Victoria Azarenka makes bid at US Open to become 4th mom in history to win a Grand Slam
Victoria Azarenka could become just the fourth women's tennis player in history to win a Grand Slam tournament after giving birth.
Azarenka, whose son, Leo, will turn 4 in December, will face Naomi Osaka in Saturday's women's final at the U.S. Open.
The 31-year-old player from Belarus came from behind to defeat a fellow mom, Serena Williams, in their semifinal match Thursday night.
“Hopefully it inspires women to go after their dreams,” Azarenka, one of three moms to reach this year's U.S. Open quarterfinals, said after her win against Williams. “I feel like you can’t always identify yourself as just one thing. You have many things you can do in your life."
“Being a parent is the most important thing in my life but I’m a tennis player on the court, I’m a fighter on the court and, when I go after my dreams, inspire my child and I hope that women around the world know they can do anything because being a parent is the toughest thing so once you can balance that you can do anything," she said.
A win against Osaka on Saturday would give Azarenka her third Grand Slam title and her first U.S. Open trophy.
It would also make her the member of the very small club of professional tennis player moms who have won Grand Slam titles, joining only Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong and Kim Clijsters.
The last mom to win a Grand Slam title was Clijsters in 2009 at the Australian Open, according to the Women's Tennis Association (WTA).
Azarenka's three-set win over Williams Thursday night delayed Williams' bid not only for her first Grand Slam title since giving birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., three years ago, but also her 24th Grand Slam title, which would tie her with Court for single majors titles.
The four Grand Slam tournaments in tennis are the U.S. Open, Wimbledon, the French Open and the Australian Open
Williams, who in January won her first singles title since becoming a mom, has described being both a professional athlete and a mom as "living a double life."
“How do you do it? You play a match and you go home and you’re still changing diapers. It’s like a double life,” she said earlier this week, according to Reuters. “It’s really surreal.”
The 38-year-old American, who is two wins away from a record-tying 24th Grand Slam singles title, said motherhood had given her strength.
“I think when you’re a mom, you overcome so much just to become that and to be that,” added Williams, who described herself as "most influenced by moms."
