Serena: I cried after missing my girl’s first steps while training
SERENA Williams has revealed the toll of combining her tennis career with motherhood.
The 36-year-old told how she cried after missing her ten- month- old daughter Olympia’s first steps because she was busy training in her bid to regain her Wimbledon title.
The seven- time champion, who missed last year’s tournament because of her pregnancy, wrote on Twitter after winning her third round match.
‘She took her first steps... I was training and missed it. I cried,’ she revealed. Miss Williams appeared keen to avoid a repeat yesterday morning as she practised at the All England Club. Her
‘I don’t like being away from her’
husband Alexis Ohanian arrived shortly before the end of the session carrying Olympia.
An escort vehicle due to take the family back to their London accommodation was put on hold as Olympia was ‘ having too much fun’ in the players pavilion, which contains a creche. The message about missing her daughter’s first steps was posted hours after Miss Williams shared footage of them as she prepared for her Centre Court match on Friday.
As Miss Williams tried to apply makeup and brush her hair, she joked as Olympia playfully grabbed a brush from her hand.
The American has talked extensively about the challenges of returning to tennis after her daughter was born by an emergency caesarean section in September. ‘ I’m adjusting well. I spend so much time with her every single day,’ she said.
‘We literally do everything. I really don’t like being away from her. I also think it’s healthy in a way for me to do what I need to do, be that working mum, then go back home and be the mum.’
Her decision to take a year off fuelled questions about whether new mothers face unfair hurdles in the sport. Today Miss Williams faces fellow mother Evgeniya Rodina in the fourth round.
The Russian qualifier, who has a five-year-old daughter Anna, said: ‘I know how tough it is to come back to tennis after having your first child.
‘One of the hardest things about being a mother on the tour is travelling with your child and organising someone to look after them when you’re playing or training.’