Williams wants to assist working mums

SERENA WILLIAMS hopes winning an eighth Wimbledon title will be her platform for strengthening women’s rights in tennis.

And that means better facilities for working mums like her, currently parenting 10-month old Olympia while she seeks to win another Championship.

Williams, right, faces another mother today, Russian Evgeniya Rodina, and says much of her success after pregnancy owes to the child daycare in operation at Wimbledon, something she wants to see at more tournaments. “I definitely think it’s important for the WTA to add to that,” said Williams. “I wasn’t there when [Olympia] took her first steps last week because I was on court. So you miss things you cannot get back. We do need daycare facilities.

“We women are really strong, all of us, we are real fighters, we fight for everything we get, every opportunity we get, whether it’s tennis, any other sport, a company CEO or a board position. We fight for everything.

“None of us takes anything for granted. I know the men think they work hard too but I know for a fact that women do.”

Rodina, who has a five-year-old daughter, said: “When I came back from having my baby it was different. I had only one Grand Slam where I could use my protected ranking. Now, they’ve changed it and [Williams is] also now seeded, so it’s much easier.” Women players now have two years longer to come back after having a baby – and can also use a ranking to enter two Grand Slam events instead of one.

With that help, Williams is emerging as a clear favourite for the title but says she has had to lift her game. She said: “I had to raise my level to an unknown degree, because the other ladies now are playing at a level that is unknown.

“I can still fight, I think to myself, ‘Is this the best I can do?’”