Text: Zeng Duowen
(Photo source: Shutterstock)
Serena Williams may be the greatest female professional player in the history of tennis, but as a mother, her struggles are the same as every woman returning to the workplace after giving birth: in Play your role as a mother while chasing championship trophies and making time for yourself.
Serena Williams, who gave birth to a baby girl in September last year, suffered the worst match of her 23-year career at the Stanford Women's Tennis Tennis Center earlier this month: she lost to British No. 1 Johanna Konta 6-1, 6-0. Konta). The U.S. Open in New York on the 27th of this month will be Serena Williams' last chance to tie the record this year. Considering her age and her incompetence as a first-time mother, this will be a tough battle.
Serena Williams decided to go all out. She was practicing intensively on the tennis court at her home in San Francisco when her toddler daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., was awakened and staggered out of the back door. Williams paused her practice, held her daughter's hand and walked down the stairs, counting in French: "1, 2, 1, 2."
She couldn't play with her daughter for long. After a while, Olympia was brought back inside, and Williams continued practicing. But her eyes drifted into the room from time to time. The reporter from Time Magazine who had been interviewing said: "I want to know, what is the baby doing?"
"What is the baby doing?" This is from the desk to the production line, every profession Questions that my mother would ask during her breaks at work. Serena Williams' mood is not much different from that of most working women.
But like every working mother, Williams has her own struggles. Her pregnancy was easy, and she beat her sister Williams on the court when she was two months pregnant. (Williams later joked to the media: It's not fair - the two of them hit me one!) But the birth was thrilling. She had an emergency cesarean section due to a drop in fetal tone, and suffered a deep vein thrombosis that nearly killed her the next day. After giving birth, she stayed in bed for 6 weeks. After walking through the door of death before taking Olympia back, Williams said, "I didn't know I would be so attached to her. It's hard to leave her even for a little while."
It was difficult for Williams to adjust as a first-time mother. The world of top athletes is a selfish one - spending time training, traveling, staying focused, everything is self-centered. Mother's world is just the opposite. You are no longer the center, the world revolves around your children.
Fighting not only for herself, but also for all postpartum mothers
Serena Williams is determined to come back, even though she is 36 years old, even though she has a daughter. She wants to prove that even when she is older and has children, her career can still continue. Tennis helped her get through the toughest moments after giving birth. After becoming a mother, she competed in Wimbledon again. Serena Williams reached the final. She said: "This moment is dedicated to all mothers who have experienced difficult postpartum moments. I have also experienced depression, crying, and collapse. If I can do it, you all can It can be done."
There has never been a world-class tennis player like Serena Williams who has experienced such a difficult postpartum comeback at such an age. Serena Williams knows she needs tennis as much as the sports world needs her. Now, playing tennis is the only thing she can do for herself; practice time is the only time she can be herself. "I knew my career couldn't end here," she told Time Magazine. "This is not the end for me."
"Now, my life is not perfect in every way," she said. "But I'm still perfect. Serena Williams. "
The practice came to an end, and Serena Williams fed her daughter yogurt. After eating, she wiped Olympia's little mouth clean: "Mom is going to do something that will make you very sad now. I am going to the gym. But you know, I am actually more sad than you."
said, little William Si put on her sneakers and went out to work. Just like thousands of working mothers.
★ All rights reserved. Please indicate the author and source when reprinting. The source is the parent-child world WeChat public account (WeChat ID: cn-parenting)
