Serena Williams might quit tennis if she has another baby
Serena Williams, in a hat by Eric Javits on the August cover of InStyle, will find out today if she is seeded for Wimbledon. Photo: InStyle
Tennis champion Serena Willliams might retire from the game if she has another baby.
“If I weren’t working, I’d already be pregnant,” said Williams, talking to InStyle for her cover story in the fashion magazine’s inaugural ‘Badass Women’ issue.
“I don’t know if I want to play if I have another baby.”
She said she would need to talk to her husband, Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, about expanding their family soon: “You’re right, we need a plan’.”
The American, who will kick off her campaign for an eighth Wimbledon title on July 2, said being two months’ pregnant with daughter Alexis when she won the Australian Open in January 2017 was the most badass thing she’s ever done.
“Oh absolutely! Every day that passed I thought, ‘This is a dream’,” the 23-time grand slam winner, 36, told InStyle.
“I had a really tough first round and an even tougher second round. I thought, ‘I’m probably going to lose early. That’s OK. I have a good excuse for the first time’.”
While she won her first match six months after giving birth to Alexis last September, the star admitted juggling motherhood and tennis is sometimes tricky.
“I’m in the locker room pumping before a match because my boobs are so big,” said Williams, who dropped 491 spots in world rankings when she took maternity leave.
“When I pump, they go down a size or two and I go out and play.”
Scheduling her days around her baby, Williams “sneaks away” to practice about 8am. By 1pm she’s done: “As much as I love tennis, I need to be with her. I want to put her above everything else I’m doing.”
At the French Open, a pectoral injury forced the unseeded three-time champ to retire before her quarter-final grudge match with Maria Sharapova. But she’s said it had recovered well ahead of Wimbledon.
Seedings for the titles are announced today at 7pm (AEST) but Williams could miss out on being named one of the 32 seeds because of her maternity-leave ranking drop.
Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki has called for the seven-time winner to be given the nod.
“She’s [Serena Williams] the greatest player to ever play the sport,” Denmark’s Wozniacki said after her straight-sets victory over Italian Camila Giorgi at the Eastbourne championships on Monday.
“Having won so many grand slams and being No.1 for so many years, she deserves a seeding.”
But world No.32 Dominika Cibulkova said it “would not be fair” for Williams to be seeded.
The 29-year-old would miss out on a seed if the former world No.1, now ranked 183, is seeded.
“I don’t think it’s the right thing to do.”
6 days until #Wimbledon
15 years ago a boy from Switzerland and a girl from the US, both 21, shared the stage at Wimbledon for the first time.. and it wouldn’t be the last. 😏 🐐 🐐 pic.twitter.com/PQwwHmIfhx
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) June 26, 2018
Williams, who showcased outfits including a black halterneck dress by The Row, a leopard print kaftan and Gottex one-piece swimsuit for InStyle, is tipped to wear a similar white custom catsuit to the one she wore at the French Open.
If she lasts the fortnight at Wimbledon, she might have time to catch up with Meghan Markle, whose wedding to Prince Harry she attended on May 19.
“I’ve known Meghan for years, so it was good to see my friend happy,” she told the magazine.
The new Duchess of Sussex didn’t make the cut in Williams’ list of top three badass women for InStyle, but she did pay court to the British royal family.
“Well, obviously Beyoncé. That goes unsaid. Rihanna goes unsaid. Kate Middleton!” she said.
JK Rowling, former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright, Margaret Atwood and the women of the Time’s Up movement also featured among the 50 other powerful women.
