‘Not How This S**T Works’ – Taylor Townsend’s Aim to Emulate Serena Williams’ Tennis Mom Transformation Comes With a Heavy Price

Taylor Townsend‘s journey to achieve perfection in balancing motherhood with professional goals wasn’t easy. While she drew inspiration from legends like Serena Williams, she soon realized how difficult it is for a WTA star to achieve harmony between career and family. Speaking about the “huge shift” from being a tennis player to a tennis mama, Townsend delves into the real-life challenges of women athletes.

In The Changeover’s podcast recently, Taylor Townsend spoke about balancing a professional tennis career and motherhood. This American tennis player gave birth to her son, Adyn Aubrey Johnson, in March 2021. After giving birth, she returned to the court in April of the following year just like Serena Williams did after her elder daughter Olympia’s birth. Reflecting on her time before motherhood, Townsend said, “Yeah, it’s been a huge shift. Like, I’m so different. But it’s been like the best. Because like I said, I, you know, tennis, you have to be selfish, right? You have to think about yourself, and it breeds naturally breeds like very selfless people. Because all about I, I ,I, me, me, me, right.”

The American WTA star also spoke about how she tried to use her athletic mindset to understand things. However, she realized that in reality, things are tougher than they seem. “When I became a mom, like, first, I was trying to, like, create systems and routines, because that’s what I understood, like from an athletic mind, like, it needs to go like this and like this, and like this, right? And that’s not how this s**t works at all”-  Townsend explained further.

This American tennis mom has been showing great signs of improvement after becoming a mother. In 2022, she returned with a bang by reaching the doubles finals of the US Open. In 2023, when Taylor Townsend won her first match at a Grand Slam championship after motherhood in the Australian Open, she credited Serena Williams for her sage advice.

“I definitely did seek advice from Serena and Kim Clijsters gave me a lot of advice. She’s so chill and so relaxed. She was, like, just take your time. You know, enjoy it. That was my plan anyway, but to hear — she’s really the OG person that started, like, having a baby and then coming back,”- said Townsend.

In 2024, Townsend reached the quarterfinals in doubles at the Italian Open with Katarina Siniakova but ultimately lost the match to Coco Gauff and Erin Routliffe by 6-3, and 7-6(3). Nevertheless, her commitment to the sport and her zeal to never compromise her dreams delighted everyone reflecting a competitive Serena Williams-like vibe.

On that note, in April 2023, Townsend delved deeper into how her routine changed after motherhood. As she had no choice but to rely on her body’s responses to gauge her limits in professional training.

Taylor Townsend reveals her challenges post-motherhood to return to the professional tour

In a WTA Insider podcast in April 2023, Townsend shared her experiences after her c-section and her desire to return to professional tennis. “After coming back, having AJ having a C-section, I didn’t know how my body was going to react. So for me, I was like, I’d rather go err on the side of caution and test it out. Come back, whatever feedback we get, and we work on that and then go back out,”- said Townsend.

Speaking about the tough calls she had to endure, Townsend further revealed how balancing motherhood and her professional career had taken an emotional toll on her. “I did that a lot last year. I spent three months away from my son. That was really hard and that was a huge challenge for me. But I did it and I got through it, so I know that I can do it now. I don’t want to do it but I know I can,”- said the American world’s number 23 WTA star.

Nevertheless, Townsend’s revelations shed light on the challenges faced by tennis players who wish to continue their professional dreams after becoming mothers. What are your thoughts on this. Let us know in the comment section below.