The tennis star opened up about how tiring it can be to keep up with motherhood and a career. Since giving birth to her daughter Olympia, Serena Williams has made an effort to balance her tennis career and business ventures with daily mother-daughter quality time. If that sounds extremely taxing, it is. Williams recently opened up about how tough life as a working mom can get.
Williams posted an Instagram photo of herself holding Olympia with no makeup or filter. “I am not sure who took this picture but working and being a mom is not easy,” she captioned the photo. “I am often exhausted, stressed, and then I go play a professional tennis match.”
The athlete also gave a shoutout to the other working moms of the world. “We keep going. I am so proud and inspired by the women who do it day in and day out. I’m proud to be this baby’s mama.”
This isn’t the first time Williams has opened up about the demands of working while raising a daughter. Before the 2019 Hopman Cup, she shared a photo on Instagram of herself stretching while holding Olympia.
“As I head into next year it’s not about what we can do it’s [about] what we MUST do as working moms and working dads. Anything is possible,” Williams wrote in her caption. “I am getting ready for the first match of the year and my dear sweet baby @olympiaohanian was tired and sad and simply needed mama’s love.”
Williams might have Grand Slam titles and Olympic gold medals, but she’s said that raising Olympia is her “greatest accomplishment.” Since becoming a mom, she’s shared how she’s made room for caring for Olympia in her schedule. She’s set boundaries when it comes to how late her practices run, and she used to pump in the locker room before matches.
When Williams first went back to work, she faced an uphill battle to return to her previous ranking. She’d been ranked number one before giving birth but had to return to the French Open as an unseeded player, because of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA)’s policy on maternity leave policy at the time. The situation sparked a conversation in the tennis community about whether penalizing athletes who leave to give birth is justified. Ultimately the WTA changed its rule so that players can return to the tennis court with their previous ranking if they take leave for illness, injury, or pregnancy.
