Kim Clijsters inspires next generation of tennis mothers targeting Australian Open glory
A trio of mums are hoping to score the ultimate tennis comeback at this year’s Australian Open: become the first mother to win a major title in nearly 15 years.
Angelique Kerber, Naomi Osaka and Caroline Wozniacki - all former champions - return to Melbourne for the first time since giving birth to their children. There, they will try to lift the trophy, achieving what only one woman - Kim Clijsters - has done since 1980.
No one is more ready than Clijsters to have someone join her on this exclusive list, but she is primarily happy there are so many mothers returning together.
When she returned to the tour in 2009, two years after her first daughter’s birth, Clijsters was full of questions. Why don’t my tennis shoes fit anymore? What do I do when my baby has jet lag? How do I recover in time for my match with a screaming toddler? Can I potty train my daughter on site at Flushing Meadows?
At the time, she can recall just one other mother on tour - Lindsay Davenport. “I spoke to Lindsay prior to travelling. You know, just booking hotel rooms all of a sudden, I was like huh, what would I need? How she approached it, travelling with a nanny or not. Woman to woman, I would just ask Lindsay questions like that. Trial and error, and not get too upset about when things go wrong.”
While many mothers will understand the feeling of getting back to work after maternity leave, very few will be able to relate to Kerber, Osaka and Wozniacki the way Clijsters does.
It took Clijsters more than a year to pick up a racket after giving birth to her daughter Jada in 2007, as she considered herself fully retired aged 23 with one major title to her name.
In 2009 she changed her mind, and at the US Open later that year scored her most famous victory - ironically against new mother Wozniacki. Under a sky of confetti on Arthur Ashe Stadium, Clijsters lifted the trophy in one arm and cradled her toddler in the other. She went on to win a further two majors, at the US Open the following season and the 2011 Australian Open, taking her total tally to four.
In recent years, many have come close to following her example. In 2020 three mothers reached the US Open quarter-finals; Elina Svitolina reached the Wimbledon semi-finals last year, too; and Serena Williams - who famously won the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant - played four major finals after giving birth. Clijsters says Williams’s achievements are too often underestimated.
“I don’t think there’s a clear answer as to why no one has done it since,” Clijsters says. “Serena has been very close. I feel like a lot of times she didn’t get enough credit for being in all those grand slam finals after having her daughter. The narrative is ‘she didn’t make it’ and it takes away from the level she was playing. I think it will happen. I think it’s just the competitive nature and depth of our sport that has increased from when I was younger.”
The increased number of players seeing pregnancy as a career-break rather than a career-ending experience suggests Clijsters’ prediction will come true. In the past two years the WTA has seen 28 players apply for special ranking during pregnancy. Reigning Olympic champion Belinda Bencic announced in the autumn that she was taking time off due to pregnancy, and two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova this month pulled out of the Australian Open after announcing she, too, is expecting her first child.
Clijsters, 40, made a short-lived comeback in 2020 and remains a prominent presence at tournaments working in punditry. She says players often approach her for advice about starting a family.
‘If you have a dream to become a young mum, it is possible’
“I’m proud, when I see Vika [Azarenka] compete - Vika, myself, Serena, we’ve all been able to inspire a generation just behind us,” Clijsters says. “I have had a lot of conversations with players, even players who don’t have kids; just to kind of pick my brain. Players that asked me, when did you know you were ready? Those kind of questions come up a lot. I say listen, if you have a dream to become a young mum, it is possible and it’s nothing to be scared of.”
That is in no small part due to better conditions on tour for mothers. Two-time Melbourne champion and mother Azarenka has driven change on the WTA player council in recent years, and players now have a special protected ranking for maternity that means they are not starting from scratch when they return to the tour. There are also crèches at some of the top-level tournaments to help parents with childcare.
Alongside health provisions and mental health providers on site for players, in 2023 the WTA also set up its Hologic Women’s Health Taskforce, and is working to develop standardised international protocols for female athletes returning to play after childbirth.
“Tennis is such a trendsetter in a sense and an example for so many other sports,” Clijsters says. “I’m proud to see that. When I go to the tournaments now I’m amazed about all the improvements that are made, the extra benefits there for the players.”
Of the current generation, Osaka is in the best position to follow in Clijsters’ footsteps. The 26-year-old played last week for the first time in 15 months, and has said having her daughter in June last year helped her to rediscover her appreciation for competing. Her famous ground strokes were in full force in Brisbane, and no one will want to run into her in the Melbourne draw.
Like Williams, Osaka’s huge worldwide profile could prove to be a game changer for how mum athletes are perceived and valued. Clijsters says her authenticity and candidness could also help paint a real picture of what it is like to be a top tennis player juggling motherhood.
“Naomi, what she’s done for mental health, the awareness of it, now as a mum I hope she’s going to be open, too; open to sharing some of the mental situations that you deal with. There’s so much guilt - at least I went through - because you have to leave your daughter or son to go to practise.
“I’m really excited to first of all see them all compete again and enjoy the lifestyle of being on tour. That’s the No 1 priority.”
