Being a pro tennis player and a mom is a demanding dual life but 'It's worth it'

Caroline Wozniacki, one of seven moms playing in the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, admits that sometimes during a match her mind wanders to her 2-year-old Olivia and 1-year-old James.

"It's hard to shut that off completely," said Wozniacki, the 33-year-old from Denmark who returned to tennis in July after taking three years off to be a full-time mom. "I'm on the court, I'm competing but sometimes you just think, 'I wonder what they're doing right now?' or you look at the clock and think 'Oh, it's nap time.' It definitely happens."

With Wozniacki playing in Indian Wells for the first time since 2019, and other top players like Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber back at the BNP Paribas Open after missing last year's event after giving birth, the topic of being a mom on tour is a hot one this year.

Combining the demanding life of a pro athlete and the demanding life of being a mom is not for the faint of heart. The non-stop travel, the hours of training required, the media and sponsorship obligations all make it difficult, but in every case, tour moms wouldn't have it any other way.

Osaka, whose daughter Shai was born in July and is with her in Indian Wells for the first time at an event, said it's been a sea change to be both a tennis player and a mom, but it's worth it.

"It's definitely different. I do feel like when I come back to where she is, I'm immediately a mom. So, in some ways it's really fun," Osaka said. "When I'm away from her, I'm always an athlete, but when she's here (like this week) I'm an athlete and a mom, so there's a constant surge of energy that I have to have."

According to the WTA, there are currently 20 active players on the tour who have children and seven of them participated in the BNP Paribas Open — Wozniacki, Kerber and Osaka, along with Victoria Azarenka, Elina Svitolina, Taylor Townsend and Tatjana Maria.

The moms at this event have performed remarkably well. Through Tuesday's matches, the seven moms have a combined record of 13-6 after Wozniacki beat Kerber in a battle of the moms on Stadium 2. Kerber went 3-1, Osaka finished 2-1, while Svitolina, Townsend, Azarenka and Maria all went 1-1 at this year's event. As it turns out, Wozniacki becomes the only mom to advance to the quarterfinals.

History says that kind of success is an anomaly, though. It has proven to be very difficult to win at the highest levels on tour while being a mom. Bundles of joy don't often come with bundles of wins it seems.

No mother has ever won the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, and only three mothers have ever won a Grand Slam event. Margaret Court won three Slams as a mother in the late 1970s, Evonne Goolagong won Wimbledon in 1980, and Kim Clijsters won the 2009 U.S. Open, coincidentally beating a 19-year-old Wozniacki in the final. That's it. Not even the great Serena Williams could win a major tournament as a mom.

"It's not easy. You have to get used to this different situation now, but I think we get used to it more and more," said Kerber, the 36-year-old German player who gave birth to daughter Liana in February of 2023. "She's traveling with me, and, you know, it's just about organization. I think that's the most important thing. I mean, you have to be really flexible, as well, and to really make a good schedule for the day."

And does Liana cooperate with the schedule?

"I think she's fine with the schedule," Kerber said with a smile. "I think we are really lucky that she can sleep everywhere. She is, yeah, not a child who is, like, crying all the time, so she's really like calm. I think she's enjoying it as well. But of course, it is sometimes you have nights where you will not get so much sleep, but it's all worth it."

Kerber used the word "we" and that's an important part of the equation. To make this dual life possible takes a lot of support from family and friends.

Wozniacki said she calls her squad made up mostly of family members The Traveling Circus. She said she has seven or eight family members with her on this trip to the desert, including her mom and her husband David Lee, a former NBA player. Without that support system, it would be impossible.

"You just get a different perspective," Wozniacki said. "I know it sounds like a cliché. Having kids and being there for them and being their role model and, you know, it just means everything to me being a mom. It's the best thing in the world. It's hard. It's definitely hard work, but it's so rewarding. To be able to play here with them and having them travel and see the world, it's really cool to be able to live out my dreams."

And that brings up a larger point. The enormity of having a child doesn't eliminate the passion these players have for the sport they love. Like most pro athletes, these women have the financial freedom to just stop playing and call it a career, and move on with their new lives as mothers, but it's not that simple.

Kerber had an eloquent answer to the simple question, why return to tennis as a new mom at age 36?

"This question I hear a lot. Why am I back?" she said Friday after her second-round win. "You know, for me, the biggest motivation is the love for the sport. I mean, I love to compete, you know, being out there today as well, to having this crowd, to having the emotions, this gives me everything.

"Now, to having my daughter on my side, it's even more inspiring for me having her, and there's something bigger than tennis as well, which I learned," Kerber said. "It's not just tennis anymore, it's her. And having the combination of doing something I love and having her on my side, this is the most inspiration for me."

Friday was International Women's Day and Wozniacki lent her support to a WTA initiative called "Women Change the Game" which was revealed Friday as a collaboration between the WTA and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to combine their resources to focus on women's health in low- and middle-income countries. Specifically, the operation aims to provide prenatal vitamins to one million women in its first year. An issue that has grown even closer to Wozniacki's heart in recent years.

She's a mom now, and she said that's changed her whole perspective.

"Kudos to all the moms out there," she said. "It's not easy. It's not easy at all."

After her second-round win Friday, Wozniacki was finishing up her media obligations, kindly allowing The Desert Sun a final one-on-one interview to end her day. She was asked, "So on a day like today, you finish up your tennis life and head back to where you're staying, will you spend time with your kids?"

She said "Well let's see, it's 6:10. They're having their dinner right now and bed-time starts at 7 p.m. and they'll be in bed by 7:30 p.m., so I'm hoping I get to see them before they go down."

She finished with a grin and a pointed stare. Message received. Interview over. Tennis time had ended for the day and mom time was just beginning.

Shad Powers is a columnist for The Desert Sun. Reach him at shad.powers@desetsun.com.

Moms playing in the BNP Paribas Open

Victoria Azarenka: The two-time major champion and two-time BNP Paribas Open champion's son Leo is 7 years old.

Angelique Kerber: The three-time grand slam champ and 2019 BNP Paribas Open finalist's daughter Liana is 1

Tatjana Maria: The veteran German player whose daughter Charlotte is 10 and daughter Ceci is 2, became the first mom to reach the Wimbledon semifinal since 1975 when she accomplished the feat in 2022.

Naomi Osaka: The four-time grand slam champion and 2018 BNP Paribas Open winner's daughter Shai was born in July

Elina Svitolina: The highest-ranked mom currently on tour at No. 16 has a 1-year-old daughter Skai with husband and fellow tennis player Gael Monfils

Taylor Townsend: The two-time doubles grand slam finalist's son Adyn Aubrey is almost 3

Caroline Wozniacki: The former World No. 1 and 2011 BNP champion's daughter Olivia is two and son James is 1