She is one of the most-celebrated athletes of all time - having won 23 tennis Grand Slam titles and four Olympic gold medals. So when Serena Williams announced she was retiring from tennis the world listened. But her retirement at the age of 41 highlighted how many women, including world-class athletes, are having to choose between family and career.
“Believe me, I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family,” Williams , announcing her retirement.
“I don’t think it’s fair. If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family.”
I can understand where Williams is coming from. After my first child was born I made a similar choice. I decided to stay at home and focus on looking after my daughter. I’m not alone; it often falls to women to be the ones who choose between work and family. And while we want to do best by our children and what works for our situation, it often means that women end up sacrificing their careers in order to be mothers. And this, as Williams points out, is deeply unfair.
And then when it comes to expanding your family, the choice between work and doing what your heart wants becomes even harder. As Williams says in her article:
“In the last year, Alexis and I have been trying to have another child, and we recently got some information from my doctor that put my mind at ease and made me feel that whenever we’re ready, we can add to our family. I definitely don’t want to be pregnant again as an athlete. I need to be two feet into tennis or two feet out.”
I need to be two feet into tennis or two feet out.
No one can fully explain the biological tug to expand one’s family, but it’s a tug that exists nonetheless. Not everyone feels it of course, but I empathised with Williams wanting to give it her all to either family or career, because as any working mother would tell you, juggling both aspects of our lives is A LOT. Not only do we have to run our children’s busy schedules as well as ours, we have to try and maintain our sanity while doing it.
As Williams mentions: “I went from a C-section to a second pulmonary embolism to a grand slam final. I played while breastfeeding. I played through postpartum depression... I didn’t show up the way I should have or could have. But I showed up 23 times, and that’s fine."
For many working mums, rushing between work, school drop-offs, the odd doctor’s appointment, sporting activities, and not to mention all the domestic chores is a .
There comes a time when you begin to wonder, is the chaos worth it? And is there another way?
Of course not many of us Williams' position. She is able to walk away from a sport in which she was overwhelmingly seen as the best. Former men’s No.1 Andy Murray for example called Williams the .
She has a lot of help as she mentions in her Vogue article (“I’m not going to lie—I definitely have a lot of support”), and her retirement will be cushioned by the fact that this year she was the third-highest paid female athlete .
Most of us will continue to do the juggle. After all, making money is still of major importance to those of us who don't have a wealth-cushion that allows us to consider other options.
Despite the money, Williams too is going to keep working, mentioning how her focus will be on her Venture Capital firm, Serena Ventures.
And there is still time to see Williams on the court yet - she is set to compete in the US Open along with this year, before she hangs up her racquet for good.
But after that, the choice for Williams is clear. "These days, if I have to choose between building my tennis résumé and building my family, I choose the latter."
In an ideal world, women wouldn't have to choose between work and family. But as Williams shows, no one is immune from having to make such a decision, no matter how successful or wealthy you are.
Saman Shad is a freelance writer.
