Clijsters on Motherhood in Tennis: "It's a Problem for Many Women"

Streaming ATP Miami live tennis

🎾 Arthur Rinderknech vs Jaume Munar

* You can watch and bet on this match live here..

The last mother champion of the US Open, in 2009, speaks out on the topic of motherhood on the circuit, emphasizing the great support that the WTA has provided in recent times. Kim Clijsters, former world number one, clearly states her perspective regarding the significant decision that numerous tennis players have to make and hopes that one of those players who has recently become a mother will claim a major trophy in the near future.

"I am super prepared to see a new mom holding a Grand Slam title," confessed Kim Clijsters in The Sit-Down Podcast. "I am very proud to see so many women with children in the main draw and to see the kids wandering around and their families in the players' restaurant. That's what it's all about," says the former Belgian tennis player, who is paving the way for the upcoming Grand Slam on the circuit.

"Serena has undoubtedly come the closest. There are many great players who are mothers and who have won Grand Slams before having children, like Osaka, Kvitova, Vika. All of them are players who know how to achieve it. I remember when I returned to Cincinnati in 2009, a player approached me and said, 'I wish I had done what you did, and had the courage to do it, because now I'm in my thirties and I am single'."

A serious issue for women

"That made me realize that this is a problem for many women. There are so many women for whom the clock starts ticking and you feel like you want to start a family, but at the same time you feel like you've been playing tennis for 20 years, or even more, working to reach this level and play in Grand Slams. It's a difficult situation to leave tennis to start a family."

A solution from the WTA

"There aren't many women, when I pick up or drop off my children at school, who understand what we have gone through as tennis players. From a young age, with so much dedication, understanding what this life is like, leaving home at 11-12 years old and traveling to all those parts of the world, without your parents. It requires a lot of discipline and concentration.

That's why the announcement of the WTA-PIF Maternity Fund has taken our sport to another level for independent athletes. You can lose your sponsors, and in the end, if you don't play tournaments, you don't get paid. There are many players who don't earn enough or haven't saved enough to start a family, and then return."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Clijsters, sobre la maternidad en el tenis: "Es un problema para muchas mujeres"