Many balance motherhood, sporting success

Azarenka — she beat Britain’s Heather Watson in the third round yesterday after dropping the first set, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 — complained that last-minute scheduling of matches impacts negatively on mothers who don’t know when to arrange child care.

Child care is a vexatious matter for countless working women around the planet, if eye-rolling in the context of a player with nearly $29 million in career earnings. And still Azarenka argued that the world should turn around her and her I-am-mother needs.

“I had to be here for the whole day, which, for a new mum, is a little tough,” she said. “Hopefully I won’t play like this again.”

Wimbledon officials, smacked upside the head by Azarenka’s Sympathy Sisters, defensively countered that players know very well, as in this case, whether their match will take place “no earlier than” 5 p.m., as spread-sheeters tried to fit everybody into the court-grid in the busy first week — with later matches the most highly watched by TV viewers. But, when asked about it at her post-match press conference, Azarenka said she hadn’t brought Leo to the grounds.

“This is way past his bedtime. I wouldn’t do that to him.”

The Wimbledon stiff-necks were portrayed as mommy-haters in what quickly developed into a big row about perceived gender bias and that old women’s magazine chestnut: how to juggle motherhood and (fill-in-the-blank).

As a few players pointed out this week, some tournaments provide on-site minding for the children of male players while their wives watch outside but, weirdly, not for the female athletes.

In truth there are few women on the tour with little ones for the simple reason that, like many women who pursue demanding careers, they’ve deferred child-bearing so as to make the most of their competitive tennis years. In the past century, only one woman who’s attained sainted motherhood, Evonne Goolagong, has left Wimbledon with the trophy. But some of the world’s most dominant sportswomen — British Olympic gold heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill, marathoner Paula Radcliffe, beach volleyballer Kerri Walsh (who won her Olympic gold while pregnant), swimmer Dara Torres, tennis stalwarts Lindsay Davenport and Kim Clijsters, both of whom snagged majors after having children — have managed both simultaneously.

Tatjana Maria, a 29-year-old German retired in the second round here, got back on tour after giving birth to a daughter now aged four. Maria is fingers-crossed that the pregnancy of Serena Williams will bring attention to the practicalities of mothering for players.

“I hope it will mean that all the tournaments will have a crèche (nurseries) because in the men’s tournaments we sometimes have one but in the women’s not. I hope that can change.”

There’s no doubt that tennis has been gender chauvinist in the past, in the designation of show court matches and most especially with prize money. Wimbledon has awarded the same amount to men and women since 2007 — 2.2 million pounds for the victor. Venus Williams, now 37 and childless, was particularly vocal about pushing for equitable purses.

Organizers further insist that featured matches are split 50-50 on the centre and No. 1 courts.

Still, Azarenka’s kvetch has yet again cracked open the stink-egg of sexism in sports, following immediately upon John McEnroe talking smack about Serena, claiming the winner of 23 Grand Slams would rank “like, 700th” if she played on the men’s tour.

Probably true. But so what? She doesn’t play on the men’s tour and is arguably the greatest athlete, either gender, of her era.

Will Serena return to the majors after the birth of her baby? Though she’s not said a word about it, there’s no reason to think otherwise, as Williams has uploaded video of herself practising on the court.

No. 4 seed Elina Svitolina, from Ukraine, put the bellows to the McEnroe controversy by tutting about men dismissing the women’s game as “very low level,” which isn’t quite what he said.

“I am not sure what he meant. To say that is really not nice. To say that to her with her baby . . . is very disrespectful.

“We are strong mentally, much stronger I think than most of the guys. We are women, we are different. They are not giving birth to a child so we cannot compare.”

Well, I don’t know nothin’ about birthing babies, though I suppose it’s impressive that Azarenka is Slam-fit six months after Leo entered the world.

Her on-court screeches do sound rather like labour-wailing.

But if women don’t want to be commodified for their body parts, that should include the womb.