Australia’s Margaret Court belongs to an elite group of tennis players that Serena Williams might one day join.
The 74-year-old won 24 grand slam singles titles throughout her career, more than any other player in the history of the sport. Three of those titles occurred after she gave birth to her son Daniel at the age of 30. In 1973, Court became the first mother in history to win a grand slam title at the Australian Open. Later that year, she also triumphed at the French and US Open. Court’s parental achievement is one that has only been matched by two other players. Evonne Goolagong at the 1980 Wimbledon Championships and Kim Clijsters at the 2009 US Open.
The story of the Australian is one that could be used to inspire Serena Williams, who is set to give birth to her first child later this year. At the age of 35, she will be considerably older than Court if she returns in 2018. Still, with an increasing trend in players playing until later in their careers, Williams’ career is far from over.
“I was a bit younger than Serena when I had Daniel,” Court told The Herald Sun. “I was about 30.
“So it’s hard to say what’s going to happen. You’ve got to take each year as it comes.
“The one thing is that you need to know mentally that you can still do it – and then you’ve got to be fit enough to do it.”
Few will dispute the significance of mentality in tennis. Roger Federer, who is also the same age as Williams, credits the power of his mind to his triumph at the Australian Open. The Swiss missed six months of the tour last year due to injury before winning an record 18th major title in Melbourne. In his first competitive tournament for half a year, Federer defeated four top-10 players.
“I kept on fighting. I kept on believing that there was a possibility I could win this match… I didn’t come here thinking I would win, I thought a great result would be a quarter-final. I only started to believe once I played a great fourth round, great QF… It’s a beautiful feeling, can’t believe it’s real.” He said following his five sets win over Rafael Nadal.
Another source of inspiration for Williams is Victoria Azarenka, who gave birth to her first child in December. The Belarusian, who will return to the tour this summer, believes becoming a mum has given her a new perspective on life.
“Becoming a mother has been the most rewarding thing that has ever happened to me and really puts things in perspective. I am looking forward to beginning this new stage of my career.” The 27-year-old told wtatennis.com earlier this year.
Less than 24 hours has passed since Williams hinted about her pregnancy. It is unknown as to what the future hold for the 23-time grand slam champion, who has recently been bombarded with injury problems. There is however one certainty. Never write Williams off until she says so.
