Health, training to play into Serena Williams’ tennis comeback after childbirth

Tennis star Serena Williams’ plan to return to competition in 2018 will depend on how quickly her body recovers from giving birth this fall and how hard she trains through her pregnancy, said researchers who study pregnancy in high-performing athletes.

Williams, 35, on Wednesday confirmed her pregnancy through a spokeswoman, after posting a picture of herself in a yellow bathing suit on Snapchat social media with the caption “20 weeks.”

(Photo credit: Twitter @RyanJL)

The spokeswoman, Kelly Bush Novak, told Reuters that Williams “is definitely not able to play in 2017 and she looks forward to returning in 2018.” Williams turns 36 in September this year, on the older side for a top level professional player.

It would be perfectly safe for Williams to continue with rigorous training throughout pregnancy, but how quickly she would return to tournament tennis was uncertain, the researchers said. Williams, who is 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 metres) and weighed 155 pounds (70 kg) according to her tennis association profile, won a 23rd Grand Slam tournament title at the Australian Open in January.

One woman athlete who made a strong comeback after childbirth was English runner Paula Radcliffe. She won the New York marathon in November 2007 six weeks before …read more