Tennis star Angelique Kerber is planning to return to the tour once she has given birth and hopes to take inspiration from someone who has been there and done it - like the great Serena Williams. Prior to the 2022 US Open, the German announced to the world she was pregnant with her first child and last played this in July at Wimbledon.
The three-time Grand Slam champion is due to give birth in the spring and already has an eye on being back on the court in 2023. During a chat with the WTA website, the 34-year-old spoke to Williams after she gave birth to daughter Olympia in 2017 and asked her what it was like to make her comeback following pregnancy. She also talked to Kim Clijsters and Victoria Azarenka about their experiences.
“When you talk now to them, it’s more intense listening to what they say,” Kerber said. “We see the mums can come back, also winning big titles. And I hope I can also be one of them, an inspiration for new mums and women to come back to doing their business.”
When asked what the best advice she has ever received is, the former world number one said: “Take your time, enjoy the moment now. And then, they said I will feel when the time is there to come back. It’s better to take one month later than one month earlier.” Williams returned to the tour six months after giving birth to Olympia on September 1 2017.
Azarenka’s son, Leo, was born in December 2016, and she was back on court seven months later at Wimbledon in 2017. Clijsters gave birth to daughter Jada in late February 2008, nine months after retiring. Jada was 18 months old when Clijsters won the 2009 US Open.
Williams was 36 when she reached the finals at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2018, losing to Kerber at SW19, before achieving the same feat a year later. Azarenka was 31 when she reached the final of the 2020 US Open. Commenting on the opportunity to return to action after becoming a mum, Kerber added: “I don’t know what time or which tournament because I really want to take the time.
“And when I come back, I want to come back 100 percent, fit again and feel good. This is the plan.”
She’s still trying to remain active in her time away from the game, such as cycling and hitting the gym - and hitting balls at the Angie Kerber Tennis Academy.
“I play with the young children,” she chuckled. “ Not so intense, but I’m there. This makes me actually also happy because I’m missing the tennis life. I’m also looking forward to the new life and what next year will bring for me.”
