An emotional Serena Williams opened up after her defeat to Angelique Kerber in the Wimbledon final. She told mothers that they can still achieve great things after having a child. The American urged them not to give up on their career goals.
“It was obviously disappointing but I can’t be disappointed. I have so much to look forward to. You know, I’m literally just getting started, so, you know, I’m looking forward to it,” Williams said. She even shrugged off the label of “supermom”, opting to remain humble instead.
Williams continued, “To all the moms out there, I was playing out there for you today, and I tried… I look forward to continuing to be back out here and do what I do best.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
The tennis star was just one victory away from matching tennis icon Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slams. This was only Williams’ fourth tournament since her daughter, Alexis Olympia was born.
“These past 2 weeks was amazing. It also was a sound for all moms stay home and working you can do it you really can! I?m not any better or diff than any of you all. Your support has meant so much to me. Let?s keep making noise everyday in everything we do. I?ll be back (and soon too).”
Williams talked about how her priorities have changed since Olympia was born. “Like, my priority is my baby,” she said. “You know, just being with her and doing things with her and spending time with her ? it’s totally my priority. But it’s weird; I set my schedule so I have time. Like, I train in the morning and I spend the rest of the day with her, so I don’t get to be with her the full day, but a pretty good chunk out of the day.”
She continued, “I just feel like to tell all the moms, like, I had such a long struggle to come back, and it was really difficult, and honestly, I feel like if I can do it, they can do it. I’m just that person, that person, that vessel that’s saying, ‘You can be whatever you want to be if you want to go back to work.’ And to me, after becoming a mom, I feel like there’s no pressure to do that because having a child is a completely full-time job but those that do want to go back, you know, you can just do it. You can really do it.”