Serena Williams describes the difficulty of deciding to stop breastfeeding her daughter to help her tennis game


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Serena Williams is still crushing her opponents after more than two decades as one of the top tennis players in the world — and now she does it with a baby in tow.
In an interview with Time, Williams described her complicated comeback to tennis after giving birth, and promised she was nowhere near ready to call it quits. Williams' daughter, Olympia, was born in 2017, and Williams describes a fierce desire to bond with her during any moment that she's not on the court.
Williams worries that her time-consuming training schedule cuts into her time with Olympia, but says that she ultimately knows that she wants to show her daughter that it's possible to have a thriving career no matter what, she told Time. After recovering from a life-threatening childbirth experience, Williams wanted to dive back into tennis. "I'm not done yet, simple," she said. "My story doesn't end here."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But Williams had to learn how to view her career through the lens of motherhood. After nursing Olympia for eight months, her coach told her she should stop in order to get back in shape. "It's absolutely hard to take from a guy," Williams said of the recommendation. “He's not a woman, he doesn't understand that connection." She said she eventually came around to the idea, and had "a really good conversation" with Olympia about needing to commit to her coach's training plan.
Read more about Williams' plan to reach the all-time record of Grand Slam singles titles — as well as her admiration for quarterback and activist Colin Kaepernick — at Time.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Summer is news editor at TheWeek.com, and has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. A graduate of Columbia Journalism School and Santa Clara University, she now lives in New York with two cats.
-
Laurence Fox suspended by GB News after 'unacceptable' Ava Evans comments
Broadcaster issues apology after actor goes on a tirade during a live interview with Dan Wootton
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
The daily business briefing: September 27, 2023
Business Briefing The FTC accuses Amazon of running an illegal online monopoly, Biden visits auto workers on picket line, and more
By Harold Maass Published
-
Seaham Hall review: serenity on the coast in County Durham
The Week Recommends Former haunt of Lord Byron is pure poetry when it comes to spa options in the north-east
By Jamie Timson, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published