Tennis Moms

In the last few years, there have been several instances – both welldocumented and lesser-known – about female tennis players making a professional comeback post-pregnancy. This, in itself, is an extension of the previously-sporadic presence of women tennis players who chose to prioritise their careers as they saw fit even as they balanced their personal lives.

Advantage Tennis Grand Slam Yearbook 2019 19 N ames such as Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, however, seem to be perceived now with some disconnect even with the heft of history backing their professional resume, both before and after their pregnancies. This is especially true in case of GoolagongCawley who not only had rejoined the sport, but had also become the first woman to win a Major as a mother at Wimbledon in 1980. While her record was eventually broken by Kim Clijsters at the 2009 US Open, in a way it still remains intact in that the Australian remains the only mother to have won the Championships.

The 2018 edition was, then, the closest that this precipice came to be breached – by Serena Williams, who more than proved a point by reaching the final before eventually losing to Angelique Kerber.

The decades spanning Goolagong-Cawley and Williams’ individual presences in the Majors’ finals meandering by way of names like Clijsters and Lindsay Davenport, then, represent the changes in the way the available fitness techniques have evolved and the way the players themselves seek to return to the playing field, fitter and better than before.

“I intend to keep exercising for as long as possible while pregnant. I want the baby to be healthy and for that you need a healthy life,” Williams had said in one of her interviews while being pregnant with her daughter Olympia. She had also stated, “Also, when I come back to tennis it’ll be better if I’ve kept as fit as possible all the way through the pregnancy rather than having to lose a lot of weight afterwards in order to get fit again. Eating healthily is a must, but being healthy is a lifestyle.”

There are several exercises that are prescribed for new mothers to get their bodies in shape after they have given birth. These include a range of activities from mini-crunches to squats to seated knee abduction and even assisted heel-drops. However, in order to be able to carry out these exercises, it’s important that the woman has had been exercising right throughout her pregnancy.

In an article published in the Telegraph, Laura Uglow, a specialist who is engaged in post-natal training shared her inputs for female athletes wanting to make a return to the professional circuit.

“When you’re expecting, it’s important to keep moving. Pregnancy is similar to climbing a mountain or running a marathon – without having trained – while carrying a backpack that weighs a little more each day,” Uglow observed. She also noted, “In other words, it’s hard work. You wouldn’t run a marathon without training for it and the same goes for pregnancy.”

In addition to her words seem ing like an echo of Williams’ words, Uglow also pinpointed, “The benefits of moving during your pregnancy be gin immediately and last your whole life as pregnant women who exercise have less back pain, better circula tion, more energy, a more speedy recovery and your baby will start to reap the rewards straight away too.”

Former world No. 1 Azarenka has one son, Leo, and is currently involved in a custody battle over the child with her former partner and father of the child Billy McKeague

Serena Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian with daughter Olympia

Uglow also mentioned that these exercises needed to be given a go-ahead by the consulting doctor who would be in a better position to understand if a woman was experiencing unduly stress while carrying out these activities. Likewise, on a final note, she also put forth different exercising methods which could be practiced across each trimester.

Beginning with power walking in the first trimester, to pelvic exercises in the second trimester to alleviate the pressure felt on the back, joints and muscles and to stretching exercises in the final trimester, the idea is to maintain continuity all throughout.

With respect to this aspect of maintaining uniformity, one can touch upon Margaret Court who, perhaps started a unique trend way back in 1971. That of playing a Major while being pregnant. Court played, and lost, the 1971 Wimbledon final to her countrywoman GoolagongCawley.

Thus, the knowledge that Williams played – and won – the 2017 Austra lian Open takes on a new meaning. Back when the news was revealed accidentally by Williams, it raised surprise among many that Williams had played the first Major of the year at eight weeks pregnant. But given her fitness – she won the title that year without dropping a single set across the seven matches she played – it was only par for the course that Wil liams would go on to make a mark by winning a title in such fashion.

The same rationale applies to the likes of Mandy Minella who, though noticeably went under-the-radar, also played a Major – incidentally, the 2017 Wimbledon – while midway into her pregnancy. “[Pregnancy] came as a complete surprise to me, but I was so thrilled. I immediately saw several doctors who assured me there was no risk for me to keep playing. I was on a good run, I had a good ranking, so my team and I decided I would keep playing until the moment I would feel it’s not worth it anymore,” Minella said in an interview, earlier this year. The 32-year-old Luxembourger eventually went on to make a comeback of her own in February 2018, less than four months after the birth of her daughter.

Commendable as Minella’s determination to have an early restart as a professional is, there is one other factor that stands to affect the potential return of her peers.

A human physique is not just regulated by physical fitness but also by psychological robustness. And while maintaining the vigour of their physique may be easy enough task for female tennis players, it’s hard to ascertain the extent of their difficulty to adjust their psyche while being separated at length from their children. Which could, then, also lead to postpartum depression.

Studies reveal that postpartum depression which, while considered a rarity, is a relatively common occurrence affecting one among seven women. The symptoms range from lack of sleep to being unable to bond with the child to emotional disturbances like mood swings and anxiety attacks. At its worst, postpartum depression also causes

suicidal tendencies and thoughts of causing harm to the children.

With women tennis players already walking the fine rope between needing to maintain professional consistency in a timeline that’s already curtailed amid the presence of myriad rivalries – and newer rivals waiting to emerge – them trying to make their way back into the sport adds to the pressure. If this weren’t enough, the expectation that they would be able to pick the thread of their career from where they had left off before their maternity break also weighs in significantly.

When Victoria Azarenka decided to step back into the professional tennis-playing fold at the 2017 grass season six months after having her son Leo, the former world no. 1 had to grapple with heightened focus as to how she would perform. Her initial results weren’t flattering which also prompted assessment in some corners as to whether the two-time former Australian Open champion had lost her edge. Williams’ return has, then, camouflaged the disquiet around Azarenka’s progress through tournament draws just as the American’s willingness to speak on the subject – and share her own experience – has seemingly added to its pertinence.

In August this year, Williams lost a one-sided match to Briton Johanna Konta in the San Jose Open. The 6-0, 6-1 scoreline looked imposing as it caused disbelief that Williams could lose to tamely. It wasn’t until later when the 23-time Grand Slam champion posted a note on Instagram on how she had been dealing with postpartum depression that the nitty-gritty of the loss came to light.

Williams said, “Not only was I accepting some tough personal stuff, but I just was in a funk. Mostly, I felt like I was not a good mom.” Then, sharing how she was dealing with the problem, Williams mentioned, “I read

Kim Clijsters seen here with her daughter Jada is now a mother of three children

several articles that said postpartum emotions can last up to 3 years if not dealt with. I like communication best. Talking things through with my mom, my sisters, my friends let me know that my feelings are totally normal.”

Williams’ statements weren’t in any way making light of Konta’s win nor were they posted as an excuse for her defeat. But they highlighted one particular facet that players could have bad days in more ways than one and that while they may try to resolve it as best as they can, they aren’t always able to change the outcome of the matches they play in. Sports persons are often regarded as superheroes, impervious to problems. This is specifically true of athletes – especially, women athletes – engaging in individual sporting domains such as tennis and who majorly form the upper echelon of the sport. Likewise, while there is a keen inclination to pen down fluid narratives about their comebacks there is a parallel disinclination in giving them time and space to come to their own, a second-time around. As such, in this ostensible disregard, there is not much separating such women athletes who return to the sport from the other working women in the everyday, mundane world.