Former World No. 1 Kim Clijsters has stated that Serena Williams does not get enough credit for her achievements following her return to the WTA tour after the birth of her first child.
After Williams won the 2017 Australian Open, her 23rd Major, she announced that she was eight weeks pregnant and stated that she was taking a maternity leave. She gave birth to her daughter, Olympia, in September of that year.
The American returned to action in March 2018 at Indian Wells in Southern California, where she defeated Zarina Diyas and Kiki Bertens before losing in straight sets to her sister Venus.
After making her comeback, Williams came close to clinching a record-tying 24th Grand Slam title, finishing as the runner-up at the Wimbledon Championships (2018 and 2019) and the French Open (2018 and 2019).
The 42-year-old announced her retirement from the sport in 2022 and was last seen in action at the US Open that year, where she beat Danka Kovinic and Anett Kontaveit before losing to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round.
Four-time Major winner Clijsters, who remains the only woman since 1980 to have returned to the sport after becoming a mother and clinching a Slam title, recalled that Williams came close to breaking that record.
“I don’t think there’s a clear answer as to why no one has done it since. Serena Williams has been very close,” she told The Telegraph.
The 40-year-old Belgian further stated that Williams does not get enough credit for her four runner-up finishes at Majors following her comeback.
“I feel like a lot of times she didn’t get enough credit for being in all those grand slam finals after having her daughter. The narrative is ‘she didn’t make it’ and it takes away from the level she was playing. I think it will happen. I think it’s just the competitive nature and depth of our sport that has increased from when I was younger,” she added.
