Serena Williams 'proved you can have both' and paved the way for mothers in tennis, says Martina Navratilova

Serena Williams’ determination to play tennis after becoming a mother has opened the door for other athletes to do the same, says Martina Navratilova. Williams won the Australian Open while she was eight weeks pregnant with her daughter, giving birth to her in September 2017. Within five months, she was playing again.

Ad She reached the Wimbledon final in July of 2018, just falling short against Angelique Kerber. TennisSerena v Sharapova, Federer v Ferrer: Tennis’ most surprising head-to-head records28/09/2022 AT 10:10 It was the first of four finals she reached after giving birth, and Navratilova, who is widely considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, has said that Williams has proved that they don’t have to shy away from returning to professional sport after giving birth. According to Navratilova, this is a huge shift from the mindset that was dominant in the 70s and the 80s, back when she was competing.

“For women, it was either or, but now, Serena proved you can have both. There are plenty of other mothers on the tour who have done really well,” Navratilova told CNN en Español’s Elizabeth Pérez. “The biggest reason we didn’t see it – there are a couple – the care wasn’t there, the money wasn’t there, and also women just chose to have babies and then they didn’t come back.