Kim Clijsters: Being both a mother and athlete is a constant battle - Legends’ Voice

What Serena said in her Vogue article resonated with a lot of women. Choosing to expand your family as a professional athlete or deciding when to retire is different for women compared to men. That's just a fact.

I saw that she got some comments about it because she said if I was a man I could have maybe had a career like Tom Brady or something, but I think the people who took it in a negative way don't realise what it does to a woman when you have a baby. If she didn't feel the desire to have a family she would have still been playing those two years or year and a half she was out of action. That comparison; it is what it is.

My body changed after two, three kids; it's just a fact. Roger Federer goes through becoming a father differently than his wife would. It's just a common fact.

People ask me a lot what it takes to win a Grand Slam as a mother on tour. I think now that I'm older, when I think about it and how I won three majors after having my daughter Jada, it comes down to just taking things as they come. Ad US OpenClijsters: I cried when Serena announced her farewell — Legends’ VoiceYESTERDAY AT 08:08 As tennis players, we try to plan or schedule our goals.

When you become a mother – and I lost my dad shortly after – it's such an impactful change in your life. It will have an impact on how you are on the court. Being a mother, being a wife, communicating with my team, with my trainer, with my husband, with our nanny; it became so important to live in the moment.