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Excuse the fangirlly moment...
...but sweetness just happened in my favorite sport:
KIM CLIJSTERS, 2009 US OPEN CHAMPION
Maybe you heard the brouhaha over the end of her semifinal match (when Serena Williams was granted a point penalty on match point because of unsportsmanlike conduct, thus losing the match in quite possibly the most bizarre, dramatic way ever), but this is a huge story, in and of itself.
Kim Clijsters retired from professional tennis two years ago, sick of the grind of the tour, ready to start her family and move beyond the ups and downs of her career. She decided to come back to the women's tour this year, having a trial run in the summer to see how she stacked up against the rest of the girls...and she walks away a Slam champion, the first mother to win a Slam since 1980. She walked into the tournament unseeded (unranked, even), needing a wildcard to even qualify for the draw, and she leaves $1.6m richer, and with a spot in the Top 20.
Just - amazing. Congats, Kimeke, and welcome back!!
Maybe you heard the brouhaha over the end of her semifinal match (when Serena Williams was granted a point penalty on match point because of unsportsmanlike conduct, thus losing the match in quite possibly the most bizarre, dramatic way ever), but this is a huge story, in and of itself.
Kim Clijsters retired from professional tennis two years ago, sick of the grind of the tour, ready to start her family and move beyond the ups and downs of her career. She decided to come back to the women's tour this year, having a trial run in the summer to see how she stacked up against the rest of the girls...and she walks away a Slam champion, the first mother to win a Slam since 1980. She walked into the tournament unseeded (unranked, even), needing a wildcard to even qualify for the draw, and she leaves $1.6m richer, and with a spot in the Top 20.
Just - amazing. Congats, Kimeke, and welcome back!!
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LOL! Well, its actually far more common for fathers to play on the ATP tour than mothers on the WTA. Plenty of fathers have 'come back' (not that they really take the time off to, you know, have the kid or get their body back or anything :P) and have plenty of success - just look at Agassi, for example (who won Slams after fatherhood) or just your run-of-the-mill types, like Hewitt or Henman or Kafelnikov.
I'm sure if Federer had won the men's title yesterday, there would've been a big splash (his wife had their twin daughters in July) about parents triumphing on both sides, but generally - no, its not as big a deal for the men as it is the women. The announcers and media don't generally mention fatherhood in their bios of the players; if you wanna know who has kids (and get to see them!) you have to get a bit deeper into the fan culture. Tennis is a wonderfully open, vibrant sport, with accessible athletes :)