Wimbledon 2010 Week 2 Upsets
It’s week 2 of Wimbledon 2010, and I’m enjoying coverage of Venus Williams (of course), and Kim Clijsters, as they each play matches on this day of quarter finals.
I’m still getting over the shock of watching Roddick lose to Lu in a four and a half hour five set match yesterday.
And now another shocker! What an upset! As I watch Tsvetana Pironkova defeat five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams 6-2, 6-3, a Clijsters win becomes more likely.
And it’s the Belgian, Kim Clijsters, I’m thinking of. In particular, it’s a remark during yesterday’s color commentary that has me pondering; an understated reminder that athletic careers are short-lived at best, and for women, even more so, if they want a family life.
The gist of the comment: Kim Clijsters wants this badly; after all, mother of one, she wants more children and doesn’t have much time left to play.
Athletic Achievements, Difficult Choices
I can’t help but think of the conscious choice that female athletes face – between matches and motherhood. And the fact that 30-year old Venus was just ousted by the 22-year old Bulgarian, Pironkova? Is Venus nearing retirement after all?
While women continue to make strides in many fields, when it comes to athletics, both men and women face short careers under the best of circumstances. Female athletes? If they want families, even more so.
This isn’t the usual issue of barriers to entry or the upper echelons due to innate bias, cultural issues, or even lack of infrastructure like day care options. This is an issue of physical, biological constraints. For women to train and compete, remaining at the top of their game, they will be “on” year round. How is 9 months of maternity to fit into that picture, much less the recovery following childbirth, and those critical early months of maternal bonding?
Matches or Motherhood?
For all women, the likelihood of meeting someone with whom to marry and have children narrows as we age, thus deferring the motherhood decision intentionally or otherwise. What if you are a professional athlete?
- As a woman, would you defer your options to have a family into your mid or late thirties?
- As a man, would you stand by a woman athlete and wait – through the travel, the injuries, the training, the question mark of whether or not children will be possible at a later age?
Sure, it’s easy to say “go for the career” if we’re talking about top-ranked players in a lucrative field, as in women’s tennis. What about those who aren’t at such lofty levels, and never will be?
A reminder of just how extraordinary it is that Clijsters returned to the game last year at 26, and competes now in the quarters (hopefully to move on), from the Daily Mail, September 15, 2009:
Miss Clijsters became only the third mother in history to win a Grand Slam title, after Margaret Court, who took the U.S. Open in 1973, and Evonne Goolagong, who won Wimbledon in 1980.
Think about this achievement – how difficult motherhood is to begin with, and what the body and mind goes through to prepare for the sort of performance required by professional athletes.
Personally, I’d love to see Clijsters take it all the way at Wimbledon 2010. Or are we looking at another upset in the making, in the quarter finals?
More Stunners!
It is another upset! Vera Zvonareva takes down Clijsters – 3-6, 6-4, 6-2! Stay tuned for more exciting play from the women, and certainly a Wimbledon Final none of us expected.
For more articles on Grand Slam tennis:
French Open Wardrobe Mishaps – Already?
Unforeseen Conditions, Wimbledon Wardrobes – Wimbledon 2009
It’s hard for me to put myself in these shoes. I’m not a world class athlete, so I can never really understand the tradeoffs between a professional sporting career and motherhood. I can’t imagine how agonizing that decision must be for many women.
Your post makes me think of Dara Torres who got into the best shape of her life (as a mother) for the 2008 Olympics. Also of Paula Radcliffe who won the 2007 New York Marathon just 9-ish months after delivering her first child. Somehow these women have managed to do both, but I wonder to what extent their family life suffers on behalf of their training.
There’s no good answer, unfortunately.
Gale, Kristen, Jane – When I think about what professional athletes go through to come back after injuries, driven to compete again, perhaps that mental toughness not only prepares them for motherhood, but also to come back after motherhood. Still, the body doesn’t always cooperate – and the challenges of parenting babies and little ones are enormous, and come with sleep deprivation to boot! I marvel that any athlete can return to competitive form physically and mentally after motherhood. Perhaps that is why so few do, with some of the exceptions you’ve all mentioned.
You hear all the time about male athletes having a child born during some playoff game the guy is playing in. That can’t happen for a woman! I am cheering for Clijsters with you.
Unfortunately, Both Venus and Clijsters lost in upsets, literally as I was finishing my morning writing – and couldn’t believe my eyes. I’ll hang on to the hope that Clijsters can come back to the US Open, and give us another exciting run in New York – and maybe that win for the athlete moms!
In a way, world-class female athletes fit right in with the many career women who choose to delay starting their families until their careers are well-established. (And, ironically, some of them might even “benefit” from the fact that their careers are over at age 30 – they can have their proverbial cake and eat it too in a way that women in careers with much longer durations cannot.) Then again – notable exceptions like the ones Gale mentioned, not to mention WNBA superstars Lisa Leslie and Candace Parker, notwithstanding – it is much easier for me to imagine going back to a desk job than one in which I’m running 26.2 miles or competing for the Wimbledon championship!
I was simply going to echo what Gale and Kristen said about career vs. family and the age-defying Dara. I am just glad that women out there are making the choices and living their dreams – whatever they are. And like you, we are having so much fun watching Wimbledon. One of my favorite sports time of the year.
Jane – I couldn’t agree more that Wimbledon is pure FUN to watch. I missed all last week, so I’m making sure my mornings get at least some Wimbledon in (even if the writing waits). And then I find I’m counting down the weeks to the US Open, not that I want summer to go that quickly!
Argh, no TV hookup chez Troubadour! Quite the unexpected final developing, from what you’ve caught me up on here. I cannot imagine balancing motherhood with a professional tennis career (the travel with — or without — the baby is where I balk right off). So very admirable, those who can handle the emotional challenge on top of the physical demands.
It’s astounding that these athlete mothers can manage rigorous careers and motherhood. I certainly admire this quality. The emotional component of motherhood is exhausting sometimes and the fact that Clijsters, in particular, could have the mental acuity to return and play competitively is a testament to her own will. I am rooting for her in the US Open.