“I will have to find a way of surviving this, I told myself. I will have to do what everyone in this room has to. I would want to go on and play to help as many people as possible but there’s not a way I can give back to the sport I love at the same time.”
She said that, at the time, it was not clear whether tennis would survive if she played professional tennis, but she said: “But I really am not a pessimist. I know that if I get this chance I will make the most of it and that I can do this.”
Williams, who has won 16 Grand Slam titles and is seeking to become the second American female player to win three at a single tournament after Serena Williams, said she also did not intend to give up on tennis anytime soon, but wished for her mother to know that her son was in good hands and that she would always be there for tennis.
“For my mother there is no better place than me,” Williams told the newspaper. “I am making her aware that her role is important to the sport. I am doing everything I can to keep Alexis happy so that she may give me the best time possible with him and give him