“Are you loving motherhood?” was one of the first questions the former British No 1 tennis star Johanna Konta found herself being asked as a new mother. She would respond “yes”, feeling it to be the appropriate response. But now, she’s taking a more honest approach.
“I think the act of motherhood is really tough, it’s really monotonous and boring compared to what I used to do, which is play on Centre Court and travel the world and live a very selfish existence,” Konta said bluntly.
Known as one of Britain’s most successful tennis players, Konta announced her retirement at the age of 30 in 2021. Now she has returned to Wimbledon for the ladies’ invitation doubles alongside Sania Mirza, and this time with her 10-month-old daughter.
“To then be thrown into a very selfless existence is a really hard transition, and it’s not fun – but I would choose it every single day over playing on Centre Court,” she said at Wimbledon on Tuesday morning.
Throughout the years, tennis has seen a number of professional players successfully return to high-profile careers after becoming mothers. Margaret Court gave birth to her first child in 1972 and the following year won the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open. Kim Clijsters won her second US Open in 2010 after becoming a mother. And Serena Williams was two months pregnant when she won the Australian Open in 2017.
That doesn’t mean it’s not without challenges. Training while pregnant can take a toll on elite athletes, and a player’s return after giving birth depends on how smoothly it goes. Across other sports, motherhood is yet to be as widely embraced and the fight for maternity provisions is ongoing: it was only last year when professional female footballers in England were guaranteed maternity and long-term sickness cover.
While each sport is different, Konta feels tennis has a blueprint when compared with other sports, with Clijsters, Williams, Victoria Azarenka and Tatjana Maria having paved the way.
“It does take a certain setup and it does take a certain infrastructure to be able to do it,” she admits. There was also the cost of restarting one’s career, caring for a child on the road, and having the right family support.
“I really love what my life was, but I’m learning to love my life more now,” Konta said, adding that she was “very committed” to retirement.
The same cannot be said for Caroline Wozniacki, who returned to professional tennis after walking away from her career three years ago to start a family. After working out through two pregnancies, the former No 1 and grand slam champion wanted to get back on the court.
“I think as an athlete you feel like you can still play at your best and still have some[thing] left in you. I think it’s a great opportunity, we only live once so why not?” said the 33-year-old. “I think now is the time, while the kids are young. I feel good.”
When Clijsters learned Wozniacki’s return had similar timing to her own, it “just brought back a moment”, the Belgian player said. She retired in 2007 and returned two years later after the birth of her daughter, winning three grand slam titles before hanging up her racket again in 2012. In 2019 she made another comeback at the age of 36. She retired for the third time last year.
One of the biggest challenges as a new mother was striking the balance of investing time in herself as well as her kids, Clijsters recalled.
“I think that was a little bit of a challenge, just mentally to get that motherly instinct, you don’t push it aside but you have to kind of balance that so you have enough of both,” she said.
As for Angie Kerber and Elina Svitolina’s return as new mothers? “Very exciting,” she said. “You feel a connection to the mothers. It’s really exciting to see that all happening.”
